Your Wealth Reserve: May 2019

Friday, May 31, 2019

Need a graduation gift?

The greatest gift you can give is financial knowledge. No matter how much your young graduate makes, it is up to YOU to show them the Buffett investment strategy. Make sure they can make and manage money. At my first job, I had no clue which investment to use for my 401k contributions and company match. The HR person told me to put it into the 'safe' stable value fund. That was the worst choice at my age I learned later when I got my securities’ licenses. If I had followed their advice I would have ended up with about $150,000 instead of a Wealth Reserve of $877,233 about 33 years later.

YOUR choice: https://www.amazon.com/Give-child-leg-up/dp/1096505355

Stock-picking hedge funds are throwing in the towel

With Warren Buffett’s win of a simple strategy over 5 hedge funds, some high-cost managers are giving up. Buffett put a $1 million in the simple Vanguard 500 index in 2008. The five funds of hedge funds Protege picked were up roughly 19.6% compared with the 63.5% for the top 500 index. Lackluster returns and lofty fees charged by hedge funds have prompted investors to head for the exits, and they withdrew $15 billion in the first quarter, according to eVestment data, in a fourth straight quarter of redemptions. Most Wall Street firms are dropping fees in an attempt to maintain their failed business model. John Bogle made it clear: costs matter. Over a 50-year investing lifetime, that little 2% fee will erode 63% of what you would have had. Do the math: if your money earns 10% and you pay 2%, your $3,000 a year retirement contribution will be worth only $2 million; NOT $4.3 million.

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Investment-Secret-Steeple/dp/1484189809

Do we have too many options?

Amazon carries an almost infinite variety of stuff. Big box stores are forced to carry more choices and most of us can’t cope. Contemporary internet shopping conjures a perfect storm of choice anxiety. Research has consistently held that people who are presented with a few options make better, easier decisions than those presented with many. This is why we see DISRUPTORS in the consumer commodity space: Casper (mattresses), Glossier (makeup), Away (suitcases), and many others have sprouted up to offer consumers freedom from choice: These firms are selling a confidence in those things, and an ability to opt out of the stuff rat race. This is especially true for financial products. If there are only 10,000 stocks, how come there are 9,356 mutual funds, and 5,024 ETFs. (Less than 1% get HALF of all the money) But which of the 25,000 options should you put your money into? Investors are flocking to Vanguard to pay less; earn more.

Follow the money: https://www.amazon.com/Disruptors-Three-Innovators-increase-WEALTH/dp/1720857563

Trump’s Socialism: like Putin he picks the firms he likes

Nike, Adidas and 173 shoe firms claim Trump tariffs are killing their business. Tariffs are a tax paid by the importer: ultimately, the consumer, Trump’s economist confessed. Shoes already pay duty so tariffs are double tax industry. Apple watches, flat screen TVs and high chairs all got waivers during the last round of tariffs. 47,000 requests have been submitted on steel and aluminum tariffs. American steelmakers have successfully blocked thousands of waiver applications, with more than half the objections coming from just a handful of big steel producers. So U.S. Steel, Nucor and AK Steel have effectively become an oligopoly. They can control prices since everyone, but them, must pay the tariff tax. The farm welfare goes mainly to the large agribusinesses so they become larger and buy up small family farms. We pay for the Export-They can’t compete on price. Using the 2017 Opportunity Zones tax break, the wealthy can reduce their gains’ taxes to 0%. We can’t do that. We pay for their tax breaks as group, ‘socially.’

Trump’s Socialism: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Socialism-for-Rich-little-people-pay/dp/1535218584

Despite DEM talk, wealth gap will become larger

The rich benefit from a rising stock market. They have doubled their wealth since 2012 just by letting their money alone. The richest people have increased their share of stock ownership over the last 30 years. 1% of households now own 50% of all household equities, up from 39% in the late 1980s. Just over half of Americans own stocks. Two-thirds of Americans do not even participate in or have access to a 401(k) plan, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Working people, whose income has remained the same since the 1970s (inflation-adjusted), can’t afford to save and invest. Trump promised his tax cut was for workers, but corporations are giving it to stockholders. Even with everyone in the household working when they can, the cost of living does not allow for a savings/ investing plan. Most do not know about the Miracle of Compounding and a tax-free account. These strategies could help most people have enough in retirement.

Use these tools to assure your retirement: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Wealth-Reserve-Save-year/dp/107028288X

Why your broker/advisor called the market move wrong

When the markets took a break from historic long bull at the end of 2018, many so called ‘professionals’ sent their money to fixed vehicles. Of course, then the bulls continued to run despite the various ‘signals’ sent from Washington. We don’t ever learn: none of these people can predict the future—they’re salespeople. That was my first lesson at my brokerage firm in 1987. So you missed another 12% gain. So what if the market swings wildly from day to day. If you can’t stand it then don’t—spread your money around—don’t follow their advice. You know down deep that they are not going to be right most of the time. Accept the returns of a diversified portfolio knowing that every sector has its day in the sun. Pick a balanced fund like Wellesley Income and just hold it for 9.69% since 1970 or buy BRK for 20%. Boring, yes; but profitably steady.

Find another hobby: https://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X

**************

Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

“The campaign -- for him -- was always a marketing opportunity.”

Two

Americas

: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

Will voters who need ObamaCare vote for it?

Can a mob boss snub Congress’ subpoena?

***********************

How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have!

Govt filed 2,000 actions against opioid makers that created epidemic 47,600 deaths 2017.

Trump: lower medical costs by disclosure of secret pricing. Med industry pays CEO more

Trump against America’s wishes, gives weapons for oil to dictator to kill its neighbors.

Trump adds new tax on stuff we buy from Mexico: tariff is tax we pay—cars, foods

GOP wants citizenship in Census (count ‘persons’ not citizens) to mislead us.

GOP will NOT secure and protect 2020 election: Putin will decide next US prez.

How building manager can bring peace to most contested property in world.

Deregulation gone amuck: TX cancels plumber regs, license and test so all die from gas.

SCAMS/SPINS:

Trump OK with Kim’s missiles and name-calling US political candidate: Dictators agree.

GOP voter fraud game shown to be just a propaganda trick to help TX GOP win.

How much is death by intentional opioid poisoning worth in OK?

Wealthy could buy Hollywood high school diplomas too: $280

Credit score: MN or MS—713 or 652—which state are you in financially?

Prevagen is fake--real exercises to keep yourself sharp for life: Why Jellyfish?

BayerMonsanto caught manipulating science, EPA and media: $2 billion cancer

Annuity lobbyists caught hiding windfall deal inside retirement bill to delay RMD.

Employers have new way to stop pension growing even when you keep working.

Michael Bastardi caught ignoring requests about fraud forgery: barred

Stephen Anderson NC caught overcharging clients: fine no jail

James Daly Michael O’Keeffe, MA caught losing $10 million on oil & gas for all clients

Never wire money without calling receiver to confirm: mortgage escrow scam.

Never refi mortgage without shopping rates/fees/charges: lender churning scam.

Never take default help without shopping rates/fees/charges: fake govt help scam.

Never pay pre-rental fee without confirming agent authority: fake rental deposit.

The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no contempt.

‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.

Supremes protect Don’s ‘Orders’? – GOP: ‘Sure, prez can change Constitution anytime.’

"Charging the President with a crime was therefore not an option we could consider."

Jobs:

10 best entry-level with a bright future: engineers and nurse assistant in demand.

Supreme Court: employers can use forced arbitration clauses that strip workers of rights.

Dick’s Sporting not hurt by banning AR rifle sales last year.

20 Fastest-growing jobs: pay is low for some; college required for some; solar & wind.

Who owns your account now?

I chose scuba diving old wreck over Everest climb this week end. I hate crowds.

Congress to change retirement account rules: fixing old laws

Fed employees soon to have other Thrift Plan options to take retirement money

Miracle:

Home Depot the helpful place: builds a walker when insurance can’t.

Alex Trebek's pancreatic-cancer tumors shrinking at 'mind-boggling' pace. Prayers!

8 spellers tie after Spelling Bee ran out of words: $50,000 each! WOW first time!

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts

Friday, May 24, 2019

Look before you leap

Why annuities are hot again

Trump cancelled the Fiduciary Rule which protected us from the worst abuses of the high-octane industry sellers. Sellers can collect 6-10% of your annuity purchase price so every high-net worth customer needs an annuity. This is one of the highest payouts for most sellers. The Rule made certain demands on sellers to prove their annuity with up to 15 years of surrender charges was your best deal for retirement income. Yes some contracts allow you to participate in market upswings and limit your loss, but your gains are cut off by contract limits and the ongoing costs. These can go up to 3.35% depending on your choice of options. Since the alternatives, which may be better for you, provide much less income for the seller, you can understand why Obama’s Fiduciary Rule was abolished. Yet, you can have income and growth at lower cost and maintain control.

Consider the options first: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Buy-That-Annuity-Guaranteed/dp/1466494573

Your portfolio could have beat Yale’s investment gurus without the cost

David Swensen, the longtime investing chief at Yale University, got $4.7 million in compensation in 2017, making him the highest paid at Ivy League schools. His helper got $3.5 million. Yale has posted a return of 11.6% in the five years through June 2018, the second-best gain in the Ivy League. If you had followed Warren Buffett’s advice, you would have earned 12% for that period. You don’t need a high-cost broker/advisor or firm. You need common sense. If you pay more, you earn less—up to 63% less over time. If you pay a salesperson, you lose money. If you try to trade or time the market you earn 3.79% over time according to DALBAR scorekeepers. Yale does not do fast trading or market timing. Compare the holdings of most pension funds like CaPERS: 50% equities using low-cost passive index funds. Even for pros, it isn't about stock-picking. It's about owning the market over time.

Use the Buffett strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffetts-Investment-Secret-Steeple/dp/1484189809

Financial regulators ID 61 firms as high risk for cheating clients

FINRA proposes to watch rogue firms for irregularities. They attract sales people with questionable histories. Regulators allow sellers to move from firm to firm despite client- abuse patterns. "The most critical is a pattern of disclosures," he said. "For example, a broker could have an unauthorized trading complaint that is recent but seems benign. But when you look at the broker and the movements he has had, say four or five different firms, and he has faced similar allegations at those firms but in a different time frame with different customers, the pattern seems to be emerging, so we are going to take a closer look." FINRA does not try to weed out the violators—violators are found by us when we complain. Regulators have a list of high-risk brokers using industry and disclosure data, and then begins its analysis. The list is not available to us. All we can do is check FINRA BrokerCheck and the list of barred brokers. We are the victims but most perps just move on to new firm.

Buffett says we are better off on our own: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffett-Your-Investment-Advisor/dp/1518690963

Is ‘factor-investing’ right for you?

New name but old gimmick to try to predict the future. Brokers/analysts claim they are customizing your portfolio using whatever you need—“higher returns or lower risk, such as momentum, value or size.” They say they use factor analysis to find a fund “less expensive versions of your current portfolio.” I am a little skeptical since brokers or advisors are hired to ‘earn’ money from your money. Others claim they use it to find a fund “to reduce investment risk.” And you thought that was what your advisor did all the time for their 1-3% fees and charges. "If we get risk right, the returns will take care of themselves over a long period of time, and we know that staying in the market is the important part." ‘IF’. Assumptions work in a strong market and an advisor can show the ‘factor analysis’ to keep us in the market. But this new name and fees for choosing value, size, momentum, quality, price, dividend yield and volatility cannot make the future predictable. The average managed-account investor is still earning less for every period: only 3.79% over time instead of the market index rate of 10-12%.

Forget the fad, take 10-12%: https://www.amazon.com/You-Beat-Wall-Street-professionals/dp/1986031373

Where do your broker-advisor fees go?

The first thing I learned working in a brokerage firms is that senior management must get rich from your advisor or broker. Don’t kid yourself (or let them try to), they are after a big chunk of your money. You may be investing for the benefit of you and your family but so are they but they’re taking theirs from yours. Are you surprised by how much you are paying annually for James P. Gorman, Morgan Stanley taking: $28,168,639; Jim Cracchiolo, Ameriprise Financial: $22,310,000; Timothy Sloan, Wells Fargo: $18,400,000; Terrence P. Laughlin, Merrill Lynch: $17,796,226; Walter W. Bettinger II, Charles Schwab: $15,627,607; Paul Reilly, Raymond James: $12,453,375; Ruediger Adolf, Focus Financial Partners: $11,637,251; Dan H. Arnold, LPL Financial: $7,128,351; Ronald J. Kruszewski, Stifel Financial: $5,287,305; Judson Bergman, Envestnet: $4,200,366; Thomas A. Nally, TD Ameritrade Institutional: $3,521,305; Richard J. Lampen, Ladenburg Thalmann: $3,115,271; Robert D. Oros, H.D. Vest: $1,464,473. Fidelity is owned by the Johnson’s so we don’t know how much CEO takes. Half of investors now in low-cost indexes: https://www.amazon.com/Pimps-Wall-Street-money-middlemen/dp/151525254X

Seventh biggest mortgage lender in the country is us

We are ‘giving’ our kids over $39,000 for a home. The average U.S. home price in 2018 was $310,000. Many parents can’t help themselves and provide help even though it may leave them with a shortfall now or later. After all that chunk of retirement money could have provided $300,000 in 20 years. Most loans become gifts since the children are tackling new family, student loans of $30,000 on average and finding full-time careers. One alternative is to save with your children—match their savings/investing—dollar for dollar until they have the home down payment. Another solution: folks might find it easier to take out a HELOC on their own home to make the kid’s down payment. Home equity loans are deductible and perhaps have a lower rate than the student loan. Make a deal: exchange your old car for their new one. New cars can cost $40,000. If they don’t buy or make payments on one, they can invest that $400 a month instead. Remember, an easy down payment gift provides no ‘skin in the game’ for them.

Save on home purchase process: https://www.amazon.com/Insiders-Guides-Discount-Financial-Services/dp/143480593X

Is the American middle class doomed?

If you think you are middle class, you are, according to some writers. But since the 1980s, the productivity gains have all gone to the top 1% of earners (23.5% of all income; up from 8.9% 30 years ago). It now takes two workers, usually well educated to create the same lifestyle as the average family in the 1950s and the 1960s. Wages are LESS than they were in 1973! Many of our children are creating extended family groupings like in the 1800s. Only the ‘robber barons’ could afford a home of their own. We go further in debt trying to keep up. Work operations change very quickly—keeping up our skills requires continuous learning—we never had to do that before this generation. Generations live in mobile homes now. Walmart may be the best paying job in town so food stamps are necessary. 62% of us don’t have enough for an emergency when it comes. It feels like we are on the road to serfdom.

According to one writer, its elements are: (i) internationally, capitalism is restructuring and U.S. global hegemony is fraying; (ii) domestically, the post-WW-II good-life of the “American Dream” is slipping away; (iii) politically, democracy is eroding, a casualty of big money and voter suppression; and (iv) legally, law enforcement is being increasingly militarized. Only the corporations and wealthy have the power to actually do anything. Many of them are propped up by ongoing tax breaks and subsidies from tax payers. Even our reps in Congress are powerless without the dough to stay in Washington so they follow the rule of money. Our government leaders are above the law we are subject to, just like serfs. We don’t even fairly elect our own president anymore. Scalia taps Bush.

Quasi-feudalism: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Socialism-for-Rich-little-people-pay/dp/1535218584

Need a graduation gift?

YOUR choice: https://www.amazon.com/Give-child-leg-up/dp/1096505355

**************

Make

~~America~~

, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

“The campaign -- for him -- was always a marketing opportunity.”

Two

Americas

: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

Will voters who need ObamaCare vote for it?

Can a mob boss snub Congress’ subpoena?

***********************

How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have!

Now Iran? We are still in Syria, Afghanistan, S Korea, Japan, Germany, 150 more. Debt.

Not invade Iran today: CIC says there is ‘no indication anything has or will happen.’???

Trump made up ‘threat’ from Iran to send war ships to impress base. What’s next?

Trump admits he is ‘stable genius’: Proof—just ask his employees- Kellyanne, Larry, Sarah, Oh My.

States fight Trump ban on hospital workers treating patients he does not want to help.

Tax breaks for wealthy but no tax payer jobs at crumbling infrastructure firms

Senators pass 2 bills in 2 mo: lay them off until McConnell retires—saves $10 million.

Farmers’ socialism; beer makers lost 40,000 jobs: Trump like Putin makes winners/losers

Trump Mob gives tariff waivers to the firms they like: others on hold.

TX GOP cancels disaster relief for fires, floods and hurricanes. No reason for ‘no’.

SCAMS/SPINS:

What would GOP do if DEMs refused to provide info they requested from WH? Arrest?

Why are those who defy subpoena NOT in jail now? Are all GOP above the law? Trump?

Pelosi: Trump “engaged in cover-up” so is that ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’?

EPA to ‘cook the books’ on coal pollution so report less than 1400 deaths per year.

If All the President’s Men can ignore the law, are the wealthy far behind? Biz espionage?

Wealthy skipping IRS audits—all 5 auditors working on ‘Trump audit’?

GOP fails to block China’s car maker in US transit: Follow the money. Buy American???

Trump Mob promised banker job for $16 million loan to Manafort: Jared: “on it.”

Don Jr will tell all in new book even if from prison: follow the money

Ford soon delivering pkg to your home by robots: $1,000 but no tipping needed

Coal industry may be shut by insurers not govt to control storm damage claims

No more low dose aspirin: bleed in skull

Trinity Healthshare called sham ministry: deceptive practices.

Life Partners Protective Life caught overcharging older investors in resale scheme.

“Credit reporting, credit repair services” category with most complaints at CFPB.

FCC get carriers to block Robo calls? Lost revenue?

Morgan Stanley’s Tim Prouty caught using complex risky strategy: client wins $519,000

Randy Rodberg; Andrew Costa; Claude Mosely; Marcus Bray caught Woodbridge ponzi.

BBT caught overcharging own employees in 401k: breach fiduciary duty.

Portfolio Advisors Alliance, Allen, Wasserman caught selling fraud private placement.

Daniel Pacheco, CA caught selling speculation on ‘cryptocurrency’ pyramid scheme.

Argyle Coin Jose Angel Aman caught selling Ponzi “fancy colored diamonds.”

TurboTax Uses A “Military Discount” to Trick Troops Into Paying to File Their Taxes

Weinstein pays $44 million for crimes but no jail time: Moguls cost of doing business?

Trump Mob lining up pardons for friends and partners: ‘Mobsters dream come true.’

The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump has Kava as Supreme so no contempt.

‘No man is above the law’ … well up till now. Dictators nullify courts first, then votes.

Supremes protect Don’s ‘Orders’? – GOP: ‘Sure, prez can change Constitution anytime.’

Jobs:

Where did our pay increases go since 1980?: the famous 1%ers took productivity gains.

Walmart next day delivery for free on $35 orders; Amazon $49 delivery free some ZIPs.

Ford cuts 1200 from management; 7,000 worldwide.

Canada

Mexico

workers rejoice! Trump lifts steel alum tariffs.

Who owns your account now?

tap-to-pay credit and debit cards issued by banks try out on NYC subways

Navigators Group to the Harford

Bezos keeps all your transcripts of Alexa recordings even after you ‘delete’ them.

Miracle:

Software investor helps graduates with loans

Another body in space is not on same course as ours: we survive—it’s a miracle!

17 y old student set to graduate from Harvard just days after high school diploma.

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ 07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts

Friday, May 17, 2019

Need a graduation gift?

YOUR choice: https://www.amazon.com/Give-child-leg-up/dp/1096505355

The BIG Con: Earn up to 7% with NO MARKET RISK

Looking for the Highest Guaranteed Return?

This is the current misleading ad from an annuity marketing firm. The insurer is not mentioned—for good reason. The best REAL rate is 4.3% but you must keep your money locked up for 10 years or pay the surrender charge. See the disclaimers: * Effective yield displayed. First year rate is higher than subsequent years.** Rate may be lower in certain states. Only a gimmick or trick from a carrier could show a pretend rate of 7%. But this is the only way salespeople can get your attention. Unbiased information is not easily available because most annuity contracts are complicated. 7% may be the ‘potential’ return for a SINGLE period like monthly indexed annuities. However you need to be an actuary to figure out how the terms of the contract will produce your real return. When I was in the business, we only cared about the commission to us and how brokers/advisors could push the sale to clients. None of us understood the actual calculations. But people will buy anything when the alternative is a 3% CD and a volatile market.

It doesn’t have to be that way: https://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X

Liberty Mutual claims it customizes Mr Landry’s special needs coverage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQnbL_5ZgbY

Every insurer claims “you only pay for what you need” and then they go on to include in their ‘standard policy’ a bundle that includes life, disability, accidental death, funeral, extraordinary medical, income loss, medical payments coverage, and medical insurance. But most people already pay for these coverages. Your premium is not usually itemized so you don’t see they add charges for towing and rental car loan and insurance as well as accident forgiveness, waiver of depreciation, full replacement if totaled, uninsured /underinsured motorist coverage, family protection coverage, mechanical breakdown coverage, gap insurance, ‘stacking’ and many other things. For instance, if you are insuring an older car you may not need comprehensive coverage. You also may NOT be told about all of your insurer’s discounts or their complaint history. Remember, the commissions and profits are determined by the premium you will be paying for the next 20-30 years. Every insurance company can ‘customize’ your coverage to pay less if you know their discounts and your ‘needs.’ Cancel double coverage you don’t need.

Save over time: https://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634

Bull market took 10 years to recover but what could you do about 2007-8?

Jeff Sommer writer of ‘Strategies’ in the Times, noted that it took a rise of 100% after a 50% decline and so we should learn that “avoiding big losses was probably more important than reaping big market gains.” YES, but how Mr Sommer? He didn’t tell readers in Nov 2007 that the market would drop and so get out. No one did. Sommer advises us to look at longer periods to understand what the stock market can do for our expectations. We don’t have to use the ‘artificial’ calendar cut offs to gauge performance. I don’t think any of us or our advisors can predict the future so I refer him to the graphic by Richard Bernstein or the chart by DALBAR showing that our best deal is a low-cost index tracking the S&P 500. Yes there are ups and downs but I will take 10.98% a year since 1976. No other asset can claim that record: Govt bond 7% since 1980; Corporate bonds 8% since 1973; Commercial real estate 10.23% since 1996; Gold 5.5% since 1993; Commodities 4.2% since 1993. Owning the 500 Index is what Warren Buffett advises.

Either 3.79% or 11%: https://www.amazon.com/Win-Investment-War-Earn-11/dp/1522916369

Is this socialism?

Trump is giving $15 billions MORE to farm corporations so they make their profit goals.

Farm subsidies go to 5 crops mostly. Large agribusiness corporations not family farmers capture most of the $ billions. It is the marginal family farm that will be hurt by Trump’s tariff war with

China

. His GOP friends in Congress benefit directly from this type of socialism. There are no tariff offsets for small businesses like your local bike shop. Another type is giving profiteers federal land so they can ‘steal’ our oil/gas. We earn much less in royalties than the private landowner.

Another type of socialism is the Export-Import Bank where our largest corporations receive taxpayer-backed cheap loans they don’t need to make more for shareholders.

Another type of socialism is the price fixing that Congress allows to go on in the drug industry. We allow the drug companies to collude to raise prices on even the generic drug business the government established in 1984. Most new drugs are actually created by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). U.S.-based foundations have increased their investments in discovery and development for new drugs specific to their diseases of interest. After we pay for the research, the drug companies pay for testing and distribution (nightly TV advertising too). The government gives companies the legal right to make $ billions on each drug. After 20 years the drugs are supposed to be supplied by the generic industry at lower cost. This isn’t what happens. Congress allows Pharma to manipulate the process. Studies looking at cancer treatments have shown no correlation between the price of cancer drugs and the benefits they provide. We pay more for drugs—even 8,281% more for generics—than the rest of the world. Our government won’t bargain with Pharma on price so they are free to gouge us. I pay $15 for one Januvia pill here and $4 in

Canada

. Which should we pay?

The end result is socialism for the rich: https://www.amazon.com/Americas-Socialism-Rich-little-people-pay/dp/1535218584

Do you see a pattern investment strategy here?

This is the new Callan Periodic Table: https://www.callan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Classic-Periodic-Table-2019.pdf. I hope you can see a pattern but I sure can’t. If you knew what was on top in 2019, you could put all your chips there. But most of us don’t know. Others guess. Others read lines and charts and say they know. But they are paid to say they know. And even the most successful investors don’t know. So what can we do? Warren Buffett and John Bogle say, don’t try to find the needle, buy the haystack. But it can’t be that simple since a whole industry is devoted to finding that next big thing. And some of us pay them to do it even when they fail.

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffett-Your-Investment-Advisor/dp/1518690963

How do you judge your broker/advisor?

Are they providing the best advice possible or just OK? How do you know? How do you measure your success? Which benchmark do they use to show you how well they are doing? You know they must be paid but how are you paying them? Like every vendor you hire, you don’t want to get cheated. Unfortunately, only now is the industry starting to identify the bad brokers/advisors that move from firm to firm. John Bogle, founder, Vanguard has created low-cost investing so that we don’t need to give up 63% of our total possible accumulations because we pay too much. The actual returns of managed equity accounts have been tracked over time. DALBAR’s annual study shows we average investors earn only 3.79% on their money compared with the 11% from an index. You can end up with $854,000 or $220,000 for retirement. This is why the industry has changed. People need to hire a financial specialist like they hire a lawyer NOT like a cable firm’s monthly retainer. When we have a problem and need advice, we get it in a couple of meetings. Most of us do not need to pay 1-2% of our portfolio every quarter so that our advisor can tell us how we are doing. We can see it ourselves in our statements and strategies. Learn how to judge. Pay less; earn more: 1% or 0.04%?

Hey, it’s your money: https://www.amazon.com/Buffett-Strategy-854-000-not/dp/1978481020

**************

Make ~~America~~, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

“The campaign -- for him -- was always a marketing opportunity.”

Two

Americas

: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

Will voters who need ObamaCare vote for it?

Can a mob boss snub Congress’ subpoena?

***********************