tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25600927104335995992024-03-10T23:24:00.498-04:00Proven Wealth Building IdeasActionable Time-Tested Strategies for Ensuring a Secure Financial Future
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.comBlogger316125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-30092633122127293832018-02-26T09:51:00.001-05:002018-02-26T16:22:31.243-05:00Could Your Investments be the Next One to Crash?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0f6QabLD0KwhwQp7rLG34H8BlsvtTKs_n8nxWWqsDc_Kmvbe_BNRzvC7We7RlDgqC3Tb9fcf9aRls_6Onx7RqEBYTZzwArfYaF9Dnh8jvQmN_raOy0VAvty_MuSHIiQ7QautNCyX8DicP/s1600/LMJ+Fund.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0f6QabLD0KwhwQp7rLG34H8BlsvtTKs_n8nxWWqsDc_Kmvbe_BNRzvC7We7RlDgqC3Tb9fcf9aRls_6Onx7RqEBYTZzwArfYaF9Dnh8jvQmN_raOy0VAvty_MuSHIiQ7QautNCyX8DicP/s400/LMJ+Fund.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Is your
money invested prudently? Do you fully understand the risks associated with
your investments and what it might take to cause a catastrophic event that
could potentially destroy your hard-earned wealth?</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Of
course, we’d like to believe that events such as waking up one day to a message
in your inbox informing you that your investments have basically evaporated
overnight is too extreme or probably impossible because, after all, we have
mutual funds which by their very definition are meant to offer some balance. Or
perhaps we’d like to believe that those Enron and Lehman Brothers days are all
behind us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Think
again. A few Tuesdays ago, people who had money invested in the mutual fund <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><b>LJM Preservation and Growth Fund</b></i>, which
held about $500,000,000 (or one-half a billion dollars), received email messages
notifying them that their fund had lost 82 percent, which effectively led to
the fund disappearing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes.
Just like that. Without any warning signs whatsoever. Or might there have been
a whiff of a warning? I’ll get to that in a moment, but for now let me point
out the irony in this unfortunate debacle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">First,
look at the fund’s name again. It’s supposed to be for “Preservation and
Growth.” So as an unsuspecting every day investor putting your wealth into it,
what would you be thinking? That you’re “preserving” and “growing” your money,
when in fact that’s only wishful thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This is
one of the huge problems I see every day in my practice – what folks think
their investments are comprised of (based on the fund’s name or so-called
investment objectives) ends up being something entirely different. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">In my opinion,
very few funds have what, for lack of a better term, I’d call “structural
integrity” and the discipline to stay true to what they purport to be. Buyer
beware, for there’s baiting and switching all around.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Here’s a
second irony. This mutual fund in question had posted positive returns in all
but one year since it was formed in 2006. That’s pretty impressive and what
most people would seek in a fund. <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">But
here’s the thing:</b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">the first rule of
prudence in investing your wealth is not to focus so much on past returns.</b>
I’m not saying they are completely irrelevant. However, you shouldn't make
life-altering decisions based solely on past performance. The focus must be on
the underlying investments; how they are diversified and whether that aligns
with your expectations. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Questions
to ask include:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">What story does the history of the mutual fund’s
underlying investments tell? Has it stayed true to its stated objectives? Or, has
it been all over the place, trying to invest in whatever is purported to be
“hot” at any given moment?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Again, keep
in mind that prudence goes beyond whether you’ve been making gains lately or
what’s in the name of your fund. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">So do
you really – and I mean <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">really</i></b> – know that your financial
advisor has the integrity, discipline, and know-how to guide you in investing
your wealth the way that you want to invest it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Obviously,
I hope you never receive any communication resembling what LJM Preservation and
Growth Fund owners received. Hopefully, you’re hearing me loud and clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: large;">__________________</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="margin-top: 12.0pt;">
<b><i><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: large; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Arial Unicode MS"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/">LaserFG.com</a> or
call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, confidential
consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart
and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will
get you where you want to go. You’ll be paired with an experienced financial
professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your
current financial situation.</span></i></b></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-21353376479622795662016-12-12T11:43:00.002-05:002016-12-12T11:43:44.110-05:00Are You Really Getting the Best Financial Advice? Really.<span style="font-size: 15pt;"></span><br />
<h2>
<span style="font-size: 15pt;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">Are you really getting the best financial advice? Really.</span></span></h2>
<h2>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9p5J8DKx3Jclko8GNQftIuy03ad1gWg4gDRsJlbG8VdC20EQPUsd3Wujc1SpeNf7AxfJymv6kaWZX5mJmSkH8OL5dlO3bW_FmJYUfGfGwbgsLpbID7lIQ1DcB-OVWUwYPgaz4i6T6ims/s1600/puppet+on+a+string.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: helvetica; font-size: 13pt; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic9p5J8DKx3Jclko8GNQftIuy03ad1gWg4gDRsJlbG8VdC20EQPUsd3Wujc1SpeNf7AxfJymv6kaWZX5mJmSkH8OL5dlO3bW_FmJYUfGfGwbgsLpbID7lIQ1DcB-OVWUwYPgaz4i6T6ims/s400/puppet+on+a+string.jpg" width="320" /></a></h2>
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"><div style="font-family: helvetica;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";"><br /></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Just this past week, an article by
Michael Wursthorn in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Wall Street
Journal</i> caught my undivided attention. </span></span></span><span style="color: #323232; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here are some
excerpts from the article, which was titled <a href="http://www.wsj.com/articles/merrill-lynch-brokers-must-make-referrals-to-bofa-units-to-avoid-pay-cut-1481124089" target="_blank">“<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Merrill Brokers Get Ultimatum: Refer New Customers or Face a Pay Cut</span>.”</a> </span></span><br /><span style="color: #323232; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Merrill Lynch
will require its brokers to make at least two client referrals to other parts
of parent Bank of America Corp. next year to avoid a cut in pay…</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…brokers who fail to refer at least two customers in 2017 to other parts of Bank of America – including its online brokerage platform Merrill Edge, its retail bank and other units – will have 1% shaved from their take-home pay or deferred compensation …</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“…That is up from one referral this year…”</blockquote>
</span><span style="color: #323232; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt;"><div>
<span style="font-size: 13pt;">You probably can now
understand why this article immediately caught my attention, right? How crazy
and out-of-this-world ridiculous could this be?</span></div>
</span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: #323232; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><span style="color: #323232; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You roll up your
sleeves and work as hard as you can to save money toward your future. You want
to get the best possible advice, so you do what you believe is prudent: go in
to talk to someone sitting in a nice office wearing a nice looking suit at one
of the largest financial institutions on the planet. And what do you know? That
person is under pressure to get you to buy a certain product or face a pay cut.
</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #323232; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In that
situation, how likely are you to get objective recommendations about what will
best for you? In my humble opinion, no matter how you look at it, this is an
all-around bad deal for unsuspecting consumers. <strong><em>No one should have to deal with
a financial advisor who has strings pulling on them to sell any specific
product.</em></strong> Because that’s what you’d be sold. Whether it’s best for your needs would
be a different story altogether. Yet things like these are happening everywhere.
Everyday. </span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #323232; font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">My hope, though,
is that you don’t fall for any of these shenanigans by ensuring that you take
financial advice only from someone who is truly independent and who sincerely
has only your best interests in mind. Please tell me that you will do so.</span></span></div>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">______________<br />Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span> Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-55500064081824378262016-11-21T09:16:00.000-05:002016-11-21T09:16:52.417-05:00Not Even the So-Called Geniuses Can Predict What the Stock Market Will Do!<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"></span></span><br />
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;">Not even the so-called geniuses can predict what the stock market will do!</span></span></span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24px;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpu_H3t6hryzloGjyN9CsyOvR-33WS9So0oeYJf31DITecPeA_s-RYWsjWDQdBpLHhwQdUzQU-IJ5lcT3E5-7wXOYIjhRJ2pw9g1L-xdhfTiHaUFovGsPFgdqFfUmJfV6GZOCH-PDO5BT/s1600/krugman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpu_H3t6hryzloGjyN9CsyOvR-33WS9So0oeYJf31DITecPeA_s-RYWsjWDQdBpLHhwQdUzQU-IJ5lcT3E5-7wXOYIjhRJ2pw9g1L-xdhfTiHaUFovGsPFgdqFfUmJfV6GZOCH-PDO5BT/s400/krugman.jpg" width="370" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">We</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15pt;">ll, let’s begin with some humor. <em><strong>In case you
may have missed it, we just elected a new president.</strong></em> </span><br /><br />
</span><div style="border-image: none;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Just a little after midnight on Election
night, Dr. Paul Krugman in his capacity as a columnist for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The New York Times</i> wrote a column headlined, </span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/projects/cp/opinion/election-night-2016/paul-krugman-the-economic-fallout" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><b>PaulKrugman: The Economic Fallout</b></span></a><i> </i></span><span style="color: #323232; font-size: 15pt;">in reaction to the results of the
of the Presidential election. </span></span><span style="color: #323232; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15pt;">Here are the first three paragraphs of that
column:</span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>It really does now look like
President Donald J. Trump, and markets are plunging. When might we expect them
to recover?</i></blockquote>
<i>
</i></div>
<i><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Frankly, I find it hard to care
much, even though this is my specialty. The disaster for America and the world
has so many aspects that the economic ramifications are way down my list of
things to fear.</blockquote>
</i><i><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Still, I guess people want an
answer: If the question is when markets will recover, a first-pass answer is
never.</blockquote>
</i><div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15pt;">Okay. Now hear me out. If you’ve followed my
work for any amount of time, you may have heard me say what I am about to
repeat perhaps a few dozen times already, so pardon the repetition, but it
seems like I am going to have to keep making this point. </span></div>
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><strong><em>When it comes to precisely what the investment
markets are going to do, no one anywhere on this planet knows.</em></strong> It doesn't
matter their level of education, net worth, eloquence, or which TV network,
magazine or newspaper they write for – they can’t predict the future. Period.
End of story.</span><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Please don't fall for any of this prognostication
nonsense, as it is indeed one of the fastest ways to destroy your hard-earned
wealth.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Now back to Dr. Krugman’s column. According to
him, the markets will “never” recover. Wow – how scary. Did you know that the
very markets about which he made that comment recovered within a matter of hours?
By the very next morning when the sun came up, they had rebounded. Not only
that, but on top of it all, they’ve hit an all-time high since then. </span><br />
<div style="margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">Talk about ridiculous assertions without any
real basis in fact that couldn’t be further from reality. <strong><em>Imagine those
unsuspecting folks who woke up the day after the elections to this column by a
man who, in many respects, is an accomplished academic – an economics professor
who has taught at prestigious institutions and a Nobel Prize recipient – and based
on his column took action with their investments. </em></strong>They would have made a
terrible mistake, wouldn’t they? Exactly. That is what I am cautioning you
against.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;">There are many people like Dr. Krugman out
there. They have very impressive backgrounds, have won many accolades, and have
really loud megaphones. But you should never, ever lose sight of the
indisputable fact that none of these folks has ever won an award for accurately
(and consistently) predicting investment markets. All they do is state their
opinions. </span></div>
<div style="margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 15pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 15pt;"><strong><em>Do not confuse opinions for facts, and
certainly never make investment decisions based on them.</em></strong></span></div>
</span></span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">______________<br />Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></span>Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-91425561285623127332016-10-31T10:17:00.001-04:002016-10-31T10:17:41.212-04:00Here’s Why Purchasing a CD at Your Bank is NOT Risk Free<b style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s Why Purchasing a CD at Your
Bank is NOT Risk Free</span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span></span></span>
<div style="margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3i_2n68dO2Gc5ay1xbA2PuOYtRBPKiIvE0i9U-Bq3oZeIIe_I3GmNKsJvXKnXjh0sv8vEHLgWRSyyxc1SuYK4khisurdKqmG3qRRA3AYKAUmCaDCNZQQN6pY9PdBEBkXWbH18oa1qKnm/s1600/sorrywereclosed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij3i_2n68dO2Gc5ay1xbA2PuOYtRBPKiIvE0i9U-Bq3oZeIIe_I3GmNKsJvXKnXjh0sv8vEHLgWRSyyxc1SuYK4khisurdKqmG3qRRA3AYKAUmCaDCNZQQN6pY9PdBEBkXWbH18oa1qKnm/s400/sorrywereclosed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">There’s
an advertising campaign being run on television by a credit union in the
Maryland area. The <strong>essence of the message they’re trying to get across is that
by investing in this institution’s certificates of deposit (CDs), you’d get to
earn interest rates that exceed the national average</strong> <b><i>without any risk – </i></b>the
ad specifically uses the words <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">risk </i></span></span></span></span></span></span><i style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">free</i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">,
which I believe is totally preposterous. Why so?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span><div style="font-family: inherit; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<div align="center">
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">You
might be thinking there’s nothing inaccurate here. CDs are known to be safe,
and therefore have no risk. I can understand that train of thought. However, it’s
not an accurate portrayal of the real situation, because when it comes to
saving/investing your money, risk comes in various forms. So that I don’t get
overly technical, let’s consider risk from just two perspectives.</span></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong><em>First of
all, there’s the risk that is associated with the stock market’s movements</em></strong> that
could drop the value of your account at any particular time. You could even end
up losing everything. For most of us, this is what we think about when we hear
the word risk as it relates to our money. That is correct and a very real risk,
I might add. It’s why many people choose to go with CDs in the first place. But
there is more to the risk than that. </span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
<strong><em>second type of risk</em></strong> I want to bring to your attention involves a <strong><em>situation
where you could end up losing your money due to impropriety or bad management
of a company that could result in it going out of business</em></strong>. This is also very
real and happens all the time (especially with banks and credit unions), doesn’t
it?</span></span></div>
<div style="font-family: inherit; margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now
here’s the million dollar question. While it’s true that the first type of risk
associated with fluctuations in the market is avoided when you buy a CD at a
bank or credit union, isn’t the second type of risk still present? While you
are thinking about it, have you ever wondered why in the world banks like to
proudly remind us of the fact that our deposits are insured by the FDIC? <strong><em>Would we
need FDIC protection on something that is “risk free”? Of course not.</em></strong></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 12pt 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">As I
have always maintained, people are smart and know exactly what they want for
themselves and their loved ones. The financial industry as a whole owes it to
the hard-working folks who depend on us to make sound decisions to give them
pure, straightforward, factual information without any semantics. Is this too
much to ask?</span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">______________<br />Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
</span></span></span></span>Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-58387671587975915892016-09-06T10:01:00.001-04:002016-09-06T10:03:05.808-04:00What Every Retirement Investor Must See (and Take Note) from the Recent EpiPen Saga<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">What Every Retirement
Investor Must See (and Take Note) from the Recent EpiPen Saga</span></span></b><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdASZi71DbqAGEi5y6vH_iXZSgmlKSpD83C714ehfhB9GEEkHFgs4oYztY-hE4VseyrjzhVRLsoTymEfF7ewKohJhyphenhyphenFXpDQcJji8kOwzevzdNrrlZ06HQ51JfA0W3j-652yhyphenhyphen0ODFbMLG-/s1600/epipen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdASZi71DbqAGEi5y6vH_iXZSgmlKSpD83C714ehfhB9GEEkHFgs4oYztY-hE4VseyrjzhVRLsoTymEfF7ewKohJhyphenhyphenFXpDQcJji8kOwzevzdNrrlZ06HQ51JfA0W3j-652yhyphenhyphen0ODFbMLG-/s1600/epipen.jpg" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><br /></span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><strong><em>Mylan Pharmaceuticals, the maker of EpiPen, has
been in the news lately regarding some astronomical increases in the price of
its life-saving drug.</em></strong> My mission with this column is not to opine about the
details of that move one way or the other. No doubt, a lot has been said in
recent days to that end. </span></span><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">What I want to point out is a <strong><em>valuable lesson that
every stock market investor must glean from this story.</em></strong> There is a fundamental
principle to building a prudent investment portfolio that we can all learn from
this situation – and I really do hope that people will not get complacent and
ignore this lesson.</span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">What exactly am I talking about? What does a
decision by some company fatcats to jack up prices have to do with your
retirement portfolio? Allow me to explain myself. <span style="color: #0b5394;"><strong><em>Since you do not and cannot
control any bad business decisions and/or actions that company executives might
take which could, in turn, lead to serious stock price and revenue repercussions,
it behooves you to pay particular attention to the good old rule about
prudently diversifying your investments.</em></strong></span> Most of us tend to get carried away and
ignore this rule. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";">But the fact of the matter is that on any given day,<strong><em>
we may wake up to news of some event that could potentially depreciate a
company’s stock price or even wipe it out all together – and with it could go our
hard-earned wealth.</em></strong> In this particular case involving Mylan Pharmaceuticals,
you may have heard reports that the company’s stock value sank by somewhere in
the neighborhood of 3 billion dollars in just a matter of days; what you must
understand is that every cent of that loss represents somebody’s wealth. My
hope is that those folks have properly diversified their portfolios, rather
than dedicating significant portions of their investments to this one company’s
stock. </span></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><strong><em>Is
your portfolio heavily dependent on just one or a few companies?</em></strong> No company is
inoculated from an event that could be catastrophic for its stock price. It
does not matter how large, smart, or long any such company has been around. And
it certainly doesn’t matter whether several generations of your family have
been employed by this company. </span></span><br /><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"></span><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: "cambria";"><strong><em>What
do WorldCom, Enron, Global Crossing, Washington Mutual, and Lehman Brothers
have in common?</em></strong> They were all wiped out. It is however extremely crucial to
note that right up until the very day and very moment that each of them
basically evaporated from this planet, they were considered large and stable. </span></span><br />
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I
hope that I’ve made my case. My very best to you. </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;">
</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-33193164962805999572016-07-18T09:01:00.000-04:002016-07-19T00:13:23.227-04:00Why Passive Fund Management Outperforms Active Fund Management<h2>
<em><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">Why Passive Fund Management Outperforms Active Fund Management</span></em></h2>
<span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEhYkKg_r0ptzLtViIXB3PIIl6AqvuWobRxwp4U4sMyQi5TsOM1oZ4IZNtSdL8R2lJxNHNi1eadBkJSrFV5BzNA53ErTJd6qBxEgR8aX4CIZ15rR5-VPFTscgjkOArcc-Se7caLok3rHLd/s1600/active+vs+passive+funds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEhYkKg_r0ptzLtViIXB3PIIl6AqvuWobRxwp4U4sMyQi5TsOM1oZ4IZNtSdL8R2lJxNHNi1eadBkJSrFV5BzNA53ErTJd6qBxEgR8aX4CIZ15rR5-VPFTscgjkOArcc-Se7caLok3rHLd/s640/active+vs+passive+funds.jpg" width="440" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><strong><em><br /></em></strong></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><strong><em>In
my </em></strong><a href="http://laserfg.blogspot.com/2016/06/why-you-should-view-frequent-investment.html" target="_blank"><strong><em>most recent post</em></strong></a><strong><em>, </em></strong></span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"><strong><em> I made a broad
ten-thousand-foot-level argument as to why making frequent changes to an
investment portfolio – whether in reaction to or in anticipation of what the
stock market/economy might do – is destructive behavior.</em></strong></span></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt;">Today,
I would like to get a little more technical and specific, because I believe
this is such a serious issue that is the main driver in determining whether
you’ll see tangible results from your years of hard work and investing or you’ll
end up otherwise, without anything to show for your efforts.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
Active vs. Passive
Management</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><strong style="font-size: 13pt;"><em>One
of the main choices you must make as an investor is deciding the manner in
which you want your portfolio to be managed: </em><span style="color: #0b5394;">actively </span><em>or </em><span style="color: #0b5394;">passively</span><em>.</em></strong><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> In
active management, a mutual fund manager attempts to predict what will happen next
and which stocks/bonds are going to win, so to speak. This is called active
management because it involves constantly selling and buying stocks/bonds and
changing things up in an attempt to “beat” the market. Personally, I don’t
support this form of investing because in order for it to work, you’d need a
fund manager who could actually precisely predict what the markets will do in
the future. Common sense tells me that’s impossible. But let’s just leave it at
that for the moment.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The
alternative is </span><i style="font-size: 13pt;">passive </i><span style="font-size: 13pt;">management
which, in contrast, understands that since the market’s movements are random
and unpredictable, </span><strong style="font-size: 13pt;"><em><span style="color: #0b5394;">the most effective thing to do is to invest in an entire
asset class/index and leave the investments alone</span></em></strong><span style="font-size: 13pt;">. The goal of this approach is
to capture/duplicate the market’s returns, not attempt to beat it, as in the
case of actively managed funds.</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Now
let’s get back to the argument at stake. Is constantly trying to make changes
to a portfolio based on day-to-day events (active management) really
destructive for your investments?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">The
independent investment research firm Morningstar publishes a report called
<a href="https://corporate1.morningstar.com/ResearchArticle.aspx?documentId=749623" target="_blank">Active/Passive Barometer</a>, w</span><span style="font-size: 13pt;">hich
gives us a glimpse of how these two opposite approaches at managing investments
hold up against each other. Here is a quote from the report’s executive
summary:</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 12pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-pagination: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt;">…The report finds that
actively managed funds have generally underperformed their passive
counterparts, especially over longer time horizons, and experienced high
mortality rates (that is, many are merged or closed)…</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13pt;">Now
here’s my humble opinion: </span><strong style="font-size: 13pt;"><em>Attempting to actively manage investments hasn’t
worked so far, which should not be surprising at all.</em></strong><span style="font-size: 13pt;"> Human beings cannot
predict the day-by-day movements of a completely random and unpredictable
market. As the report found, not only are these active funds failing miserably,
but they also have “high mortality rates” – they have such bad results that
they end up closing.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 13pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Think
about it and invest your money prudently. My very best to you.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span><br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-39985217694536527172016-06-13T09:48:00.000-04:002016-06-13T09:48:49.672-04:00Why You Should View Frequent Investment Portfolio Changes as a Sign of Serious Trouble<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Why You Should View Frequent
Investment Portfolio Changes as a Sign of Serious Trouble</span></span></b><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3x1xgZoCdpd_1N1dT625RSf_xVYMR7F9A2237rBM0HMFPFNB1jA8TJHtvIZ3zjeFDZU7_mKLb8-DXeIdCaYxNgATAcX3kFXJ_ByNc-XFWfFWEwH7xsurcSIiUwb-UkAEZQTRuJjbvBToN/s1600/many+options.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3x1xgZoCdpd_1N1dT625RSf_xVYMR7F9A2237rBM0HMFPFNB1jA8TJHtvIZ3zjeFDZU7_mKLb8-DXeIdCaYxNgATAcX3kFXJ_ByNc-XFWfFWEwH7xsurcSIiUwb-UkAEZQTRuJjbvBToN/s400/many+options.jpg" width="202" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Many unsuspecting investors do it all
the time. <strong><em>Any time the stock market makes the news – good or bad – they react by
making changes to their existing portfolios.</em></strong> Sometimes the changes are initiated
by the investors themselves, but other times the </span></span></span><span style="font-size: 15.4px;">advisor suggests the changes, convincing
the investor to go along.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Am I implying that making changes
to your investment portfolio is a bad thing? Essentially and for the most part,
yes – except in the case of </span><a href="http://laserfg.blogspot.com/2016/02/it-sounds-counterintuitive-yet.html" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Helvetica;"><strong><em>rebalancing
your portfolio back to its targeted allocations</em></strong></span></a><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, which technically speaking
isn’t considered a change in your portfolio. Here’s why.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You visit an advisor. He or she
helps you put together what virtually any financial professional would claim is
the best possible portfolio to help you achieve your long-term financial goals,
be it retirement or college funds for your child or grandchild. Then in a
matter of just a relatively short period, without any significant changes in
your life that necessitate altering your investing profile, you need to make
changes?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Let’s think carefully about that
picture. </span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>What does it tell you about an advisor if they are constantly moving funds
around?</em></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> I interpret it along these lines: they don't really know what they’re doing,
where they’re going, or how to get there. They were hoping this portfolio they suggested
might do the trick. But, now, based on what the stock market is doing, they think
that other one will be better instead. Does this sound like what you want your
advisor to be doing with your hard-earned investment money?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It’s interesting, but some people
actually see this destructive behavior as a sign that a financial advisor is
smart and on top of things. The opposite is true, in my opinion, simply because
no one can predict what is going to happen tomorrow. So </span><strong style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>if your investment
strategy revolves around reacting to short-term market movements, you should
think twice.</em></strong><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> In fact, any time your advisor alters your portfolio in this
manner, it is indicative of only one thing: that he or she got it all wrong
previously. Isn’t it?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">_______________ </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-1407142672196117032016-05-16T09:54:00.002-04:002016-05-16T09:54:44.618-04:00Exaggeration or Cold Hard Truth that Most Financial Advisors are Full of Hot Air?<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Exaggeration or cold, hard truth that most financial advisors are full of hot air?</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJi1WDIRpmYcQ8O7mqnEkAG3bvgzCIObsgaAEWjsdnjkxBvdYAatiezqj4DTTyZAZywS9aQP8wrbnesRjuugJItd_K3ZSpBnIdnNjOQEybbxlsl0_EmwJNeGbi7RSDMNO6FJGFyfV7ZEY/s1600/cookie+cutter+advisors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJi1WDIRpmYcQ8O7mqnEkAG3bvgzCIObsgaAEWjsdnjkxBvdYAatiezqj4DTTyZAZywS9aQP8wrbnesRjuugJItd_K3ZSpBnIdnNjOQEybbxlsl0_EmwJNeGbi7RSDMNO6FJGFyfV7ZEY/s400/cookie+cutter+advisors.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I
might be over-exaggerating things here, or perhaps the situation is just as dire
as I perceive it – that so <strong><em>many hard-working people out there are getting what amounts
to shoddy treatment from the so-called financial advisors, consultants, or what-have-yous
they’ve turned to for guidance to secure their financial futures.</em></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Here’s
why I am saying this. Quite often, <strong><em>I meet and/or talk with folks who by any
reasonable standard were given bad financial advice which led them to invest their
hard-earned money in the wrong products </em></strong>– things that ended up giving them less
than optimal benefit. On the other hand, however, the advisors always end up
receiving their paychecks.
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">For
these unsuspecting folks I have personally met, <strong><em>this usually is a wake-up call,</em></strong>
but how many more out there aren’t even aware that they are not getting the
best bang for their efforts and money? Unfortunately, I think many of these
shady advisors are getting away with this unacceptable behavior. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">When
you go to talk to a financial professional about your retirement, you would
expect to get only the best suggestions. However, based on what I see in my practice
on an almost-daily basis, it seems to me that the <strong><em>vast majority of people tend
to end up with some cookie-cutter, off-the-shelf advice and products without
any real emphasis on their unique set of circumstances.</em></strong>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">So,
again, I ask: Am I over-exaggerating what’s happening out there? Of course this
doesn’t apply to every financial advisor.<em><strong> There are certainly some great
advisors out there who are actually going above and beyond to help their clients
get the best possible outcomes.</strong></em> In fact, isn’t this exactly and precisely what people
should expect from any financial professional they might talk to? <span style="color: #134f5c;"><em><strong>Why should
that be the exception instead of the norm?</strong></em></span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">_______________ </span><br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-32112854588464697232016-04-18T09:31:00.000-04:002016-04-18T10:19:57.470-04:00Unfortunately, Your Old 401k Isn’t Just Sitting There<b style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "goudy old style" , serif; font-size: medium;">Unfortunately,
Your Old 401k Isn’t Just Sitting There</span></b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCfu4nasw62Lcc_Vn_fdQPEZutc69unsh5qMcFEQZuBKu_070q9zqGh2ONssx2hhfu37Zo7YxNT2I1EPnUfbey8tpfivwQts8cftau8rYmiZtACSeG8TWLZ85anKMDbJ97dWKdlpBnB_h/s1600/Warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHCfu4nasw62Lcc_Vn_fdQPEZutc69unsh5qMcFEQZuBKu_070q9zqGh2ONssx2hhfu37Zo7YxNT2I1EPnUfbey8tpfivwQts8cftau8rYmiZtACSeG8TWLZ85anKMDbJ97dWKdlpBnB_h/s400/Warning.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><strong><em>Your
old 401(k)s isn’t just sitting there. </em></strong>And that is not unique to you — no one’s
401(k) ever just stays put, whether you are actively contributing to it, no
longer contributing to it, or no longer employed by the employer offering it.
This is the gist of a conversation that I had with someone a few weeks back. <br /><br />
This
individual was under the impression that her 401(k) from her previous employer
was simply going to stay put, now that she was no longer a part of that organization.
In her estimation, nothing would happen to her money except that over the years
she could expect to see some growth.<br /><br />
Based
on my interactions throughout the years, many unsuspecting folks unfortunately
seem
to operate under this same erroneous assumption that could potentially lead to
costly unintended consequences — as you are about to see in just a moment.<strong><em><br />
<br />
401(k)s,
like any other similar investment vehicles, have certain fees associated with
them.</em></strong> In my opinion, one of the most dreadful things surrounding these plans is
that these fees are not disclosed anywhere on the statements you receive as being
deducted from your account balance, because they are deducted directly from your returns. <br /><br />
For example, say that the fees associated with your 401(k) were
1.5 percent a year. If your investments earned, say, a 6 percent return for the
year, you’d only end up seeing an increase of 4.5 percent (6% minus the 1.5%
fee). Yes, you can say that the fees get paid on the back end.<br /><br />
In
the case of the individual with whom I had the above mentioned discussion, I was
able to dig out the associated fees on her old 401(k) from her former
employer’s Summary Plan Description document. <br />
And it wasn’t great news. As an
employee, her fee was approximately 1.5 percent annually. However, once she was
no longer actively employed by the organization, it increased to 2.5 percent. I
must note here that this practice isn’t unusual in the 401(k) world. It’s
pretty standard for your fees to increase when you are no longer part of the
sponsoring employer’s workforce. A good question is: How many folks out there
are aware of this? <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><em>Do you know how much </em><u>you</u>
<em>are paying in fees?</em> </b>The fact is that these fees matter a lot, because
they directly affect the outcome you’ll end up having when the rubber finally
meets the road.
<br /><br />
Let’s
assume this individual had about $100, 000 in this old 401(k), and it will earn
a return (before fees) of 8 percent a year for the next 10 years. If she were
still employed at the company offering the plan, her net return after deducting
the 1.5 percent in fees would be 6.5 percent. In 10 years, her money would have
grown to about $191, 218. Unfortunately, however, since she is no longer an
active employee, her fee goes up to 2.5 percent, meaning her net return comes
down to 5.5 percent, which equates to a balance of $173, 107 at the end of those
10 years. That comes to about $1, 811 extra fees a year ($18, 111 over those 10
years). <br /><br />
This
lady thought all along that her money was just sitting there; she learned the
hard way that this isn’t the case because that is not how investment accounts
of any kind work. This realization gives her the opportunity to seek an
alternate investment account that will get her the same or a potentially better
return, but with a lower fee structure so she’ll come out ahead and end up
keeping more of her money. And from where I am sitting, isn’t that the goal of
every hard working investor?
<br /><br />
When
it comes to your old — or current — 401(k), are you asking the right questions,
or simply making assumptions?</span>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">_______________ </span><br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-64218762260711880782016-03-21T10:46:00.003-04:002016-03-21T10:46:45.292-04:00Think Twice Before Contributing to a Traditional IRA<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Think Twice Before Contributing
to a Traditional IRA<o:p></o:p></span></span></b><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEEbyFduF7cfNtn7vk1uKHqwf66l3iH89YcxygDLsZQi9D5KkrI_90ACr-cQjkk5uC2r2efDM7JDoE6w_lwXJpP-tH8jT6vIRxbT4Hu6uWsEpsBW-X34hlXrcifeIBrnnJHM_IuUDDSOb/s1600/strings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEEbyFduF7cfNtn7vk1uKHqwf66l3iH89YcxygDLsZQi9D5KkrI_90ACr-cQjkk5uC2r2efDM7JDoE6w_lwXJpP-tH8jT6vIRxbT4Hu6uWsEpsBW-X34hlXrcifeIBrnnJHM_IuUDDSOb/s400/strings.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">
<div class="Body" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="Body" style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s tax time once again, which
makes it the perfect time to discuss what, in my humble opinion, seems to be
one of the deadliest financial mistakes that millions of unsuspecting folks are
led to make by some tax preparers.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;">Right about now, so many folks are
being given what amounts to very short-sighted advice to make tax-deductible
contributions into traditional IRAs so that they can reduce their taxes (a.k.a.
save money and, in turn, outsmart our favorite Uncle Sam). On the surface, that
sounds like a pretty awesome situation, doesn’t it? But that is not the end of
the story. In fact, from my standpoint, it is not even half of the story.</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">First of all, it is true that once
you meet certain criteria, you are allowed to make tax deductible contributions
to an IRA. Presently, it’s up to $5,500 for those under age 50 and $6,500 for
people 50 and older. So, yes, by doing so, you would be reducing your taxes,
all things being equal, but only for today. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">However, here’s the rest of the
story – the alarming part that people often discover so many years later to
their utter dismay, at least based on what I keep seeing in my practice year
after year.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Your contributions to a
traditional IRA and the interest you earn on them accrue on a tax-deferred
basis. In everyday English, all you are doing is essentially electing to
postpone paying the taxes you owe until sometime in the future, probably when
you reach retirement age. So you really aren't avoiding any taxes – they all must
be paid sooner or later.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">So when you reach retirement age
and begin taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, every single penny will
be subject to taxes – get this – at whatever tax rate you find yourself in at
that point in time. An amazing number of people tend to think that when they
retire, they will somehow find themselves in a very low tax bracket because
they expect a drop in their total income. But it is not as simple as that,
because that is not how income taxes work. We are taxed on our “taxable income”
– not simply income, two entirely different concepts.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">And I can tell you this also. Generally
speaking, you tend to have very few deductions in retirement, compared to
earlier on in life, so your taxable income – like that of most retirees in
America today – will likely be higher than you anticipate, even though you have
a much lower total income. I am not sure if you’ve noticed it yet, but most
folks in retirement tend to not enjoy tax time at all. Not that most of us look
forward to it, but per my observations, retirees really, really dread April 15.
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Another caveat. All the withdrawals
you take from your traditional IRA in retirement also factor into how much tax
you’ll end up paying on your Social Security benefit checks. I am not sure any
of these traditional IRA gurus tell folks about this piece of crucial tax
planning information.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-size: small;">
</span><br />
</span><div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be clear. I am not telling you
that you should not own a traditional IRA, because I simply don’t know your
particular situation. I am suggesting, however, that you be mindful of the
often one-sided view offered by typical financial advisors and consider the
total picture. At the end of the day, when the rubber finally meets the road,
as it always does, you are not saving because you want to defer taxes, but because
you want to have income available for a better tomorrow. </span></span></div>
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">_______________ </span><br />
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-35912455347607572232016-03-07T09:39:00.002-05:002016-03-07T09:39:43.301-05:00From Saving to Distribution - Is Your Retirement Plan COMPLETE?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<div class="Body">
<div>
<h3>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">From saving to distribution - is your retirement plan COMPLETE?</span></span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6w509FgXVIaou3Kdn8kRplitr6Wp4mHqaIoI5JkZU2bsjGcKnhCGA6pUgnBK5YsNw7VngvEkvquOMpy0gGC1z4bCDc96c9FcblVbs-yK0xn_NlLCjmjOhuIZR158OLeKfMUL8siPLCWu/s1600/worried.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6w509FgXVIaou3Kdn8kRplitr6Wp4mHqaIoI5JkZU2bsjGcKnhCGA6pUgnBK5YsNw7VngvEkvquOMpy0gGC1z4bCDc96c9FcblVbs-yK0xn_NlLCjmjOhuIZR158OLeKfMUL8siPLCWu/s400/worried.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">T</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">here’s a rather
unfortunate problem on the American retirement scene that seems to be getting
worse by the day - <b><i>an ever increasing number of folks are arriving at
retirement only to discover that they are at risk of running out of money. </i></b>And
it’s not because they didn’t save enough during their working years. Many did.
So why are they facing this predicament?</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">From what I have
seen in my practice, <b><i>most folks fail to transition from the accumulation or
savings phase of retirement planning into the distribution or income phase</i></b>. In
fact, many retirees today have not done any form of serious income planning. So
in effect, they are going along in retirement trying to manage issues relating
to longevity of their income but with accumulation-focused nest eggs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">This amounts to
trying to fit a square peg in a round hole because the two are entirely
different. Income planning is a whole specialty on its own, and not all
financial advisors focus on it. But it is too important to ignore because<b><i> the
consequence is the difference between running out of money mid-stream or making
sure that you’ll never run the risk of outliving your income</i></b>, irrespective of
how long you end up living.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"> </span></div>
<h3 style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><br /></b></span></h3>
<h3 style="color: #222222; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><b>Some questions to consider</b></span></h3>
<h3 style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-size: 15.4px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></h3>
<h3 style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-size: 15.4px; font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Will I have enough
income to last as long as I do? Will my income keep up with rising prices? What
effect will a stock market crash have on my income? What portion of my income
is guaranteed and based on what? What will happen to my spouse’s lifestyle if I
die? What effect will taxation have on my various sources of income throughout
the years?</span></span></h3>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">It may not seem
that big of a deal. But </span><b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;"><i>without proper income planning by an experienced
professional, you could end up in a really tough spot at a time that you don't
want to be. </i></b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">Report after report tell us that is exactly what’s happening to so
many unsuspecting folks out there. My hope is that if you haven't done so
already or feel uneasy about your situation you’ll take some time to talk with
an advisor who specializes in income planning today because your peace of mind
in those retirement years is too important. </span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Food for thought.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
</div>
</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-27539345567766025992016-02-22T09:50:00.000-05:002016-02-22T09:50:00.324-05:00The New Big Changes in Social Security Rules for Married Couples<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">The New Big Changes in Social
Security Rules for Married Couples</span></b></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOm3nXIvX0E0uOCm5UOC751SbNkWZ2v41UaKdNQEqiqZ8AQBHF2Vo37H2FdfkabVfk11y5VXNvsqiQNAlyb31kNfMECLwWP7aM6tfiNkhwH5QyLxl_f494B1jQHubLq3yZQqMWPAjHRye/s1600/concerned+couple.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiOm3nXIvX0E0uOCm5UOC751SbNkWZ2v41UaKdNQEqiqZ8AQBHF2Vo37H2FdfkabVfk11y5VXNvsqiQNAlyb31kNfMECLwWP7aM6tfiNkhwH5QyLxl_f494B1jQHubLq3yZQqMWPAjHRye/s400/concerned+couple.jpg" width="393" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body" style="text-align: center;">
<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>It is fair to say that on November
2, 2015, when President Obama signed The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law,
some pretty major changes happened to the way married folks get to claim Social
Security benefits going forward</i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">, because the new rules effectively ended two of
the popular spousal claiming strategies widely used for the past 15 years.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">The somewhat good news is that for
some folks there still is a window of opportunity to act and get in under the old
rules. We’ll get to that later, but to make things easier to understand, let’s
begin by reviewing the now old rules. </span></div>
<h3>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></h3>
<h3>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Old Rules</span></b></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;"><br /></span></h3>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Until now, Social Security rules have
allowed a worker who has reached their Full Retirement Age (FRA) – which for most
folks retiring is now age 66 – to file and then immediately turn around and
suspend their benefits so that they would not actually collect the checks. Why was
this necessary? Your spouse could begin to receive spousal benefits from your
work after you “filed” – you didn’t have to actually claim the money at the
time – hence the “suspend” part. Meanwhile, by “suspending” your benefits, you would
get to earn delayed retirement credits of 8 percent a year between the ages of
66 and 70, for a total of a 132 percent larger monthly check when you finally
did begin collecting the money. This was advantageous for workers who desired
to delay their benefits past FRA, but the law was flexible and also allowed spouses
to start collecting benefits as early as age 62.</span></h3>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Pretty powerful, wasn’t it? It got
even better if this worker’s spouse had also reached his/her FRA, because they would
be able to file a “restricted” application which enabled him/her to collect their
spousal benefit check while also growing their own retirement checks – assuming
they worked outside the home – by earning another and completely separate 8
percent yearly delayed retirement credit. Then, whenever that retirement check
had peaked or exceeded the smaller spousal check, they’d simply switch over and
begin collecting the larger amount. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The New Rules</span></b></div>
<div class="Body">
<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><i><br /></i></b>
<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><i>According to the new law, when you
suspend your benefits, no one – including your spouse – will be eligible to
collect a check based on your record. Additionally, no one will be allowed to
file a “restricted” application. </i></b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">Now when you file to claim your spousal
checks, you will receive the higher of either your spousal check or your own
retirement benefits. So Congress and the President pretty much ended suspended
benefits.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now to
the grandfathering opportunity I mentioned earlier. <b><span style="color: #0b5394;">First, if you are age 66,
you can still use the old file-and-suspend rule, but you must file your
application with the Social Security Administration by Friday, April 29, 2016.</span></b>
Second, if you were 62 or older by December 31, 2015, you will still be allowed
to file a restricted application. I must mention, though, that if you are
already collecting benefits, you are not impacted by the changes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Obviously, this will potentially impact millions of
families in the coming months and years. Retirement income plans may need to be
revisited and reanalyzed to respond to these changes. But that’s assuming that
your advisor knows as much as he/she should know about Social Security in the
first place. <b><i>If you need assistance to revise your retirement income plans,
please contact Laser Financial Group at <span class="Hyperlink0"><span style="color: #0070c0;"><span style="color: #0070c0;">LaserFG.com</span></span></span>
or call 877.656.9111 for a complimentary review.</i></b></span>Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-50444479639667647672016-02-08T14:39:00.000-05:002016-02-08T14:39:37.500-05:00It Sounds Counterintuitive, Yet Rebalancing Could Be Your Single Greatest Investing Move<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 21.56px;">
<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<h2>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt;">It Sounds Counterintuitive, Yet
Rebalancing Could Be Your Single Greatest Investing Move</span></b></h2>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQySIaeXasAGuDePfTXs5VjgZCYBL3szO50ndH5qL3h1bW6MRO9uccvqUwqwcdgPNPqq4axqGoNFAlQcQtDDIIuPqTOaYuHSjw1JubbY195B0alfKrQMpYxHUeaIXQ1VlzDzhNqNyPQuX/s1600/rebalance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTQySIaeXasAGuDePfTXs5VjgZCYBL3szO50ndH5qL3h1bW6MRO9uccvqUwqwcdgPNPqq4axqGoNFAlQcQtDDIIuPqTOaYuHSjw1JubbY195B0alfKrQMpYxHUeaIXQ1VlzDzhNqNyPQuX/s400/rebalance.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div>
<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><i>Looking to hit that home run with
your investments? Of course, who wouldn’t be? </i></b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 21.56px;">Then you must be prepared to be
counterintuitive and take actions that go against the grain of conventional
wisdom. I’d even go so far as to say that you must be willing to take the occasional
odd action.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">Here’s why. <b><i>One of the fundamental
things that every long-term investor must do religiously </i></b>– based on the
occurrence of certain predetermined triggers – is what <b><i>is referred to in
financial planning as </i>rebalancing<i>.</i></b> In basic terms, rebalancing is the
process of realigning your investment portfolio back to its original and/or
predefined target setup. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">For example, let’s say that prior
to investing, Mary determined that the appropriate level of risk for her
timeframe and risk tolerance is 40 percent equities/stocks and 60 percent fixed
income/bonds. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">However, because real-world
markets often tend to change, and rather unexpectedly, this 40/60 mix is bound
to get out of sync. Let’s assume that Mary’s equities did really well, but her bonds
went south. As a result, stocks now make up 60 percent of Mary’s portfolio and
fixed income represent 40 percent. So her portfolio has changed from her
original 40/60 to 60/40. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">Although things may look great for
Mary because her account balance may have increased, here’s the catch. The
current portfolio mix contains much more risk than she set out to take. Stocks
now represent 60 percent and bonds only 40 percent - a whopping 20 percent
higher than her actual stock tolerance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">Mary needs to rebalance her
portfolio back to her target 40/60. To do that, she must sell 20 percent of her
stocks and buy 20 percent more bonds. Yes, I know. That sound like the wrong
move. Stocks are up bonds are down, so why sink her money into what is presently
down? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">Remember what I said earlier? <b><i>Rebalancing
is completely counterintuitive to conventional investing wisdom.</i></b> <b><i>You’re
basically selling the winners and buying losers.</i></b> Wow, that's hard to accept. But it is precisely the right
thing for Mary to do. You never want to plan based on what you perceive might happen
in the future - because no one knows. Neither is it done based on what you
feel. Rebalancing must be entirely based on what has already happened. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">Now back to Mary’s portfolio.
Think about it this way. She’s selling stocks at the time that they are higher
in value and, in turn, buying bonds that have dropped in value. Bonds are
practically on sale, which if you really think about it is precisely the right
time to buy, isn’t it? What about the stocks she’s selling at a higher value?
That’s great, too, isn't it? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;"><b><i>When it comes to money and
investing, conventional wisdom most of the time has nothing to do with wisdom.</i></b>
Please find yourself an experienced, honest financial professional who can help
you build a suitable plan and, most importantly, help you do the difficult but
prudent things that are good for your future.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">All the best.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
</div>
</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the right questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-75900552363004160822016-01-25T10:08:00.000-05:002016-01-25T10:09:49.172-05:00Can Someone Actually Predict the Stock Market's Movements?<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BaVJkwwHixY?rel=0" width="480"></iframe><br />
<br />
Are there some folks amongst us who can actually predict precisely what the stock market is going to do? The most honest answer is no, not on this planet. Up until this point in time in the history of mankind no one has been able to accurately predict any such thing. Although so many have tried, according to the evidence on the books they've all been colossal failures.<br />
<br />
If you want to become a successful investor, please, do yourself a huge favor: focus on the fundamentals, invest prudently - not based on anyone's predictions or even your own feelings.<br />
<br />Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-16790675670231428062016-01-11T10:03:00.001-05:002016-01-11T10:03:34.306-05:00Is Your Portfolio Designed to Weather the Storm?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 21.56px;">
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 21.56px;">
<h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
Is Your Portfolio Designed to Weather the Storm?</span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbL8QHjK4xLjPSukrSoSlXrgiBEnkqeaCYtAFSNDmequmvRQCC_iLpUf6DFmZp9LjQL3OvOl74AVmpZvrEE120sy985kJihVk0aKjcr3gLFk9ASQnoeUQLKMCZY1jxbnk0eQnqrtAzmYqG/s1600/ship+in+storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbL8QHjK4xLjPSukrSoSlXrgiBEnkqeaCYtAFSNDmequmvRQCC_iLpUf6DFmZp9LjQL3OvOl74AVmpZvrEE120sy985kJihVk0aKjcr3gLFk9ASQnoeUQLKMCZY1jxbnk0eQnqrtAzmYqG/s400/ship+in+storm.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><i>What a rocky start of the year for
equities.</i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"> To say the stock market has been plummeting over the last week or so
is an understatement. Every major index from The Dow to the S&P 500 and
NASDAQ spent the entire week in turmoil, ending anywhere between negative 5 and
7 points. Yes, all just this week. </span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Obviously, as an individual
investor trying to grow your portfolio so you can have a better financial
future, this is clearly an unsettling turn of events. Of course, it raises the
proverbial elephant-in-the-room question that, in my humble opinion, every
serious investor need to reevaluate: Is this the beginning of the end of the
stock market as we know it? So should you get your money out now? Or should you
just take this activity as normal and move on with your life? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">In all honesty, <b><i>I’d be doing you a
great disservice if I told you which way you should move without first
examining the actual composition of your portfolio </i></b>and speaking with you in
detail. In the same way, I’d caution you against taking any such suggestions
from anyone else unless and until that person has done a thorough examination
of your portfolio. That includes all media personalities, your favorite
stock-whiz friends, and pretty much everyone, without any exceptions
whatsoever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s why. <b><i>Whatever effect the
stock market’s movements are having on your portfolio is only a symptom of the
actual underlying issue: how your portfolio is arranged</i></b>, and whether or not you
have the most efficient arrangement to achieve your expected outcome. Unfortunately,
most investors get confused by the overwhelming media coverage of the
day-to-day movements of the market and substitute that for an assessment of
their individual portfolios. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">The reality is that the stock
market will either go up or down at any particular point in time. The real
<b><i>question is what your specific portfolio is expected to be doing</i></b>. Were you sold
a portfolio with a tendency to always go up? If yes, then, you obviously need
to be worried when it dips. Alternatively, if your portfolio is expected to occasionally
plummet, to what extent? Is the current dip within those expectations? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
</div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As I have said on many occasions,
it all boils down to doing it right from the get-go with a skilled advisor who
will help you set the right expectations for your specific portfolio based on
your individual circumstances. Time and time again, we see that cutting corners
and/or buying into whatever seems trendy at the moment usually has a way of not
ending well. So begin by defining your expectations; then, get a true advisor
to help you build a portfolio YOU can live with. Settling for anything besides that
is likely to mean you’ll end up getting thrown around with the wind of the
media and/or unscrupulous financial advisors who could destroy your hard-earned
wealth.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-size: 15.4px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
</div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-53111851993444440832015-12-28T11:45:00.001-05:002015-12-28T11:45:48.641-05:00Bond Mutual Funds Aren’t Built to Prevent Losses – You Can Still Lose Money<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 21.56px;">
<div class="Body" style="line-height: 21.56px;">
<div class="Body">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Bond Mutual Funds Aren’t Built to
Prevent Losses – You Can Still Lose Money<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOFha661-v-HL2_8rScS0IBgzdF7HisFOsCItu350Qi9yhkw-7PPsWBFUss97ip2p33h9bfSP1VASwyMHTyN3pjrPzaoLlrE8_6oiaSbzErNSLmY6eyjUhVVrDH-U1AADCwXX3qMPAvR8/s1600/bond+funds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnOFha661-v-HL2_8rScS0IBgzdF7HisFOsCItu350Qi9yhkw-7PPsWBFUss97ip2p33h9bfSP1VASwyMHTyN3pjrPzaoLlrE8_6oiaSbzErNSLmY6eyjUhVVrDH-U1AADCwXX3qMPAvR8/s400/bond+funds.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body">
<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="line-height: 21.56px;"><i>Many are the myths that surround
financial planning, but one of the most unfortunate and, in my opinion,
potentially damaging is the notion that bond mutual funds are </i>safe from value
dips<i>. </i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;">As in, bond funds are the “safe place” to be when you don’t want your portfolio
to lose any money.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">About a week or so ago, I met
someone at a social event who was at the least confused and at best
disappointed because his <b><i>bond portfolio has lost close to 15 percent in value
within the past two quarters</i></b>, since about July. His frustration seems to be
more related to his understanding, however wrong, that bonds are the place to
go to when you are looking to avoid the value dips usually associated with
stock mutual funds – which was precisely what he intended and thought he was doing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Obviously, he’s now learned the
hard way that this truism wasn’t true. But he wasn’t the only one who believed
this – so do many other weal-meaning, hard-working folks out there. Actually at
the event where I met this gentleman, most of the others in our conversation
circle believed this myth to be true: that bond funds are safe and won’t lose
money. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">How is such confusion possible?</span><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">I think the<b><i> confusion seems to
stem from the notion that government bonds are safe investments, and so, by
implication, bond funds must be, too</i></b>. While it is true that government bonds
have virtually no default risk (meaning, you’ll get back your original
investment at maturity), default risk isn’t the only risk associated with
bonds. The other type of risk, which is fairly common and does occur frequently,
is market risk. This has to do with declines in the price/value of a bond when
interest rates rise. It happens when you try to sell a bond before its maturity
date at a time when interest rates are higher than when you originally bought
it. I must mention, additionally, that other kinds of bonds (e.g., municipal
and corporate bonds) do carry default risk. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Without getting too technical,
here’s the thing you must understand about mutual funds (including bond funds)
in general: <b><i>your fund manager has the authority to buy and/or sell whenever
he or she sees fit. So if your fund sells bonds before their maturity at a time
that interest rates have risen, compared to when those bonds were originally
purchased, you’ll lose some value.</i></b> That’s just how things work. And it is also
very important to remember that you, as the individual investor in a bond fund,
do not get to make the call regarding when the fund buys and/or sells its
holdings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">The best way to mitigate some of
this risk is to invest in a fund that holds high-quality short-term bonds. High
quality to protect against default risk and short-term to combat market value
rate swings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">All my best to you and yours in
2016!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tMSFFprC_TMT9UHk9HYodc_Ym-lU15P4ghNZHIZSwCTryLNYu5YVfmC2tnp_OSmox3znbVz6aB-m1bPA3IE0M0EPCMaO0Y_rSdx7DLj2jnqzO5dNSOyJZ32t5vDq3ZsrUFl4jShel7u-/s1600/happy-new-years-eve-2016-images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5tMSFFprC_TMT9UHk9HYodc_Ym-lU15P4ghNZHIZSwCTryLNYu5YVfmC2tnp_OSmox3znbVz6aB-m1bPA3IE0M0EPCMaO0Y_rSdx7DLj2jnqzO5dNSOyJZ32t5vDq3ZsrUFl4jShel7u-/s320/happy-new-years-eve-2016-images.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">________________ </span></div>
</div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-46974460078514892872015-12-14T14:00:00.002-05:002015-12-14T14:00:39.085-05:00Is Your Investment Portfolio Ready for the (Inevitable) Bumpy Ride?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<h3>
<b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">I</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;">s Your Investment Portfolio
Ready for the (Inevitable) Bumpy Ride?</span></b></h3>
<div class="Body">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLeYl0E4-OV7uGC7Hiz-ShtBWVBZVbzFCwb735I2N2UfHzzcqy9XDwUDEFfC1LgP703-ze4_WqpQVKfiDlKucKrYi67iinGOnNFQUmggswoilPeaq3NLnGqRS20Bni-0kFUdusQYQmuFv/s1600/stock-market-crash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqLeYl0E4-OV7uGC7Hiz-ShtBWVBZVbzFCwb735I2N2UfHzzcqy9XDwUDEFfC1LgP703-ze4_WqpQVKfiDlKucKrYi67iinGOnNFQUmggswoilPeaq3NLnGqRS20Bni-0kFUdusQYQmuFv/s400/stock-market-crash.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>If any portion of your portfolio
is invested in equities, you may have noticed that the past several months have
been pretty chaotic, to say the least</i></b>. Naturally, as an investor, you’re somewhat
concerned, worried, or even straight-out scared. Is this the beginning of the
end, as has been predicted by some for years? Should you head for the exit? Or
maybe you should buy gold or silver.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>Like many, you, too, are probably
trying to find that proverbial “sweet spot” of investing where none of this
back-and-forth will affect you. </i></b>That absolute portfolio that will not
experience any of these drops in value but will only skyrocket quarter after
quarter and year after year. The only reason that no one has been able to
precisely articulate anything like that is simply because it doesn’t exist. At
least not on any stock market in the history of humankind, to date.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">By the way, I’m not trying to be
sarcastic or fault you for believing or having such expectations as an
investor. Just like you, I would prefer not to see my equity portfolio drop in
value for even one day, if that were possible. But the thing is that it’s not
realistic, or even possible, based on what history has taught us.</span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">So irrespective of what you hear
in the media or from some sales guy or gal who’s just interested in lining his
or her pocket,<b><i> it is a fact of investing life that the stock market goes up and
down </i></b>– and when your portfolio contains equities, it will, by design, follow
that pattern.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">However, that is not to say that
all equity portfolios are equal. Far from it. <b><i>There is such thing as an
efficiently diversified portfolio that is built based on the level of
volatility you can stomach. </i></b>A portfolio that is carefully and specifically
crafted to help you cope with movements of the various asset classes, something
that is bound to occur, as nothing can prevent it from happening. But when
those “ugly” moments happen, an efficient portfolio, by definition, should be
rebalanced. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">By extension, there are also very
poorly diversified portfolios that are just based on what’s “hot” at the moment
but without any real planning. Based on my observation in professional
practice, it seems that, sadly, this is where the vast majority of folks tend
to fall. While in the moment it may sound appealing – exciting, even – that you
are somehow going to “beat” the market and avoid its natural down moments, you
need to be reminded of the fact that the evidence to date shows that no one
has been able to accurately and precisely predict where the stock market will
be headed tomorrow. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><b><i>So it really comes down to what
you believe to be realistic.</i></b> Investing in a manner that recognizes the
unpredictable nature of the stock market or investing like it is possible to
predict and beat the market. Your call…</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="Body" style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help.</i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-7100184877205876092015-11-30T10:27:00.000-05:002015-11-30T11:29:36.453-05:00How to Protect Your Budget and Skip the Financial Headaches this Holiday Season<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
<div class="Body">
<h3>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "georgia" , "utopia" , "palatino linotype" , "palatino" , serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.56px;"><b>Protect your budget and skip the financial headaches this holiday season</b></span></span></h3>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGPVXOG9Q8KULCl7xrHPb1Np7s01zvMYscwZmTUzDrxDU19pEO-6RchrUhHvTjHNYH3h_4FHf4wSu73LvK-gvD84409ZyJiohCqRcbcKyYdZge8K0EAIVDSEPLerbdHjftR1eOP3JbYTM/s1600/holiday-shopping-budget.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEGPVXOG9Q8KULCl7xrHPb1Np7s01zvMYscwZmTUzDrxDU19pEO-6RchrUhHvTjHNYH3h_4FHf4wSu73LvK-gvD84409ZyJiohCqRcbcKyYdZge8K0EAIVDSEPLerbdHjftR1eOP3JbYTM/s400/holiday-shopping-budget.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>Well, it’s official. The holiday
season is once again upon us. Among other things, it’s shopping season, as we
prepare to give gifts to our loved ones. </i></b>As tradition goes, this is supposed to
be the most wonderful time of the year. However, according to the evidence on the
ground, the vast majority of us find ourselves at the end of the most wonderful
time of the year up to our eyeballs in financial regret of one form or another.
This is typically the result of spending more money on gifts than we expected. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">If you are among the millions of
folks who keep exceeding your spending targets, year after year, and are
looking for a fix, you might want to consider implementing these two
suggestions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 13.0pt;">First, understand that a gift
is supposed to be a token and not the recipient's literal dollar value.</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Obviously, this is something you
already know. However, I think we need to remind ourselves of this fundamental
truth from time to time, especially during the holiday season. It seems that,
as a society, we are gradually moving away from this basic gifting tenet toward
a view, however subtle, that the more expensive the gift, the more “acceptable”
– and, quite frankly, they better you are, as the giver. That belief couldn’t
be further from the truth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Of course, I’m not implying here to
avoid giving gifts you consider to be expensive. If you can afford to pay for them
without creating an unnecessary burden on yourself after the fact, go ahead and
knock yourself out. But that doesn’t change the fact that giving a gift should
not place any unwelcome financial burden on you. Based on my experience in
counseling folks over the years, I can tell you that this notion is at the very
root of many of the financial nightmares that surround the holiday season. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.0pt;">Second, make a “cash list”
instead of an “item list.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">More likely than not, you’re like
most folks and have some form of shopping list. But it doesn’t seem to help
much, in terms of keeping your overall expenditures within your expectations.
You are probably going about it this way: you make a list of those to whom you intend
to give gifts. You may or may not already have specific items in mind for
certain people on your list. Then, of course, you do your absolute best to shop
for the lowest possible prices for those gifts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">That is the wrong approach,
because although you may be hoping to spend a certain amount, somehow you’ll end
up way beyond that. To guarantee you’ll spend what you intend to spend – avoiding
the risk of overspending and all the excess baggage it brings – include a “cash
column” on your list, where you specifically indicate how much money you intend
to spend on each individual. This way, you will select gifts that meet your
cash targets, instead of the other way around, choosing gifts first and trying
to juggle your budget to match them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Happy shopping. And all the best
this holiday season!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-30562896466484962592015-11-16T09:38:00.000-05:002015-11-16T09:38:19.693-05:00Another Misleading Piece of Financial Advice from Kiplinger's <div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Helvetica Neue, serif;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 21.56px;">Another misleading piece of financial advice from Kiplinger's</span></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcu4pVgMKOQo1MgUOWvGig5Jq5WKLkqrcSOdk-2iGB2e8S2RfRZsTMs09XZed2UHEeRKU6eqb-dbdyFdxEKVs2FBqpiqWYkBoiU_FqGW9Kw-HLTRvBthRVV_roEe1I1z08QudMS1pUcZQv/s1600/Kiplinger%2527s.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcu4pVgMKOQo1MgUOWvGig5Jq5WKLkqrcSOdk-2iGB2e8S2RfRZsTMs09XZed2UHEeRKU6eqb-dbdyFdxEKVs2FBqpiqWYkBoiU_FqGW9Kw-HLTRvBthRVV_roEe1I1z08QudMS1pUcZQv/s400/Kiplinger%2527s.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><i>A
little over a week ago, I saw an article titled “</i><a href="http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/retirement/T037-S003-6-ways-to-avoid-outliving-your-retirement-nest-egg/index.html" style="font-style: italic;" target="_blank">6 Ways to Avoid Outliving Your Retirement Nest Egg</a><i>,” authored
by </i>Kiplinger’s <i>Kathy Kristof. </i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;">This
single statement caught my attention – in a rather negative way – because it
highlights what I believe is a very serious problem with many in the financial
press: making generic statements that do not accurately reflect what’s out
there in the real world. This, in turn, leads unsuspecting readers to draw
conclusions and make decisions that are equally wrong, with potentially dire
financial consequences, to say the least.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Under
the sub-header “Buy an Annuity,” the author’s concluding paragraph said this,
among other things:</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<i><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Be
aware that generally if you buy an annuity and are run over by a truck a month
later, no residual goes to your heirs. …”</span></i></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;">Quite
frankly, that is simply nowhere near what “generally” happens when folks buy
most annuities. Rather, it’s very far from it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Indeed,
there is a specific kind of immediate annuity contract that works that way; it
has a life-only payout and no refund option. However, that is only one specific
variation in an entire class of <i>immediate</i> annuity contracts. On the
other hand, there is also a slew of immediate annuities <b><i>with life payout AND refund
options</i></b> that pay you for life, in addition to guaranteeing a specific
refund payment to your heirs upon your death.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Besides,
it is worth noting that there is a whole other class of annuities called <b><i>deferred
</i></b>annuities,<b><i> </i></b>which make up the vast majority of annuities
on the market today, in which case – to borrow Ms. Kristof’s analogy – if you
were to be run over by a truck a month later, all of your money <b><i>would be returned</i><i> to your heirs.</i></b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So
even if you inserted the word “immediate,” so that the statement read, “Be
aware that generally if you buy an [immediate] annuity and are run over by a
truck a month later, no residual goes to your heirs,” it will still be inaccurate. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">The
only way I can see that statement serving a useful purpose and properly
informing Ms. Kristof’s readers to make educated decisions – which I’d like to
imagine a publication such as <i>Kiplinger’s</i>
to be all about – would be if it said something like this: </span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', serif; font-size: 12pt;">“</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Be
aware that generally if you buy an [immediate life-only] </span></i><i><span lang="FR" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">annuity</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">
[without a refund option] and are run over by a truck a month later, no
residual goes to your heirs.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></i><i style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', serif; font-size: 12pt;">”</span></i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;">I’d
like to state for the record that I’m by no means rooting for or against any
particular kind of annuity, or any other product for that matter. Not at all.
<b><i>Here’s what I’ve always rooted for: Putting out the right factual information
so that folks can make good decisions. </i></b>But can you see how easily you can be
misinformed by statements like these? So much so that you might take an action
that could affect you for an entire lifetime, and even beyond? That’s my whole
point!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">So,
my dear friend, don’t make decisions surrounding your financial future solely
based on what you read in the press. <b><i>Talk with an independent financial advisor
with a proven record and a fiduciary obligation to put your best interest ahead
of everything else. </i></b>Then carefully weigh your options so that you can make the
best possible choices that specifically work for you.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Helvetica Neue";"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">I
wish you the very best.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-8948007293134873142015-11-02T09:34:00.000-05:002015-11-02T09:34:20.710-05:00What Will Your Heirs Do With the Inheritance You Leave Them?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.56px;">What will your heirs do with the inheritance you leave them?</span></span></h3>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLckNlB0NE0X6seU_luBtFjx883DNYn8_bhhknEV-BcMF0iwaVusaJBH_oP9QQsfNvAFahSyrpL6F-zBPiePLF5T5Hftpx22VnDQMRiolomoIimS3O_SK6ip0amrZQ67GhHWCKdz2ACXlP/s1600/wwgd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLckNlB0NE0X6seU_luBtFjx883DNYn8_bhhknEV-BcMF0iwaVusaJBH_oP9QQsfNvAFahSyrpL6F-zBPiePLF5T5Hftpx22VnDQMRiolomoIimS3O_SK6ip0amrZQ67GhHWCKdz2ACXlP/s400/wwgd.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;">When it comes to the future and
money, the story of life generally goes something like this: </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><i>you work hard,
plan ahead, and make sure to save as much money as you possibly can toward your
retirement so that you can have a smooth, financially stress-free life down the
road.</i></b></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, 'Palatino Linotype', Palatino, serif; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Sure. That’s definitely part of
the process, but in my humble opinion, it’s only half the story. The other
equally important – if not <b><i>more</i></b> crucial – aspect of the process
involves <b><i>what will happen to the inheritance you will leave behind. </i></b>I’m
literally referring to the money you will leave behind to your beneficiaries. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">So here’s the question: <b><i>When it’s
all said and done and you depart this planet, will your hard-earned money be
used in a manner that reflects your values and expectations? </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">If you expect your inheritance to
be used in a more tangible way to further the lifestyle of your loved ones, be
sure to articulate those expectations over the course of your life. More
importantly, take the time to impart your values, ethics, and core beliefs on your loved ones now, while you</span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">re still here, instead of just writing their names on the beneficiary forms. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">In my practice over the years,
I’ve come to notice that <b><i>the overwhelming majority of folks have very specific
desires, expectations, and visions they hope to impact with the inheritances they
will leave behind to their heirs.</i></b> Unfortunately, however, many haven't made
those expectations clear to their beneficiaries. They’re just hoping that the
inheritances will be put to good use. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">As the evidence and my experience show,
<b><i>when folks don't have clear conversations with their heirs about prospective inheritances,
those heirs tend to spend their bequests frivolously, </i></b>so to speak. But then
again, that shouldn’t be too surprising, should it? </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">On the one hand, you could
argue that it</span><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: FR;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">s a gift, so your beneficiary should
use the inheritance as he/she sees fit. Not to mention that you literally won’t
be around to see what happens. If that’s your thought, you’d be absolutely
correct. The point I’m trying to get across is just to make sure you’re okay
with that – or start talking NOW!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-68276121484785754582015-10-19T14:16:00.000-04:002015-10-19T15:01:38.622-04:00Are You Ready to Pull Back the Curtain on Your Retirement Savings?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white;">
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 21.56px;"><b>Are you ready to pull back the curtain on your retirement savings?</b></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizmkNwIlyxM_tpLSQJlUnptCjPiy50txgMLtuPIW-BP41e5H8eHbwzm-eYIqJcYGXtoSRmdMDyvPQmx3iBASTgPcvbM8KFq9PVeSpCzj7xMTSUMaFhi7-l2Zh7c4YPF1Uk8u9oaLKmPO_j/s1600/Pull-Back-The-Curtain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrz6uwKErnJ0r3dOg3erCHLXLjOwP7kRozIms06kW1DVmVzyvk3oGIFoUL63N8X__vHYxRjK05cjsf3n3ArpJ9pWm_CdZiPPQSkp8tpLZ0a-PpoR1HtDl29sw4Pu7XQbRom2odwP7Mgi8/s1600/curtain1-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKrz6uwKErnJ0r3dOg3erCHLXLjOwP7kRozIms06kW1DVmVzyvk3oGIFoUL63N8X__vHYxRjK05cjsf3n3ArpJ9pWm_CdZiPPQSkp8tpLZ0a-PpoR1HtDl29sw4Pu7XQbRom2odwP7Mgi8/s400/curtain1-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;"><i>Obviously saving any amount of
money for your future is a good thing and definitely a step in the right
direction. </i></b><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.56px;">No question about that.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">However, I’m pretty sure you’ll
agree with me that<b><i> just socking money away </i></b>in your 401(k) or any other sort of retirement
savings vehicles <b><i>doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll hit your intended target
unless you also take other deliberate steps.</i></b> In this particular instance, it’s
the deliberate step of ensuring that you are actually saving enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Far too often, I run into folks
who have been saving for a lifetime but with such a huge gap between their
intended output – in terms of what they expect to get out of their accounts – and
their actual contributions. In almost every single instance I can recollect,
when I inquire as to how they came up with the amount of their contributions over
the years, the answers seem to suggest no deliberate planning of any sort. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">Of course, at the end of the day,
the situation on the ground as your life evolves will impact what you are able
to do – or not do, for that matter. But the point is that </span><b><i><span style="color: #073763;">we all need to know,
depending on our specific circumstances and intended targets, how much it will take
to get there. </span></i></b><span style="color: #222222;">Just so we are clear, I’m not suggesting that you simply save
more money. For all you know, based on your situation, you may be doing just
fine or even be ahead of target. On the other hand, however, the opposite could
be true – you may be way behind and not even know it. Unfortunately, that
latter scenario seems to be norm for most folks.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">Here’s the thing: not knowing
whether or not you are saving enough, or by how much you are off or ahead, isn’t
going to make anything better. It can only make things worse. Irrespective of
where you are in life, <b><i>I’d suggest you get to know – through deliberate
planning, instead of the rule of thumb or your feelings – what you are facing and
what it will take to get there. </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">My very best to you.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you make a plan that will get you where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><b><i>’</i></b></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-64473164783815443062015-10-05T11:14:00.000-04:002015-10-05T16:10:56.490-04:00Is Your Financial Advisor Watching You Break the Rules of Prudent Investing for Fear of Losing Paychecks?<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is your financial
advisor watching you break the rules of prudent investing for fear of losing
paychecks?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMa2Y882uUbIs45hpFJ_l999ot63zMqkMmp4JGWQEViVAg4cn0xJupuEvW5VYJ6lr6X0D7QwbUeHhj6XY2HWqP_1Gon5jsGz1rIhNXNk8KgvCd7b5LeILzcuXg0s-srxSQCWW9w7bXKDu3/s1600/self+diagnosis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMa2Y882uUbIs45hpFJ_l999ot63zMqkMmp4JGWQEViVAg4cn0xJupuEvW5VYJ6lr6X0D7QwbUeHhj6XY2HWqP_1Gon5jsGz1rIhNXNk8KgvCd7b5LeILzcuXg0s-srxSQCWW9w7bXKDu3/s400/self+diagnosis.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<b><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;"><i>Do you have the
kind of financial advisor who’ll always tell you what’s right and refuse to see
you make moves with your portfolio that are imprudent, based on your
circumstances? </i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">Or is your advisor of the breed – I’d even dare to say it’s
where most advisors fall these days – who lets his/her clients make all the decisions
regarding their portfolios, even down to specific asset class combinations,
when it</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">s appropriate to rebalance, and everything in between? Personally I
think that</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">s a terrible – and incredibly unfortunate – mistake.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now, don<span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span>t get
me wrong. I<span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span>m by no means suggesting that you simply go hand over your
hard-earned money to some guy or gal in a suit, sitting in an air conditioned
office, and completely back off without any input whatsoever. Truth is, I
wouldn<span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span>t do that with my own money, so why would I expect you to invest that
way?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #222222;">But here’s my
point. As an investor, you must have clear and specific input and expectations regarding
what you want and do not want, for that matter, when it comes to your portfolio
– things like how much volatility you can live with, etc. Even if you</span><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><span style="color: #222222;">re not that
specific, </span><b><i><span style="color: #38761d;">a good financial advisor must and will have a thorough discussion with
you in order to understand at the deepest possible level your core vision,
desires, concerns, and expectations so that he or she can help you put together
the best possible portfolio to get the job done.</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> In the end, you should know
exactly why your money is invested in a certain way, what you can expect – both
good and bad – and when and how changes are to be made. As a matter of fact,
isn't this the exact reason financial advisers are paid in the first place?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Now contrast
that with what seems to be the norm today, where the investor tells the advisor
specifically what to buy or when they believe they should get in or out of
specific investments. Let’s face it, most of this is based purely on emotions
whipped up by what’s going on in the media. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Of course, I
get it. The money belongs to the investor and he or she may decide to invest it as
he or she pleases. But think about it. Would you prefer a doctor who lets you, as
the patient, decide the exact prescription and dosage you should be taking?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i>Could it be
that these so-called financial advisors who are leaving every decision completely up to
the client are so concerned about maintaining their paychecks that they will do
whatever makes the client feels good and happy?</i></b> Are they so worried that the
client might go somewhere else that they’d let them do whatever makes them
happy in the moment, even if it could end up destroying the very wealth they’re
trying to grow in the long run? Or it is that these advisors do not want to be
held accountable for the very thing they’re paid to do, guiding clients to
invest prudently, according to their specific circumstances? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Then again, if
you skip the initial step I mentioned earlier and invest without having a
clear-cut understanding of where you are headed and what you can expect, isn’t
this the natural progression? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 15.4px;">________________ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">Visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation with a financial professional who has your best interest at heart and who is willing to ask the tough questions to help you get where you want to go. You</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>ll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you're ready, we</i></b><span style="font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">’</span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>re here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-19424745516248470462015-09-21T10:09:00.004-04:002015-09-21T10:09:55.416-04:00The Life Insurance Debate: Forget Everyone Else and Go with Your Guts<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
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<b><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;">The Life Insurance Debate:
Forget Everyone Else and Go with Your Guts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYBBf3pMdT_hoiQud-i_MBlywf9y_qQadmV_hfGHyCBq4MwON5PQF2k-xuml7Zp3RPeyHKNdqaT0nIWuImP0__trrViMeWaJhaWsmTa7WepUjJA98-Vd25Uv_ue6hPWIKXO78aczHvBaT/s1600/life+insurance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYBBf3pMdT_hoiQud-i_MBlywf9y_qQadmV_hfGHyCBq4MwON5PQF2k-xuml7Zp3RPeyHKNdqaT0nIWuImP0__trrViMeWaJhaWsmTa7WepUjJA98-Vd25Uv_ue6hPWIKXO78aczHvBaT/s400/life+insurance.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b><i>It’s
my tradition during September, Life Insurance Awareness Month, to dedicate one of
my columns to that subject.</i></b> So let's talk about it from the standpoint of
asking, “Is it really necessary for you to purchase life insurance?” and also
address some of the reasons that folks who should purchase life insurance give
for not doing so.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKYBBf3pMdT_hoiQud-i_MBlywf9y_qQadmV_hfGHyCBq4MwON5PQF2k-xuml7Zp3RPeyHKNdqaT0nIWuImP0__trrViMeWaJhaWsmTa7WepUjJA98-Vd25Uv_ue6hPWIKXO78aczHvBaT/s1600/life+insurance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></a></div>
<br />
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">First,
do you even need it? I know that there are several consumer schools of thought
out there on this very issue, but throughout my years as an advisor in
professional practice, I have arrived at what I like to refer to as the common-sense
approach to money management.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">In
this particular instance, here’s how I’d put it: </span><span style="color: #741b47;"><b><i>Life insurance simply pays
money, upon your death, to someone you designate. </i></b></span><span style="color: #222222;">Period. So, do you have
someone or several folks who will still need the financial support you are
presently providing, in case the unthinkable were to happen to you? <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Yeah,
yeah, yeah. Am I telling you to go spend money on some life insurance which, in
all likelihood, you might never end up using? Of course, you're probably going
to live a good long life, but it's not as simple as that, is it? Personally, I
think we should see life insurance premiums as not being about us, but as a
representation of our commitment and responsibility to take care of our
dependents financially. Just so we are crystal clear, I am not advocating running
out to buy life insurance. Not at all. <b><i>Instead, I want you to do what you feel in
your gut is right for your family.<o:p></o:p></i></b></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Now
here's the thing I like to point out. Unfortunately, just as with many other things
in life, there are some unscrupulous life insurance agents who are more focused
on selling only whatever they have to offer so they can get paid, without
regard for whether it's really appropriate to your specific need. However, the
good news is there are also some decent, honest agents out there who can help
you get exactly what you need to take care of your responsibility to your loved
ones, so don't let the unscrupulous ones hold you back.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">I
wish you the very best of luck and a healthy long life with your family.</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 24px;">________________ </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.4px; line-height: 21.56px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;"></a><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">If you'd like help to be sure your portfolio is properly diversified, </span></b></i><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation. You'll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.56px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you're ready, we're here to help. </i></b></span></div>
<br />Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-90158002681325090882015-09-07T20:15:00.000-04:002015-09-08T09:52:25.219-04:00 The Stock Market Probably Isn’t Going to Destroy Your Wealth – But This Certainly Will<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
Stock Market Probably Isn’t Going to Destroy Your Wealth – But This Certainly
Will</span></b></span></h3>
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<div class="Body">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQoHG651q0_ngTiz3oE50tZwx00P4QFRpNqb_NtFubTFTOYsHPOjyEVAbdChKl8nVIkdB-Gkc0g-CiWTGYpRs9ZSvzKXn-q1brKIpxQ93s5dKM51nk1C-W1d5IngSVkfD8cHgQKZxvl-A/s1600/buy+sell+dice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLQoHG651q0_ngTiz3oE50tZwx00P4QFRpNqb_NtFubTFTOYsHPOjyEVAbdChKl8nVIkdB-Gkc0g-CiWTGYpRs9ZSvzKXn-q1brKIpxQ93s5dKM51nk1C-W1d5IngSVkfD8cHgQKZxvl-A/s400/buy+sell+dice.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">Let
me admit right off the bat, the headline may sound a little out of the norm
from what you may have heard, read about, and probably even come to accept about
the stock market, especially in recent days. But take a deep breath and
consider these fundamental truths.</span></div>
<div class="Body" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">First
of all, </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;"><i>it’s important for those of us who choose to invest in the stock market
to remind ourselves of the reason that we made that decision</i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">, instead of
investing in, say, a CD at our local bank or some sort of fixed annuity or any
other alternative investment. At the very core of that decision must be the
fact that </span><b style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;"><i>the stock market is, by far, the greatest known wealth creation tool
in the history of mankind</i></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">, bar none. Nothing else legitimate even comes close.</span></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But
that is not all. We also know, without any shadow of a doubt, that the stock
market – since its inception – has never moved in a vertical straight line.
Things would be pretty nice and much, much easier if that were how it worked,
wouldn’t you say? However, that’s not how it works. In fact, did you know that your
financial advisor would face regulatory penalties if he/she were to give you
the impression that your stock market portfolio could only go up? The simple
reason for that being that such a suggestion would be misleading and set
unrealistic expectations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><b><i>Here’s
the normal thing about the stock market: sometimes it goes up and sometimes it
dips.</i></b> The other crucial thing to understand is that no financial advisor – or anyone
you’ll see in the media, or anywhere on this planet, for that matter – can tell
you exactly what the market is going to do next. Yes, <b><i>no one</i></b> knows!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The
problem, in my humble opinion, is that most investors do not have prudent stock
portfolios. They just buy something that sounds, looks, or feels good, without
really making sure that it’s properly diversified to help them weather the storms
that may come along. Although no one on the face of this planet can predict the
future movements of the stock market, there is such a thing as <b><i>an efficiently
diversified portfolio that is custom-built to your investment temperament so to speak. </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Here’re
some recommendations to think about. If you don’t think you’re up to all these
ups and downs, you should probably not be investing in the stock market at all.
And I’m not trying to be sarcastic or anything here. If, on the other hand, you
believe that over the long haul you’d be better off investing some of your
money in the market, please make sure you talk with a financial professional
who can help you to build an efficiently diversified portfolio with a standard
deviation (amount of volatility) you can live with, and don't be surprised when
the down moments come, because more likely than not they will. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">And
the most crucial thing of all is to make sure your advisor is someone who’ll
keep you on your toes to stay the course with discipline. What does that mean?
When the market tumbles, as it did in recent days, and panic sets in, does your
advisor cave and do whatever you want done? Or does he/she remind you about the
basics and see it as an opportunity to re-balance your portfolio? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Finally,
whatever you decide to do, I hope you don't take your investing advice from Jim
Cramer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 24px;">________________ </span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;"></a><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">If you'd like help to be sure your portfolio is properly diversified, </span></b></i><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation. You'll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.5599994659424px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you're ready, we're here to he</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Utopia, Palatino Linotype, Palatino, serif;">lp. </span></i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2560092710433599599.post-71528143744965702422015-08-24T13:55:00.001-04:002015-08-24T13:55:07.926-04:00The ONE Inherited 401(k)/IRA Mistake that Could Be Your Worst IRS Nightmare<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The One Inherited 401(k)/IRA
Mistake that Could Be Your Worst IRS Nightmare </span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfDHPFiZ12WVHMmgxpV6zyOup73ri3iGV9ZHql6jIS1jCawUkass-sd-iWI2hJVl7qj_HGXBQJd32fo2SJ53QvGEfxuq_QyeKdeoPT1eBZbOAxUlkZ9p9ClwWOP1H633-eJ6fO8NtjjE6/s1600/beware+bad+advice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDfDHPFiZ12WVHMmgxpV6zyOup73ri3iGV9ZHql6jIS1jCawUkass-sd-iWI2hJVl7qj_HGXBQJd32fo2SJ53QvGEfxuq_QyeKdeoPT1eBZbOAxUlkZ9p9ClwWOP1H633-eJ6fO8NtjjE6/s400/beware+bad+advice.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">As
the proverbial saying goes, “life happens.” And as part of the natural
progression of life, sooner or later, we are all bound to lose someone near and
dear – and <b><i>that person may have listed us as a non-spouse beneficiary of
his/her 401(k), traditional IRA, or another kind of qualified plan.</i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">No, I</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">m not trying to suggest what you should do with your
inheritance. That will be totally up to you. However, <b><i>if you intend to roll over
money left to you in a qualified plan by someone other than your spouse, you
must tread cautiously.</i></b> And that</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">s because the manner in which
you go about it could land you in some very hot waters with the IRS.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Let me use this recent case
involving one of our clients to illustrate my point. She recently lost her mom,
of whose IRA she was the beneficiary. The custodian of the IRA sent her a check
made out in her (the client</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">s) name and explained to her
that insofar as she deposited it in an IRA within 60 days, she would avoid
having to pay taxes on the entire check, come tax time. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #222222;">While
that may sound like a pretty standard thing, it’s completely wrong, untrue, and
inapplicable in this situation. </span><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">The so-called “60-day-indirect-rollover” rule
does not apply if you are a non-spouse beneficiary.</span></i></b><span style="color: #222222;"> What’s more, there’s no
exception under the Tax Code – Section 408(d)(3)(c) – for non-spousal
beneficiaries who accept checks made out in their names, even if you turn
around and deposited it into an inherited IRA the very next moment. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">So, but for the fact that my
client has a pretty sharp advisor who knows what he</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">s talking about</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> – </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">hey,
its OK for yours truly to take some credit every now and then</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Helvetica; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"> – </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">she would have been set up for a very nasty surprise
come next April 15th when the IRS came knocking: that she would have to pay tax on her
entire inheritance check. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12.0pt;">It was pretty obvious to me that
<b><i>whoever gave her the erroneous information was unfamiliar with the IRS rules</i></b>,
so I got on the phone with the custodian to get the situation sorted out and
have a new check issued directly to the new custodian. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Body" style="color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">In a nutshell, here</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Helvetica;">’</span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">s what you should keep in mind. <b><i>If someone other than
your spouse leaves you money in a qualified plan and you intend to spread the
tax burden over the longest possible time allowed by the IRS, your ONLY
option is a direct-custodian-to-custodian rollover. </i></b>And by the way, you should
probably get yourself a pretty darn knowledgeable financial advisor, too!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 24px;">________________ </span></div>
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</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 15.3999996185303px; line-height: 21.5599994659424px;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;"></a><b><span style="line-height: 24px;">If you are ready to have a real conversation about how to start planning for your future </span></b></i><b><span style="font-size: 12pt;">–</span><i><span style="line-height: 24px;"> even if you haven't saved a penny yet </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">–</span></b><i><b><span style="line-height: 24px;"> visit <a href="http://laserfg.com/" style="color: #2288bb; text-decoration: none;">LaserFG.com</a> or call 877.656.9111 right now to book your complimentary, </span></b></i><b style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 21px;"><i>confidential consultation. You'll be paired with an experienced financial professional who can help you plan for a secure future, regardless of your current financial situation.</i></b><span style="line-height: 21.5599994659424px;"><span style="line-height: 24px;"><i> </i></span></span><b style="line-height: 21px;"><i>Retirement planning means planning for ALL aspects of your life after retirement. If you're ready, we're here to help. </i></b></span></div>
Samuel N. Asare, MBA, ChFC, CLU, CRPC, CMFC, CASL, CTP, CBMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00429848859373776221noreply@blogger.com0