Financial ‘advisors’
you should NOT hire
Complaints to
regulators show that many working people pay the wrong people for advice. Poor
advisors can work for a prestigeous Wall Street firm or a rogue firm. That
is why you must ask perspective candidates the right questions. First you examine
your new advisor’s work history at https://brokercheck.finra.org/:
how many customer complaints, how many firms. For example: https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/5055667. Your choice should hold a CFP certificate
(fiduciary) as well as exhibit similar work experience as this Investment
Advisor: https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1481083.
Never pick your
first candidate. Never pick someone with the wrong specialty, like a popular
stock picker. Never pick someone with a strategy you don’t understand. Never
pick a person who can’t explain how they and their employer get paid. I found
out that Vanguard the large mutual fund seller provides its own financial
advisors who don’t sell products and their fee is reasonable. I use their
unbiased advice often.
https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Financial-Advisors-Told-alternatives/dp/1478281545/
Graduation gift that lasts a lifetime
Give your teen the easy way to be secure: a $ million tax-FREE fund. Make sure you teach your kids how to create wealth the easy way. My parents were not investors. At my first job, I had no clue which investment option to use for my 401k contribution 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. I have used this 'Wealth Reserve' as I call it to have funds to buy low-cost insurance, to buy two homes and 5 cars with higher down payments or cash, and now to receive $2,500 a month in retirement supplement. Now your child can build an account that provides tax-FREE education and retirement income too. Market provides 11% a year over time: double your money every 7-8 years.
Time is on their side: https://www.amazon.com/Give-your-child-leg-up-manage/dp/1096505355
Are money market accounts
right for you?
Banking turmoil and
high yields pushed many savers into these funds. However there are some risks.
Many bank CD holders see rates of 4.49% (Fidelity Government Money Market Fund
(SPAXX) and grab them. However, some ‘grabers’ are not aware of the quick
outflows due to the kind of assets in Prime MM funds. These funds hold
commercial paper (short-term loans to firms) which can fall in value quickly. There
are three main kinds of funds: government, prime and Treasury: low-risk
assets (cash); all kinds of assets (commercial paper); and Treasury bills and
cash (gov guaranteed) respectively. Treasury funds can spike rates because of
the Congress fights over the debt ceiling. There’s no guarantee you won’t lose
money. Most funds have no FDIC nor floor in case they drop in share value.
Given any future financial ‘hiccups’ your money may be at risk. However your
money is also at risk with a 0.25% 48-month bank CD. Inflation kills account
value. Plus these MM funds actually take your money as ‘costs’: from 0.09% at
Vanguard to 0.34% at Schwab and 0.42% at Fidelity. Every financial product
has risks and rewards—that’s why they call it ‘investing.’ Readers’ balanced
portfolios earn about 7.5% a year on average.
The answer is a
balanced portfolio: https://www.amazon.com/MasterClass-Buffetts-SIMPLE-Strategy/dp/1983485268
What is a balanced
portfolio?
My readers have
chosen many solutions to the long-term investing question. Since they recognize
that they are not going to get rich quick, they follow the most successful
UN-biased analysts we had and have today. For many, Buffett, Bogle and Malkiel
were the starting point in their search. No single strategy for stock-picking investing
has tested best in recent history. Burton Malkiel looked at investing
strategies and concluded that because of costs and purchase timing, an index of
large stocks would produce better results over time. The creation of the first retail stock index fund
by John Bogle in 1975 allowed ordinary investors to buy and hold the 500 large
Balance wins in all
times: https://www.amazon.com/Vanguards-Top-Ten-mutual-funds/dp/150073909X
Is now a good time
to “Buy on the dip”?
Some analysts are
taking advantage of buying stocks they like; especially
now when stocks are “on sale.” Some stocks that were or are ripe for this
strategy: Tesla and Schwab. However, these folks are trying to “time the
market.” Since my readers and I follow Buffett and the conclusions from
thousands of studies on this strategy, we pass. Proof: a current study shows
that passive funds beat “professionally” managed funds even
when high-cost managers are supposed to beat index funds during times of increased volatility. Buffett:
“We continue to make more money when snoring than when active." Buffett’s
advice: “Most investors, both institutional and individual, will find that the
best way to own common stocks is through an index fund that charges minimal
fees.... Paradoxically, when ‘dumb’
money acknowledges its limitations, it ceases to be dumb.” Some analysts
see a recession coming so even ‘buying on the dip’ price may cause you to
lose money when the price falls even further. Buffett: “more
U.S. banks are likely to fail.”
Be patient. No one can predict the future! “Know your limitations.”
Go back to sleep: https://www.amazon.com/Snoring-Best-Way-Create-Wealth/dp/1466408928
Is complex investing
strategies right for you?
When it comes to
investing, keep it simple for best results. Mutual
funds were originally meant to make life simple. At a time when it was
difficult or impossible for individual investors to assemble a diversified
portfolio without paying steep trading commissions, funds such as MFS
Massachusetts Investors Trust MITTX, Vanguard Wellington VWELX, and Pioneer
Fund PIODX started a brand-new profitable industry. Now at over 10,000 funds
and ETFs, complexity, as a marketing tool has made products more expensive but
less rewarding for us. Many of the funds that investors encounter should only
play a small role in their portfolios—if any role at all. Core holdings,
meanwhile, make up less than one fourth of the fund coverage. Complex products
hide the actual investor returns leading to a 1.7% GAP between actual and
reported total returns. It is hard for the sellers to understand the complexity,
let alone the buyer. Only one number is important: how much did you earn for
the amount of investment. The rest is BS hype. You can have a complete
portfolio with just two funds for life: the
low-cost 60-40 strategy: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Robo-Advisor-Ultimate-Automatic-Management/dp/1537111957
How to make a cash
offer to win your choice home deal
The industry says a “cash
offer” is an “all-cash” bid, meaning a homebuyer wants to purchase the property
without a mortgage loan or other financing. However, few people have $514,568
as cash in the bank. Some are investors and they are principal reason for
higher prices for all of us. Some buyers have downsized and just got paid for
their house. No one pays cash in the normal meaning (green backs) as the phrase
implies. You can do a “cash offer”: obtain full mortgage approval in advance.
You have to go to the bank and obtain a completed loan for a certain amount.
For our first house in1990, we brought our 20% required down payment with our
financial application complete. We knew what we could afford with maintenance
and closing costs and insurance so the bank we chose for low rate approved the
amount within 2 weeks. Once the bank committed, we went shopping for a home we
could afford. They sent the money to our closing lawyer on the day of closing
along with title search and other closing docs. It takes preparation, patience,
and sound financial base. You will feel satisfied when you are done.
We did “all cash”
offer to win the home bidding but with tellers’ checks not ‘cash’.
Get a mortgage
commitment before you waste time shopping for a home.
New hook: Active
Personalization Is the New Active Investing’
Brokers and advisors
have to overcome the continuous underperformance to index funds returns. They
must change the name for the next “sales
hook.” the concept of active personalization, which blends traditional
approaches with more modern ones, will become more important to the younger investors.
“Active
personalization is the new active investing.” In English that means a lot
of costly trading. Eventually the younger person will realize they are paying
for movement which drives industry profits. Profits come from their money. Pay
more earn less will finally be seen if the younger investor starts asking
questions and do their own analysis. The huge growth in ETFs of every slice of
the market means that many will be tricked in buying the wrong slice at a
specific time. Advisors will have over 1 million options within the next five
years. All of this leads into ‘direct indexing’: making your own index at
higher costs. This trick was the last industry “hook” but picking stocks to
index fails because advisors don’t know what the future Apple looks like today.
Best proof of your
success is costs: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Predictor-Investment-Success-Cost/dp/1502524082
?**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************?
Like 1776, this
period is a test
of democracy—We
rejected an "American
fascist" once
The
Path to Dictatorship: 2010-2030
Parallels of this era in the past
may hint at our future: democracy breaks apart legally
Billionaires
paid $881 million for votes in 2022
midterm elections
Nov 2020 Wealthy
discredit election process
Jan
6 2021 Direct
assault failed: guns
& bombs ready
Trump
engaged in a "criminal
conspiracy" to stop Biden
“I
don’t f—ing care that they have weapons”
Trump was “detached
from reality”
Trump
used mafia-style intimidation on the defenseless
Trump still terrorizing
election woman
Parscale: “a
sitting president asking for civil war.”
Trump:
“Just
say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me”
GOP fascism: “RINO
hunt armed; no bagging limit” J6
comm threat
January
6, 2021 “A
date which will live in infamy”
Trump’s Supremes END
personal rights & state
laws except for weapons
WMDs
Fascism: GOP
to stop women leaving state for abortion
It’s
not a court. It’s a junta: Two Americas
Trump: President
Biden is 'enemy of the state'
Christian
Nationalist Party (CNP) replaces
GOP
Apr 9 Illustrated
Anne Frank book removed by Florida school
Jan 2025 Dictator
pardons himself: his Supremes agree
How Govt wastes our money:
Will GOP fix SS
benefits: Facts
About the Social Security Trustees Report
Trump judge destroys
choice of all Americans for medication abortions to ban sex
Drug
industry CEOs spent millions to get judge who now ends their system of FDA OKs
One GOP judge will erode
doctors’ ability to provide lifesaving care to all Americans
We waste $ billions
on intelligence: they
can’t even keep our secrets: National Guard
Greene defends Jack
Teixeira, suspect in documents leak, victim
of "the Biden regime"
Rich
taking water for pools robs 80 metropolitan cities around the world of fair
share
Why
we have inflation: sneakers sell for a record $2.2 million—cheap
money, tax tricks
We
bailed out rich poorly run banks $22 B: local banks don’t want to pay for
speculators
Who leaked top secret
documents? Not Trump even though Putin can give him asylum!
GOP to make
Trump ‘above the law’ legally: Congress has gone mad if Dems allow it.
Shane Lamond,
22-year vet of D.C.
police informs to Proud Boys terrorists
SCAMS/SPINS:
Assisted-living homes are rejecting Medicaid and evicting
WI seniors
KY GOP must accept Black representatives elected by their voters: dictatorship
fails
Banks Are Closing Customer Accounts, With Little
or No Explanation
Abbott Recall FreeStyle Libre: glucose monitoring system posing
a fire hazard
Illustrated
Anne Frank book removed by Florida high school
Clarence: The
sorry part: he doesn’t see optics: conflict of interest when hang with rich
Trump never stop
running even if convicted: fundraising too good to stop: needs attention
Trump delays rape trial even though victim
waited 23 years for April 25, 2023 start
Christopher Burns caught
stole $10 million from clients: promised safe high yield returns
Managers OH firm caught
stealing $72 million: 200 clients failed see brokercheck.org/
Are Nursing
Homes Paid Enough? Facts to consider: $12,623 month in MA shared room
Hackers
can take control of your car – How to protect yourself
Blackmail? Tesla employees access
our private photos/videos taken from car cameras
SIG Sauer P320
pistols can shoot without pulling trigger: 80 injured so far
AR-15: killing
co workers made easy: 13 victims have no chance to pull gun
After every American community has mass murder, will
GOP ban war machine guns?
Supremes’ new standard: if
no proof new gun law linked to 1791/1868 then new law fails test
Army Allows Soldiers with Violent
Crimes to Leave the Military Rather Than Face Trial
Christian
nation?: Gun deaths among
GOP
ready to invade Mexico: kill drug cartels, immigrants: new
hate provoked
TX
to send vigilantes to border to keep immigrants out:
Fun with AI: when
GOP wakes up, this is what we will see!
File return even if don’t need to: FREE
money from All your tax credits
Jobs
Fed jobs pay very well with benefits: https://www.usajobs.gov/
Teacher shortage: retirement, burnout, low pay, ideological intimidation
Linkin
shows firms desperate for retirees: “You appeared in 28 searches this week”:
usually 4
Who owns your account now?
Long-term care: 4.4 million have some form of long-term care paid for by Medicaid
Before waste $300: filing
taxes on
your own not as hard as thought: tips
reduce stress
Best Stick Shift
Cars: More fun than
SUV: Subaru, Honda, Mustang,
Book flight directly:
best fares shown on price
comparison sites.
Ban on
incandescent light bulbs:
FedNow: Fed’s real-time payments service launches in July for secure transfers
1st class stamps up July 9: will sales slump at 0.66?
18
Things to Buy Now Before Prices Rise
Owe tax? Reduce what you owe by contribution to deductible IRA by 4/18.
Where are you? average-credit-card-debt-by-age-federal-reserve/
Don’t settle: 3,527 candidates took the CFP Certification Exam, only 65% passed.
Best
& Worst Firms for Self-Directed Investors: J.D. Power, 2023
Miracles:
Half
More extremes: world’s
ocean surface temperature hits
record high
Leader
board in the old days: Mayan 800AD
EPA
pushes electrics faster adoption despite $40K low prices: but
its minerals in China
July 17: IRS says $1.5
billion in refunds unclaimed: people haven’t filed for 2019
A tiny implant has cured mice
of breast cancer in just two weeks: millions could survive
Bending light from
extreme gravity reveals largest black hole
so far
CA seeing a spectacular
superbloom after months of heavy rainfall
Fort
Lauderdale isn’t for partying any more: unless you like scuba
@
Our Universe is Mind-Blowing
Light is both
a particle and a wave depending on how we look at the light.
I
don’t think that there is any such thing as a position or a velocity of a
particle.
Everything (galaxies
to stones) in universe made of subatomic
energy ‘vibrations’
A subatomic ‘particle’
is the smallest possible vibration (quantum) of a quantum field.
Mass–energy
equivalence: E=mc^2. At the smallest
level; Everything is moving
Energy into matter: scientists
converted light energy directly into matter in one step
Physics Nobel Prize:
“entanglement” 2
particles share info instantly at a distance
“It may be that gravity and quantum mechanics are exactly
the same thing,” Leonard Susskind
Gravity
might induce the collapse of quantum vibrations into 1 quantum state—our
world
Bending light from
extreme gravity reveals largest black hole
so far
There is no TIME at this
level because of force fields come and go in all directions.
Universe expanding: events
may not come together like they did before: created our time.
Inside protons,
neutrons, it
is the fields of the virtual particles that creates its mass.
Gold
made from neutron stars: collisions produce more neutrons:79 protons,118
neutrons
The proton
is so complicated science still finds new energy entities/forces every
year.
“Empty space is a
boiling, bubbling brew of virtual
particles that pop in and out of existence in a time scale so short that you
can’t even measure them.” Space expanding.
The electricity we use comes
from the field around the wire not from electron itself.
Scientists
build 'baby' wormhole as sci-fi moves closer to fact: inside quantum
computer
starts-with-a-bang/universe-expansion-not-accelerating/
@
We can apply for
Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online
We can apply for Social
Security online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/
We can apply for
health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/
IAN
973.746.2014
http://www.theinsidersguides.com/
Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/
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