Financial Planning Insights

Are You A 1%’er?

The IRS recently released a report with some interesting data on income trends in America. As you would expect, it takes a lot to get in the top 1% of all taxpayers. Here are some of the stats.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Take Steps to Get the Most Out of Your 401(k)

How much money you have in your 401(k) account when you retire depends in part on how you handle it (the choices you make), having a solid plan for managing it and the degree of discipline you bring to this challenge.

Avoid These Mistakes When Seeking a Mortgage

Finding an affordable home you like is only half the battle. The other half is getting a suitable mortgage at a suitable cost.

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.