Friday, January 27, 2017

Robo-advisor helps you earn more

Robo-advisor help wealthiest cut fees—earn more
“Our research consistently shows that robo-advisors are becoming increasingly accepted by wealthy investors,” said Spectrem. “To remain competitive, traditional advisors should lead with their unique expertise in establishing a financial plan and emphasize their ability to evaluate and react to world events.” But advisors like MorganStanley want fees from ETF indexes so client fees double—advisor plus index manager. Among the robo-users, almost half were directed to use digital advice by a human financial advisor. Just 13 percent reported using a robo as their primary advisor. While 41 percent of robo-users were self-directed investors, a larger portion, 43 percent, described themselves “event-driven”—likely to seek professional advice for specific needs like saving for retirement or asset allocation. But advisors with fees still can’t foretell the future.

Why do hedge fund investors earn only 3.3%?
After you read this story about hedge fund expenses you will be glad you stick with low-cost index and managed funds. The “masters of the universe” have charged investors for everything under the sun—personal expenses too. Fees start with 2% ongoing plus part of the returns so instead of earning 10-12% like many stock index funds, hedgers get 3.3%. Yes you could have earned more but smart investors are learning that you can’t bank “could have earned.” There may be some social prestige in saying that “________ manages my money” but those who know the real situation know hedgers are really losing money. Opportunity costs are what economists call the real price of hedge fund losses. Smart investors know what they know. Managers cannot beat the market over time. Eventually using borrowed money to increase returns will bite back the returns.

'It's made in Vietnam!'
At inauguration, supporters are shocked by the maker of red Trump hats. Trump has been trumpeting "buy American and hire American."
Can you take The Don at his word? Is his word as good as his contract?
The Don has made a lot of promises that the GOP Congress may not want to keep. The Don's lieutenants are billionaires who know how to make the financial industry work for their best interests not ours. Half of our “representatives” are millionaires and have never had to find a better-paying job, affordable health care or child day care. We taxpayers provide them with the best health care and child care. They don't need the ObamaCare premium tax credit to afford basic coverage. They have never had to fight their insurer to get a needed procedure. They spend over 50% of their time collecting money from the wealthy who pay for their expenses.
They have never had to be protected from the fee-hungry financial services industry. We taxpayers provide them with the best low-fee ($0.29 per $1000) savings and investment plan in the world—the Thrift Savings Plan. Most have tax-advantaged accounts and overseas tax shelters. They don't need the Obama Fiduciary Rule to make sure the industry does not take up to 63% of their total potential retirement fund in fees.
The Congress wants to cut our Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid assistance. There is no Constitutional mandate to cut benefits if the funds we paid in for 30 or 40 years are not enough to cover the increases in our cost of living. They pay cost overruns for all the other programs all the time. The Congress does not rely on these benefits themselves since we pay Congress even after they leave office. They have millions and still get a pension. The Congress may not provide funds to rebuild our bridges, roads and other infrastructures if they waste it on The Wall. The high-paying jobs that we want back may have been made obsolete by technology.
It's up to us to prosper despite The Don's 'economy' for the rich.


Is life insurance on a child’s life right for you?
I get this question all the time because one of the insurance companies seems to have saturated the world with the simple app and brochure. It has a child’s picture with “Grow-Up Plan” message. It says the plan’s coverage doubles to $10,000 during age 18 with no increase in premium. Sounds good BUT what are you really doing? First, very few kids die young and collecting will be the last thing on a parent’s mind. Second, the amount of coverage that you are guaranteeing is tiny and the cash value growth will be miniscule. Third, as an adult, your child can buy a lot more coverage for far less than this plan even if they are in poor health. They could obtain $500,000 for $13 a month not $70 or more it costs for the $350,000 child policy. Actually you can buy better protection for your child by investing the same premium in a stock index fund. The cheapest plan premium of $25 a month could be worth $3.7 million at age 66 not $350,000. You are compounding the insurer’s profit as well as your own savings in a low-cost stock market index. Even if you don’t start right away, you could still assure your child of living insurance: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Free-Living-2012-strategies-build/dp/1477452702



FREE tax preparation
Advertising to you is how they pay for free credit score and “free” tax preparation. https://www.creditkarma.com/ needs your eyes to obtain dollars from sellers of financial services and they give you software to file federal and state taxes at no cost. If you need to file a simple return, this is the cheapest way. Usually simple means you have W-2 income and no home deductions. The IRS has a topic look up so you can find the answer to your question easier than waiting on the telephone for an operator to answer: https://taxmap.ntis.gov/taxmap/ You can do your federal online FREE using commercial sites through the IRS https://www.irs.gov/uac/free-file-do-your-federal-taxes-for-free. These sites charge for a state return. You can also use a local AARP tax aide office: http://www.aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/ AARP does not discriminate by age or income so they can usually take care of most people. Best tip: deduction for IRA contributions and tax credit up to $2,000 subtracted from tax you owe. Double Your Pleasure. 

This is what happens when you cut taxes for the rich
Trump and GOP want to give themselves another tax cut. But KS tried to grow their economy by giving rich people more money. Guess what? The tax money was not spent creating more jobs. People just left the state just like in Christie’s NJ after he cut tax for millionaires. States cut essential services and child education. Now the tax cuts have to be reinstated but the taxes were increased for these things—gas, cigs and booze. NJ raised gas tax by 23 cents per gallon. The millionaires still left the states because they can. Trump’s new Treasury head says he will use a trick to make the budget look good despite cutting taxes for the wealthy. It is called “dynamic scoring." “We do believe in dynamic scoring and with the appropriate growth," said Steve Mnuchin, the nominee for Treasury secretary. "I think we want to make sure that tax reform doesn't increase the deficit." Bush II’s budget tricks with costs of wars increased debt by 102%--doubled.
Those two sentences actually contradict each other because "dynamic scoring" is just a fancy way of justifying massive increases in the national debt — increases that would result from Trump's plan to spend $500 billion on infrastructure development and war weapons while carrying out dramatic tax cuts. The plan would reduce federal revenues by $9.5 trillion over its first decade before accounting for added interest costs or considering macroeconomic feedback effects.

Is your financial person giving you the best deal?
Whatever title your person uses may be misleading according to the non-profit Consumer Federation of America. It really doesn’t matter which firm they sell for either. The only way to know if they are giving you a good deal is to do your research. Just like buying a car or house, you need information and the internet offers tons of it. Logically, good unbiased info comes from a source that does not profit from you using it. First, no person has the ability to predict how well a stock or the whole market will do in the next year, 5 or 10 years. Second, Warren Buffett has the best track record so far. His holding company has produced over 20% a year (p. 2) since 1965. You could hold the stock of his firm—BRK. His advice is to hold two index funds. Third, he says you must be patient for compounding to work its magic on your money. Fourth, not all index funds are equal, so he suggests two for you. Take the best deal.

Why Roth IRAs are the 21st century savings/investment tool
You put money in and it grows and you never pay tax on the money again. Let’s say you invest the max $5,500 a year from age 21 to age 67. You could have $7.7 million. Let’s say you quit investing at age 31—just $55,000. By age 67, you could have $2.8 million. You could have an extra 25% by avoiding the tax from a regular pension or IRA when you take it out. Or let’s say you have an emergency and need $10,000 to buy a car. There is no tax or penalty even if you are under age 59.5. It is your original contribution. This works for your emergency fund since funds are usually back in your checking in 1 day. Your money keeps growing and you pay no tax every year unlike a regular account. And the Roth beats a 401k unless you have a match from your employer.

Vehicles made to go 300,000 miles and save you money
The marketing of vehicles highlights the emotions we feel when driving. Some want speed. Some want luxury. Some want economy. Some want reliability. This last category is hard to sell because it is not very exciting to say my car can go 300,000 miles. But these 10 have proved reliable over time and for those who want to get from here to there without a stop at the dealer or garage these are real deal. No excitement but also no worry about expensive repairs or hanging out at the dealer for hours. Plus, if you can do 300K on one $15,000 expense, you can skip buying 2 or 3 more cars saving $30-$45,000.


Trump’s budget guy promises to give Trump facts and cut SS benefits
GOP Mick Mulvaney , R-S.C., Budget, defended cuts to popular entitlement programs that Trump vowed to keep intact and emphasized that he would bring a "fact-based approach" to the role. “Fact-based” is NOT what The Don does. So GOP will take the “facts” of our paying for SS and Medicare benefits and cut them with their ideology. There is no Constitution mandate to cut benefits when our expenses outrun our contributions. Congress pays for cost overruns every day for all their weapons and pet projects. We paid $1.7 Billion for the Denver VA hospital that was approved for $328 million. So when the GOP wants to pay their friends and lobbyists for extra costs/profits, they do not hesitate. We have no lobbyists so it is easy for them to cut the benefits we paid for over a lifetime.

We are entering the Twilight Zone:
"There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadowbetween science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone." 
Rod Serling
  
THE DON’S 282 PROMISES
Deportation, The Wall, Re-Create Jobs, NO Abortion, No ObamaCare, More Guns, No MuslemsReprochmont with RussiaChristian nationJail Clinton, Kill Terrorists and Family, Torture, Cancel Iran dealCancel EU-NATOTerm limits, Replace VA head, Coal Steel InfrastructureEnd drug monopolies, Tax imports esp Ford, Grow 6%, Cut Deficit, Separate banking speculation, Cancel Consumer Protection Act, Change libel law, outlaw flag burningEnd own biz tiesEnd endless tweetsCancel Fiduciary RuleWealthy tax break, No tax income <$50Ktax profits sent overseasChange Washington, Change GOP, Change, Change, It was rigged! … so I would win!


Remember, Don Trump is still a contractor from Queens NY, just richer than most. Most of his income is from lending his wealth “brand” to other’s buildings and golf ranges.

Like mafia family, The Don has never had a boss, no corporate board to question his acts!
 “Trust only family“I'd love to have Jared helping us on deals with other nations and see if we can do peace in the Middle East
Ivanka met with Japan PM Abe already. Sell more bracelets in Tokyo?

The Don keeps  “friends” (the mob) closer than enemies: banks own his future income and Putin could buy up his markers. We worry about conflicts of interest.
He Worries about old TV ratings—“Mine are bigger than Arnies” and Women’s march

The Don decides that any news he can’t manipulate is Fake News
I won’t take your question. Fake news”
His own Obama birther Fake news got him fame and millions of white supporters
His nominee for security quit because she used other people’s work as her own book.
The Don has Priebus and Pence saying “no evidence” necessary on voter fraud claim

Can the republic survive to 2020—half his subjects think the emperor has no clothes?
I don’t care about my company. It doesn’t matter. My kids run it.” No conflict????
All the folders representing his companies were empty—Fake transfer of businesses!
Lies are now called “alternative facts” by Trump’s Press Sec. photos don’t lie.

What is The Don’s thing about his size?
5 million (8%) illegal votes and now wants to spend $500,000 on “proof” even Fox NO



The Don Way:
Making money from the Secret Service and Top Secret info for biz, an Audience with The Don costs you $, FREE govt services and health care, WH site highlights jewelry. NYC spends $500,000 a day to guard his Tower. Don threatens city over immigrants.
All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts …As You Like It

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Promises (lies) and Actual outcomes:
Lie #103
Trump tells CIA that they may have the chance to invade Iraq again for the oil
Lie #104
The Wall costs us $14-25 BILLION but does not keep people out. We pay 20% more!

He owes foreign banks and government partners from China to Canada.
Muzzles all agency communication with us; all negative news is Fake news

Trump ends penalty for NOT having insurance—$695 tax enforcement gone
President Trump signed an executive order late Friday giving federal agencies broad powers to unwind regulations created under the Affordable Care Act, which might include enforcement of the penalty for people who fail to carry the health insurance that the law requires of most Americans. Also late Friday, Reince Priebus, Trump’s chief of staff, issued an executive memorandum ordering a freeze on regulations for all government agencies.
Trump stopped the mortgage fee reduction Obama started last week.

The Don’s new 35% tariff on autos will eliminate 31,000 jobs here not Mexico. Counter tariffs by Mexico, China the world will reduce exports cutting another 500,000 jobs here. Bush tried this in 2002 and made steel expensive so can’t afford to make steel stuff here and 200,000 Americans lost jobs. The Don doesn’t read so he missed this study.

Impossible dreams of a megalomaniac—lie #106
“I will never, ever let you down,” he declared. The president told people as he worked on the speech that he was intrigued by John F. Kennedy’s 1961 call for getting a man on the moon by the end of the decade. He rolled out no moonshot initiative today, but Trump did say elliptically that he’s excited “to free the earth from the miseries of disease.”

The Don will cut regulations by 75%. Buy your air and water testing kits now!
Imports will be taxed at the border.
SS Medicare delayed due to Trump freeze on hiring

The Don was there to praise CIA but talked about his “numbers” instead.
WH Spicer says media faked inaugural pics: Trump’s bigger than Obama’s
Fox Krauthammer surprised, calling it a "surreal" event.

Another Lie: All those “Make America Great Again" baseball caps were made in China, Vietnam and Bangladesh. So much for "buy American and hire American."
Trump vision is delusion: Automation will take more jobs in future—no going back.

Another Lie: torture 'absolutely' works: 'we have to fight fire with fire' yet Pompeo, CIA and Mattis, Defense pledged to follow the interrogations law and the army field manual. Experienced interrogators have said befriending captives is more effective than torture.

DallasNews: He is a chronic and unapologetic liar. He doesn’t even realize it.

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Tolerance is un-American now?
Even Israel accepts Syrians

Pope warns us about elected dictators: "And all Germans vote for Hitler. Hitler didn't steal the power, his people voted for him, and then he destroyed his people.”

Poll: 56% said they believe he is not honest, 53% said he “does not care about average Americans,” and 62% said he is not level-headed. Meanwhile, 68% consider him a “strong” person, and 65% said they believe he is intelligent.

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Regulators are the only protection against corporations since we can’t sue anymore

Citi caught giving homeowners the runaround on paperwork to keep their homes.
Supremes strike TX voter ID law so now if you are human you can vote. Not Lone Star
ND GOP votes to cancel voter law to control ethics
EPA, NPS, Ag, NIH gagged on providing info on warming and toxins: Revenge killing?

We need regulation—GOP wrong—companies/cities wouldn’t fix bad products on own
GM killed 124 because ignition switch pin not replaced after knew it killed first in 2006.


Police want gun control.
When everyone has guns; your chance of being killed goes up. Police don’t know who to shoot. They assume everyone has one and shoot first. You and thief have guns. CO schools now allow teachers/administrators to carry guns in the classroom. Kid lesson! Since 2015, police have killed 86 people with realistic looking FAKE guns--suicide?

Husband kills wife thinking burglar

Trumpers want police to start buying military weapons against civilians again.


SCAMS: “Illegal voters” claim debunked: 5 Trump family “registered” in 2 states!
            Common item does NOT make them illegal voters. Trump misunderstands voting law--2.75 million people were registered in more than one state but don’t vote twice. Dead people are not removed from registration since they did not ask for “removal.”

Not interested into probe of Russian hacking of our elections. Putin calling shots?

How our government wastes our money
Save Medicare & SS instead of more weapons!
$500,000 on proving there were 5 million illegal votes—Calling Capt Queeg

Where have all the jobs gone?

Which job board sites are best for your job search?

Who owns your account now?

Miracle:
A tornado victim had her bath tub ripped out of her bathroom and she ended up still in her tub in some woods near her home.”

IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
MontclairNJ 07042
973.746.2014
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