Working with a fee-only planner can help you make better financial decisions and balance current needs with future goals. The result can be financial peace of mind.
How can there be more sellers than buyers? Who are those “extra” sellers selling to?
When choosing between two bond funds with similar returns to team with a stock fund, choose the bond fund with lower correlation with the stock fund you’re selecting
Social Security has been called the third rail of politics. Good thing I’m not a politician. Someone has to make the tough decisions.
Between threats of cutting tax benefits and crackdowns on non-compliant plans, for the retirement industry ‘stakes are higher than they ever were’
Not every investment consultant has your interests as the top priority, or even the necessary credentials. Here’s how to find the right type of adviser.
I recently read two articles that provided insight on how investors should respond to a market downturn.
Those productive small business owners with higher earnings are a different group from the ultra-wealthy with higher net worths.
If the GAO were giving you investment advice they would suggest that you not participate in your 401(k) and convert at least half of your retirement savings into an annuity laden with fees and expenses.
Given the dangers of worldwide sovereign debt, this may be one time when investors should continue to tilt foreign and toward specific countries.
The returns offered by immediate fixed annuities aren’t as good as they sound. The sleight of hand in this case is the immediate loss of 100% of your principal. They are fixed for you to lose and the insurance company to win.
Most financial planners have a difficult time helping clients reduce their spending habits and start saving.
Ronald Regan’s speeches, including “A Time for Choosing” (1964) are worth watching.
We simply can’t spend our way into prosperity.
Calling this a “Tea Party downgrade” might be true in one sense. There weren’t enough members of the Tea Party to overcome the stubbornness of those refusing to make real spending cuts.
A study by Morningstar cited in the Journal of Indexes shows that investors under-perform the very funds they are invested in by 1.5%. Learn how that is possible and avoid that mistake.
“One of the jobs of a financial adviser is to keep people from doing things that feel like the emotionally right thing to do but statistically are the wrong thing to do.”
On August 9, 2011, David John Marotta appeared on 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show to discuss the weak government debt deal, the U.S. Credit downgrade, and the subsequent drop in the Stock Market.
Last year people who took our advice saved literally thousands of dollars on their Virginia taxes. A dollar saved on your taxes is more valuable than a taxable dollar earned in income.
On volatile days like yesterday, I always recommend looking at longer term movements.
I was asked to speak at the Leadership Development Center at the University of Virginia’s EAN Annual Conference on Thursday, August 4th 2001. I’ve collected links to all the resources I mentioned in that talk here in one place.
Clark Howard recently advocated using a fee-only advisor generally and the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) in particular.
The legendary PBS TV series “Free to Choose” (1980) by Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman is now available on Google Video for free (by courtesy of the Palmer R. Chitester Fund).
Our country’s debt and deficit is difficult to understand in the abstract. Translating it to the numbers on each taxpayer’s credit card can help us see how our country’s spendthrift ways have debilitated economic productivity.
“If you want advice that’s free of such conflicts, you’ll need to look for a true fee-only (not fee-based) financial planner.”
A conversation between a wirehouse advisor and a senior citizen who seeks trust
Federal revenue has been relatively constant while federal spending has grown out of control.
The Obama administration has been claiming that failure to raise the debt ceiling would be the end of the world. We are all tired of failed apocalyptic predictions. Perhaps all that will end is politics as usual.
Money worries are harming marriages and impairing health, according to a quarter of 1,400 married individuals polled online recently by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling.
Adding bonds to an all-stock portfolio can boost returns and lower volatility, especially in choppy markets. Bonds should be a small but important part of your gone-fishing portfolio allocation.
Before you spot a single Ivy League or big-name private school, public campuses grab 17 of PayScale’s first 18 spots. Leading is Georgia Tech’s 13.9% return on investment. Next is the University of Virginia’s 13.3%.
To solve the deficit reduction riddle, Obama reportedly is embracing an idea that purports to raise tax revenue without a tax hike and claims to cut Social Security outlays without cutting benefits. Better check your wallet.
Despite assurances to the contrary, a segment of hedge funds still has up to $100 billion locked up and won’t allow redemptions.
International bonds now make up more than 35% of the world’s investable assets, and yet many domestic investors have little or no exposure to these securities.
On Tuesday, July 12, 2011 from noon-1pm, David John Marotta was interviewed on radio 1070 WINA’s Rob Schilling Show. The topic was the battle between Amazon.com and the state of California over taxation.
Hard assets have been one of the most significant asset classes over the last decade. From all indications, it will continue to be a critically important investment category to protect your portfolio from the effects of inflation and the continuing devaluation of the U.S. dollar.
This article from Donald Jay Korn for Investor’s Business Daily describes the benefits of advance tax planning to reduce the tax bite that is inevitable as you grow older and required minimum distributions (RMDs) become a larger portion of your retirement account.
Last month the Obama administration announced it would release 30 million barrels of oil, the largest ever, from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Only those without an understanding of basic economics would applaud such a move.
David Marotta discusses why real estate should be part of a portfolio asset allocation.
Even in our gone-fishing portfolios we suggest investing more overseas than in the United States. For most investors, foreign stocks will be their largest and most important allocation. Including the right mix of foreign stocks will help you relax and go fishing no matter which foreign seas are in turmoil.
On Jun 21, 2011, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show to discuss which countries to avoid investing in, or to underweight, due to high debt and deficit and low economic freedom.
David Marotta discusses avoiding countries with high debt and deficit.
Creating a gone-fishing portfolio begins with a top-level asset allocation. We use six asset categories. The three for stability are short money (maturing in less than two years), U.S. bonds and foreign bonds. The three asset categories we use for appreciation are U.S. stocks, foreign stocks and hard asset stocks.
Americans seem to be divided on the importance of raising the U.S. debt ceiling. Regardless of your personal politics, avoid investing in countries that cavalierly allow their debt and deficit to balloon.
Summer is almost here. It’s time to go fishing or take a trip or do wherever else you enjoy while on vacation. Unless your interests lie in investment management or you have a trusted fiduciary watching over your investments, consider having a portfolio designed to allow you more time to relax.
Understanding how Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) works uncovers some of the complex cause and effect between Social Security adjustments and the real cost of living with higher gasoline prices.
The United States has three sectors of the economy suffering under regulatory red tape: financial services, energy and now health care. I’m certain the financial services regulations have caused more harm than good.
Save your money for what you are truly passionate about.
In 2010 I published a column entitled “Now’s Still the Time to Buy a House.” Investing is like chess in slow motion. It is important to review your moves to see how they turned out. Sometimes they don’t turn out well. Our prediction about real estate, however, was brilliant.
The old saying is true: Money can’t buy happiness. Families earning $25,000 a year overspend trying to keep up with those making $50,000, who in turn attempt to live like those making $100,000. For many families the lure of consumerism wins out over qualities like foresight and patience that saving requires.