Target Date Funds

In this article, I share steps 2 and 3 of my three-step process for how I used surge meetings to turn my chaotic practice around and triple our revenue in three years.

Expected returns are derived in two distinct ways: from Federal Reserve actions, since it is manipulating bond prices, and from momentum, which is driving stock prices. How long can both last?

If you’re struggling to attract new clients, it’s because prospects have a difficult time differentiating you. Prospective clients face four realities that will overwhelm their decision-making process.

The fate of the global economy and stock markets rests on the successes of just a few megafirms that reside in the U.S. But have the prices of the world’s largest companies been bid up beyond what is reasonable and fair?

How can we quantify the value of our advice across the board? We can quantify the value of investing, but our tools are not aligned with the shifting advisor value proposition.

The 60/40 is not dead, will never die, and you can’t kill it. That won’t stop the financial media and investment firms from staging mock funerals.

The reason so many folks think they don’t need an advisor is because they had a bad experience with someone they thought was a financial planner who turned out to be nothing more than a salesperson.

Bond traders are boosting expectations for U.S. inflation to levels not seen in over a decade amid concern supply-chain bottlenecks and resurgent consumer demand will keep lifting the cost of goods and services.

Congressional Democrats are at odds over both the tax and spending sides of a bill to enact the bulk of President Joe Biden’s economic agenda, putting in question the goal of party leaders to strike a deal by the end of the week.

Volatile, pandemic-riven markets for stocks and bonds has Wall Street ready — again — to declare the traditional 60/40 portfolio split a dead strategy. The prospect of a low-growth, high-inflation economy (stagflation) dims the prospects of both investment categories, and certainly demands a rethink of where to stash your savings.

Here is a discussion of taxes and legacy when estate tax is not a concern because asset levels are below the estate tax exemptions.

Money supply has quintupled in the past year, and because of this money printing, inflation is here for the long run. Inflation will force increases in interest rates.

Social Security’s shortfall grew by a record 18% in the last year. That $3 trillion increase means that it is more likely beneficiaries will face reduced benefits in the future, and the longer we wait the harder it will be to solve the problem.

The analytic framework for providing retirement income planning advice must use marginal tax rates and not tax brackets.

Last year, after the March market correction, I warned baby boomers against buying the dip. Since the market rebounded 100%, that was bad advice. But I double down on that advice today for the same reason.

Using a risk tolerance questionnaire to establish a retirement income strategy is akin to your doctor checking your pulse to measure your cholesterol. There is nothing wrong with checking your pulse, but it is an inappropriate test for the situation. We propose an alternative test – the RISA – to select the best deaccumulation approach.

Having counseled numerous clients through the retirement process, I realized there was a missing piece – purpose! To be happy, retirees need something meaningful to wake up for every day. Here are some resources – paid and unpaid – to let them do that.

My friend who works in an emergency room as a physician assistant recently told me that she’s ready to collapse.

Amid the deluge of headlines in the past few days about congressional proposals to boost taxes on companies and the wealthy is one that would affect regular investors -- and potentially alter the entire U.S. fund landscape.

It’s unfortunate but true: Influential Republican politicians are playing another round of political chicken that could easily lead to a damaging brush with default on the national debt.

Pooled employer plans (PEPs) are the latest 401(k) rage, but they can be an asset or a liability. The difference is in their qualified default investment alternative (QDIA).

House Democrats continue to search for a way to satisfy lawmakers who want to scrap the deduction limit on state and local taxes without losing progressives wary of a tax cut that would overwhelmingly benefit the wealthy.

While robos are beneficial as they often invest in low-cost funds and ETFs, ideally, they should also include quality SPIAs and DIAs to simplify investment planning and allow retirees to spend more.

Here is an example that quantifies how strategic tax planning and delayed Social Security claiming can increase portfolio longevity in retirement.

The U.S. stock market is thriving, while China’s deteriorates. China could intervene to limit stock market losses, but it is not. Is China purposely losing a battle to win a war?

On August 24 and 25, we held our second annual Thought Leader Summit. Here is a short summary of each session and a link to watch the replay for CE credits.

A California county’s $21 billion pension is considering whether to drop Ray Dalio’s hedge fund after it underperformed for most of the past 16 years.

Behavioral economics is facing a reckoning.

One of the most worrisome risks for state and local governments just got a little more manageable.

Signs are growing that U.S. Treasury yields may continue to march higher even if Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell strikes a balanced tone at Jackson Hole this week.

Those who inherit money after a loved one's passing often face anxiety over what to do with it. It may be a once in a lifetime chance to get ahead but there's the perennial personal finance question of whether it's better to pay off debt with the money or invest it for retirement.

Style boxes and other constructs of the investment industry are meaningless when it comes to portfolio theory, according to financial economist John Cochrane. Instead, investors should focus on cash flows and market equilibrium.

The next market correction will inflict its worst damage on crypto and meme investors, but those saving for retirement in a diversified, disciplined manner will suffer alongside them.

The stock market and economy are hanging by a thread over an economic abyss. That thread is zero interest rate policy (ZIRP).

When I started looking into CFP® certification, a surprising number of colleagues said something to the effect, “Oh well you passed the CFA exams, so that will be easy for you.” And foolishly, I believed them.

Here’s how to help your clients reevaluate their life goals and needs as they enter the next stage of their lives.

“It’s different this time” is usually not true, but this time it is. Will we get amplifying extremes, or returns toward average? The feasible and likely scenario spells disaster.

We’ve had serious inflation, but don’t know it because the barometer we use to measure it ignores security price inflation.

I'm not a big fan of the Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) movement, which advocates extreme frugality to retire as early as age 30.

Two Congressional chairs have authorized a review of target-date funds (TDFs). The last such review was in 2009, and all that changed was that risk increased. It would be a shame if this initiative failed to produce results.

Claiming Social Security too early is economically equivalent to delaying claiming, withdrawing $100,000 from a portfolio, and setting it on fire.

Many physicians worry that their current retirement plan does not meet their retirement savings goals.

When Congress passed the SECURE Act in 2019, it was with the noble intention of helping those Americans who work in small businesses plan for retirement.

The pandemic rush to buy a beach house or mountain retreat is cooling as offices reopen and buyers balk at high prices.

Most retirement planning software uses data or assumptions that will lead to unrealistically optimistic outcomes, considering our low-interest-rate environment.

All the online calculators and software programs combined cannot replace a human in the financial planning world.

Who isn’t baffled by the continuing run-up in stock prices? Behavioral scientists. They explain that we have a host of biases that make us irrational. Here are the reasons that we have a stock market bubble, presented in two tables.

President Joe Biden’s push for the first major federal tax increase since 1993 now rests on the shoulders of Richard Neal.

The most consequential program in the financial planning world is being ignored by those to whom it matters most – aspiring advisors and the firms that will benefit from hiring them.

A host of impediments stand in the way of allocating funds to annuities. Some issues relate to brokers or advisors, and others involve their clients. Some are valid, but others are questionable and reflect irrational behavioral biases.

Why don’t more business owners upgrade their current 401(k) plans to take full advantage of larger tax deductions and accelerated retirement savings?

For those who elect to take passive strategies, like TDFs, assess your risk profile and that of the markets and invest accordingly.

You will demonstrate an extra level of value when you help a client with cash flow.

To compensate, retain and attract employees, many companies issue stock options.

The government’s COVID relief programs have cost $5.2 trillion, more than World War II, which cost $4.7 trillion. Those mountains of money will cause inflation, raise interest rates and reduce in stock prices.

Interest rates have never been lower, but that’s beginning to change and it’s causing a fuss. You’d think investors would be relieved by a return to a more normal situation. But be careful.