Last week I was blessed to attend the 2019 LINC conference in San Diego. This conference for Registered Investment Advisors is one of the best in the industry, and the wealth of information I was able to gain from its speakers and workshops was priceless. One thing in particular that [...]
Every February 14 people across America and around the world looking to celebrate Valentine’s Day will spend money on flowers, candy, jewelry, dinner and other gifts all in the name of “love”. How much money, you ask? According to The National Retail Federation, the good people of America spent approximately [...]
This might offend a few of you, but I have been a fan of the New England Patriots for a long time, and was excited to see them win their sixth Super Bowl Sunday night. There is just something about the standard of excellence they have maintained for nearly two [...]
In the past few years, the S&P 500 Index has had some good results when many investors’ portfolios have experienced lackluster to poor results. Lend me a few minutes and I will attempt to explain this and hopefully provide some light on the subject. A large part of this phenomenon [...]
If you’re on Facebook right now then you’ve probably seen people participating in the “profile pic challenge”. The way it works is you’re challenged to post your first ever profile picture side by side with your current one to show how much you have changed over that time. However, a [...]
Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards, observed Soren Kirkegaard, 19th Century Danish philosopher. Therefore, we must examine at least briefly what occurred during 2018 in the worldwide financial markets. As noted in prior columns, probabilities were high that it would produce a stock market [...]
My entire life I heard “money can’t buy happiness”. I think the statement should be “money can’t buy contentment, satisfaction, peace of mind, love, or any of those other wonderful, non-tangibles that are important for a healthy life. But, I do believe money can buy amazing memories sprinkled with happiness [...]
A core belief I have when attempting to understand and explain human behavior is that we are all basically driven by the fear of not being enough, and the fear of not having enough. I’ve discussed many times how one’s fear of not being enough can often lead people [...]
Were the mid-term election results good for the market? Warren Buffett once said, “if you mix politics and investing you’re making a big mistake.” But with last week’s midterm elections and the subsequent market reaction, I can’t help by comment a little. Anyone who knows me knows I am a [...]
About a month ago I wrote a column about how some financial product marketers use fear to sell their products. While I chose to focus that article on the dangers of signing up for a reverse mortgage, there are other financial products I would also advise people to avoid in [...]
