GLOBALIZATION IS REAL
Ever hear of Noah?
I hadn’t until I read an article in Institutional Investors. It turns our Noah is a NYSE-listed wealth management firm – a Chinese wealth management firm. It employs 779 relationship managers in 94 offices in 64 cities throughout China! Not only that, it was founded and managed by Chairman and CEO Wang Jingbo, a young woman! I remember hearing a lot about a “New Era” in the ’90s. That story fizzled, but I believe this story is about a real New Era. It’s a risky time to be myopic with a home country bias in investing.
MORE GLOBAL
If my China story didn’t persuade you, how about this?
WHO KNEW?
From my partner, Mena:
With the rise of today’s digital world in which you can buy almost anything and have it delivered by the next day, it’s hard to believe there was a time when mail functioned without a ZIP code. For that we can thank H. Bentley Hahn.
With the loss of many employees in World War II and mail circulation on the rise, the U.S. Post Office was searching for ways to manage the exponentially increasing mail volume.
After serving in the Air Force from 1942 to 1946, Hahn became a postal inspector for the
U.S. Post Office Department. Six years later, Hahn developed a solution to the growing mail problems with the idea of a “Zone Improvement Plan,” establishing the ZIP Code and the two-letter state abbreviations.
The final plan was announced to the public on November 28, 1962 and implemented on July 1, 1963.
GO AARP!
From BenefitsPro:
Volunteers from AARP descended on Washington bearing petitions in support of a fiduciary standard. They planned to deliver the petitions, with more than 26,000 signatures, to the Department of Labor in support of the DOL’s proposed rule that would protect investors in 401(k) plans and IRAs from conflicts of interest in retirement advice. AARP members also plan to visit members of Congress to express their support for the rule and to try to forestall any attempts to circumvent the new rule. The senior advocacy group said in a statement that its efforts include speaking “to members of Congress about AARP’s opposition to any legislation that seeks to stop or slow a proposed rule requiring all retirement advisers to give advice in their clients’ best interest.”
HOME SCHOOLED
If you’re over 60, you know what I’m talking about.
- My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”
- My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You’d better pray that will come out of the carpet.”
- My father taught me LOGIC.
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
- My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me.”
- My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”
- My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”
- My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
“Just you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”
- My mother taught me about STAMINA.
“You’ll sit there until all your peas are gone.” - My mother taught me about the WEATHER.
“This room of yours looks as though a tornado went through it.”
- My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a million times—don’t exaggerate!”
- My mother taught me about ENVY.
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”
- My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
“Just wait until we get home.”
- My mother taught me about RECEIVING.
“You are going to get it from your father when you get home!”
- My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE.
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way.”
- My father taught me HUMOR.
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”
- My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”
- My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
“Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”
- My mother taught me WISDOM.
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”
- My father taught me about JUSTICE.
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you!”
Would you believe we truly were told these “EXACT” words by our parents?
ON WALL STREET, IF YOU EARN MORE, YOU CHEAT MORE, STUDY FINDS
Do you wonder why I’m so passionate about the need for a global fiduciary standard in the financial services world? From a University of Notre Dame paper:
- About one-third of financial professionals say comp and bonus plans compromise ethical standards.
- 47% say industry rivals have engaged in unethical or illegal activity to “gain an edge.”
- 34% of those making $500,000 and up annually say they have actually witnessed “or have first-hand knowledge” of wrongdoing in the workplace, while 21% of those making under $50,000 do.
- 23% of those at the top salary level say they have felt “pressure to compromise” vs. 9% of those at the lowest salary level.
- Nearly one-fourth of financial professionals, 23%, believe that their colleagues likely “have engaged in illegal or unethical activity in order to gain an edge.”
- Nearly one in five professionals feels it is at least sometimes necessary to bend or break the rules to get ahead in the field, the study shows.
- 16% of those polled say their company’s confidentiality policies and procedures prohibit reporting potential illegal or unethical activities directly to law enforcement.
DON’T BOTHER ME
In case you missed it, all cell phone numbers are being released to telemarketing companies and you will start to receive sales calls. To prevent this, call the following number from your cell phone: 888-382-1222. It is the National DO NOT CALL list. It will only take a minute of your time. It blocks your number until you cancel your registration or discontinue service. You must call from the cell phone number you want to have blocked. You cannot call from a different phone number.
LOOKIN’ GOOD
At least I think so.
I’ve served as a consultant for over a decade, so I recently attended a meeting in New Orleans (my “home”) for PIETech’s institutional clients (creators of MoneyGuide, the extraordinary planning software we use in our practice). It was a fascinating meeting listening to the issues major institutions have in implementing planning with thousands of advisors, but it wasn’t all work. At the end of the day we all paraded through the French Quarter to dinner, dressed for the occasion, in the second line following a great jazz combo.
FUN MAPS
40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World
Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming about 300 million years ago. It began to break apart around 200 million years ago. The single global ocean that surrounded Pangaea is accordingly named Panthalassa.
MORE FOR THE OVER 60
From my friend Judy:
Q: How can you avoid that terrible curse of the elderly
A: Take off your glasses. wrinkles?
Q: Why should 60-plus year old people use valet parking?
A: Valets don’t forget where they park your car.
Q: Is it common for 60-plus year olds to have problems with
A: Storing memory is not a short-term memory storage? problem; retrieving it is the
problem.
Q: Where should 60-plus year olds look for eyeglasses?
A: On their foreheads.
Q: What is the most common remark made by 60-plus year
A: “Gosh, I remember these!” olds when they enter antique stores?
MONEY TALKS
THE DOCTOR vs. THE ENGINEER
From my #1 son, David (and my apologies to my physician readers, but I’m an old engineer):
A mechanical engineer who was unemployed for five years decided to open a medical clinic.
He put a sign outside the clinic:
“A cure for your ailment guaranteed at $400; we’ll pay you $1,000 if we fail.”
Doctor Ed walked by the sign and thought this would be a good opportunity to earn $1,000, so he went to his clinic.
The doctor said, “Sir, I have lost my sense of taste.”
The engineer replied, “Nurse, can you please bring the medicine from box 19 and put three drops in the patient’s mouth.”
The doctor immediately screamed, “WHAT THE?!? This is gasoline!”
The engineer responded, “Congratulations! You’ve got your sense of taste back. That will be $400.”
The doctor became very annoyed and went back after a couple of days to recover his money.
The doctor this time told the engineer, “I have lost my memory, I cannot remember anything.”
The engineer again said, “Nurse, please bring the medicine from box 19 and put three drops in the patient’s mouth.”
The doctor said, “But that is gasoline!”
The engineer smiled and said, “Congratulations! You’ve got your memory back. That will be $400.”
The doctor left angrily and came back after several days, more determined than ever to make his money back.
This time the doctor said, “My eyesight has become weak.”
The engineer replied, “Well, I don’t have any medicine for this. Take this $1,000,” passing the doctor a $10 bill.
The doctor replied, “But this is $10…”
The engineer said, “Congratulations! You’ve got your vision back! That will be $400.”
© Evensky & Katz / Foldes Financial Wealth Management
© Evensky & Katz / Foldes Financial Wealth Management
