My forecast first: the sky is not falling and we will carry on. Regular economic principles will trump fear and behavioral financial principles, and the stock market will continue its bullish trend during the fourth quarter. I did not want you to have to sit with bated breath until the [...]
September is College Savings Month. Therefore, today let’s focus on Section 529 College Savings Plans. There are several good vehicles for this, but these get the most press. We will discuss others in the near future. Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code was enacted by Congress in 1996 to [...]
Our Missouri state government is concerned about a downtrend in its collection of tax revenues. I decided to check the reported statistics to identify the source for this worry. That did not take very long. On May 20, 2014, Governor Nixon announced he would withhold $35.1 Million in higher and [...]
When I was a young attorney in my later 20’s, I asked a friend in the stock brokerage business about starting to invest. I thought he would be glad to help me execute my trades or find the best mutual fund. But he surprised me. He refused to help me. [...]
What can a client receive from a good relationship with a financial advisor? What does that relationship look like? While companies are spending millions on research on Behavioral Finance, I suspect most client consumers spend little or no time and effort to evaluate what they want and need from a [...]
This has been a summer to remember for its pleasant weather thus far. But this week, more normal, higher temperatures are returning. In a similar way, earlier summer stock prices rose to new highs, but last week the indexes jolted us back to reality. Even bull markets do not travel [...]
Since Mr. Market is in a mood to take profits, (which I mentioned in this space was likely) let’s look at gaining some practical education about current investing. If you want to invest in stocks or bonds but want diversification for more safety, what choices do you have? In general [...]
There is a story about modern technology (capital) and labor: the new factory has smart machines and robotics galore such that it runs itself. But it has also a man and a guard dog. The man is there to feed the dog each day. The dog is there to bite [...]
Harvard University announced last week that Kenneth Griffin, a 1989 graduate, is giving $150 million primarily to support financial aid for its undergraduates. This is part of a $6.5 billion capital campaign started in 2013 to make a Harvard education affordable for all entering students, but especially those from low [...]
In the good old days, your emergency money could earn at least 3 or 4 percent in a savings account or a short term certificate of deposit. This was often enough to help keep up with inflation. Now that the Fed has used its zero interest rate strategy to help [...]
