Retirement Planning Is a Family Affair

Retirement Planning Is a Family Affair

It’s pretty common among married couples for one spouse to take the lead as the family money manager. It’s usually the one with the most interest and/or time to spend dealing with taxes, investments, and household budgeting. Over the last several years I’ve been encountering more and more families where each spouse manages his and…
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IRA Rollover Loophole Soon To Be Plugged

The IRS wants to make it easy for you to set up and maintain IRA accounts.  Part of that strategy involves keeping your IRA accounts at whichever qualified custodian you prefer.  Should you become unhappy with the costs or services provided by one custodian, the IRS allows you to move some or all of the…
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Is the Stock Market Really Rigged?

There’s been quite a buzz in the media and in Washington since Michael Lewis appeared on “60 Minutes” a number of weeks ago asserting that the stock market is rigged.  The topic was high frequency trading (HFT), and for those that missed the broadcast (or the subsequent media frenzy), it’s a combination of high speed…
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How Market Timing Affects Portfolios

This is a follow-up to my post last October entitled “Should You Increase Equity Allocation in Retirement?”  (https://www.cognizantwealth.com/2013/10/24/should-you-increase-equity-allocation-in-retirement/).  At that time I cited research by Pfau & Kitces suggesting that retirees begin their retirement with their investment portfolio allocated very conservatively, and then gradually increase the allocation to stocks as they age.  In this post…
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Is the Next Market Crash Imminent?

Robert Isbitts of Sungarden Investment Research is sounding alarm bells regarding the following numerical coincidence he discovered: From September 1, 1995 until the peak of the tech-bubble on August 18, 2000, the S&P 500 return (excluding dividends) was 165%. From March 6, 2009 (the Great Recession bottom) through February 26, 2014 (around now), the return…
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Four Rules for Avoiding Investment Scams

The San Jose Mercury News reported today that Michael Brendan Ferguson of Foster City was arrested for fleecing over 100 investors out of millions via a Ponzi scheme involving ATM machines.  One victim told the newspaper that she had lost her entire life savings (over $750,000) in the scam. While Ponzi schemes are nothing new…
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