Our Blog

Counter Moves to Inflation

June 10, 2013

My last article (see Low Interest Rates) concerned some of the potential problems associated with having interest so low for so long. I pointed out that “bubbles” might develop for some assets and that market corrections could result. You might wonder what actions we might be contemplating with client portfolios. Let’s look at what is […]

Performance Differences Among Accounts

May 22, 2013

All of our clients receive an investment education session that typically is over an hour in length. It is sort of a “rite of passage”. One important subject presented is how different types of mutual funds are better suited to be held in the various types of accounts the client might have. Much of this […]

Should I Buy My Company’s Stock? AREVA’s ESPP

May 14, 2013

Investing in Your Company’s Stock by Joe Eskridge If your company grants you the right to participate in an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), your company has given you an option (the right but not the obligation) to purchase shares in company stock at fixed intervals. Generally you can accomplish this through payroll deduction. Your […]

Scams and Financial Exploitation

February 18, 2013

I once had an 81 year old client who came to me with two annuities that he bought in his very own living room about 2 years before. It so happened that two salesmen had come to his home and convinced him that these were appropriate products in which to invest his IRA and regular […]

The “New Normal”

January 14, 2013

The “new normal” is a relatively new buzzword making its way around the financial services community. Generally, it is being used to foment the idea that equity returns are low and will remain low, perhaps forever. I think most of the noise about this subject is being made by bond fund managers, which, of course, […]

The Fallacy of Predictions

January 7, 2013

One of the more interesting myths in the investment world is that large financial institutions, with their access to mountains of data pored over by teams of staff economists, can determine where the markets are going and profit accordingly.  Gullible investors believe this even though, every year, we can go back to the confident predictions […]

From Fiscal Cliff to Recession – Implications

November 30, 2012

Most everyone has weighed in on the “fiscal cliff” and what will happen if Congress allows it to occur. In a nutshell, the fiscal cliff is some legislation the Federal government passed a while ago that mandates some very severe across-the-board cuts of government spending and large tax increases if Congress, by year’s end, doesn’t […]

Quarter in Review

October 19, 2012

In my professional reading there have been a number of investors/authors who are expressing opinions that asset allocation as we know it is dead. Doesn’t work anymore. Kaput. Most such articles are aimed at people who invest for a living. In case you have seen such an article or heard it on radio, TV or […]

INHERITED IRAS

For your own safety, frequently repeat the following, “IRAs are particularly complicated animals.” Doing so will remind you to seek expert help in dealing with them. The subject of inherited IRAs frequently causes confusion for those designated as the beneficiaries. While you may have heard that inheritances are generally tax-free, withdrawals from an inherited traditional […]