Deadly Portfolio
Variable Annuities — Great, But Be Careful
If you have researched variable annuities on your own, you know that I couldn’t cover everything in one blog on the subject. Variable annuities have their drawbacks. It is important to be aware of them. A variable annuity is a long-term investment, one that you will want to hold your entire lifetime. It’s the place…
Read MoreVairable Annuities — A Great Way to Protect a Retirement Portfolio
Thanks for all the questions about annuities. Yes, annuities are a valuable way to protect your retirement portfolio and secure an income for your survivors. But there are several things to be considered before buying one. There are two kinds of annuities; fixed and variable. Fixed annuities guarantee income to the owner and often the…
Read MoreOutskirts Press Defends Self-Published Book Pricing Policy — Astonishing!
I was so astonished to receive one comment to my previous post, “Pricing Your Self-Published Masterpiece? Caveat Emptor,” that I sent the man who wrote it, Mr. Kelly Schuknecht, Outskirts Press, an email asking him whether he really wanted his comments to appear on the Internet. Since he submitted it as a comment to my…
Read MorePricing Your Self-Published Masterpiece. Caveat Emptor!
When first asked how much royalty I wanted from my novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Funds, my only thought was keeping the costs as low as possible. Outskirts Press, the publisher, recommended a price of $18.95 for the 328-page paperback. I objected. The price was too high for the market. Outskirts replied that…
Read MorePublishing Your Own Book? Proceed Cautiously.
If you glance through this posting, you are a giant step ahead of where I was when I started to consider publishing a book. I plunged into the deep end right off with my novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Fund. Now, nearly two years later, I am back to a depth that’s just…
Read MoreFrequent Changes in a Portfolio Seldom Produce Desired Long Term Results.
There were no lakes large enough in South Dakota to entice anyone to go sailing until the mid-1950’s when the 37 mile long reservoir of Lewis and Clark Lake was formed on the Missouri River near Yankton. Locals then took to the sport in earnest. A sailing club was formed. Races were scheduled, and in…
Read MoreDon’t Ask Your Portfolio To Do More Than It Is Designed To Do.
Some people want more from their investment portfolios than gains and income. Like other major arenas in life—some load more baggage onto a portfolio than it is designed to carry. Making more money guarantees nothing except it will make a person wealthier. An unhappy person will be an unhappy investor. Assuming grinding poverty is not…
Read MorePsychological Factors Magnify and Prolong the Negative Impact of Market Losses
Wealthy people can take losses in their retirement portfolios lot easier than middle-income households who have plans for every dime that they have invested. But investors with large portfolios—portfolios that could be reduced by half and still not put their retirement in jeopardy—often fail also to employ coping strategies that help in rough times. In…
Read MoreStressed Out Over the Market? Get a Measure of Your Tolerance for Risk.
NOTE: Risk tolerance is key to the design of any retirement plan. In earlier postings, readers were asked to complete the Flexible Retirement Planner (FRP) to find out how well their funds would hold up over their life expectancy, especially in supplementing their retirement incomes. Reading previous postings is important to understanding this article. Putting…
Read MoreHow Much Should the Middle-Income Household Risk in the Market?
Middle-income families often do not have the resources to employ financial advisors. Yahoo Finance states that middle-income households have an average of approximately $110,000 set aside for their retired years. Financial advisors and brokers at major firms like Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, and UBS Paine Webber are looking for mega buck accounts—accounts with $250,000 or…
Read More