The Unintended Consequences Of The Tax Law

With the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, millions of Americans will see two broad themes. First, personal exemptions are eliminated and itemized deductions are being curbed with the reduction in the state and local tax deduction. Individuals are finding that their taxable income is going to be higher in 2018.

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Five Things Your Financial Advisor Should Be Doing

There are a good number of articles on the internet about how to choose a financial advisor. I thought I would write one on what you should expect from your advisor if you already have one. We believe there are some key areas that all comprehensive advisors should be monitoring for their clients.

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Is The Stock Market Game Causing Bad Behavior In Our Children?

Our first introduction to the stock market came from playing some version of the stock market game in high school for many of us. To be sure, there are some great things about this game, but it can start students on a path of bad behavior when it comes to investing.

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Amending Warren Buffet’s Golden Rule

One of the more damaging pieces of advice to the average investor is Warren Buffet’s famous investment rule: “Rule No. 1: Never lose Money. Rule No. 2: Never forget Rule No. 1.” While this folksy wisdom has a great ring to it, it can be easily taken out of context.

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Is Your Advisor a Part-Time Fiduciary?

When you visit a doctor, you probably assume that he/she must do what is in your best interests and not what maximizes that doctor’s income. And you would be correct. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said with financial advisors. Being a fiduciary means that an advisor must legally put the client’s interests first.

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“Sixty Percent Of The Time, It Works Every Time”

You may recognize the quote in the title from the movie Anchorman. This can be a lot like stock pickers, pundits, and TV personalities. You should run from anyone who is using prediction for the basis of advice.

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Is Relying On Stock Markets For Economic Signals A Mistake?

If we had signals that told us with certainty what direction the economy was headed, we might have an edge in our investment strategy; we would know when it was a good time to invest when to proceed with caution or put the brakes on.

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How Many Clients Does Your Advisor Work With?

How Barron's Top 1,200 financial advisors effectively serve 521 clients? We have clients from these firms coming to our firm every month looking for a better solution.

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More Conflicts At Big Brokerage Firms

Did you ever wonder how a financial advisor makes their investment recommendations?  There are thousands of mutual funds on the market today.  How does he/she pick one over the other?  If your advisor works for a big brokerage firm like Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch, some of the decision-making is taken out of his/her hands.

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