Are the zero fee ETFs for you?
When marketing firms claim it is free, BEWARE. New firms are promising 0%
expense ratio. Read the small print. ETFs were created by brokerage firms to
make money on the ‘index’ trend started by Vanguard. Vanguard is sold directly
and traders are not welcome. So brokers/advisors can only make money when you
trade an ‘index’ they offer. Because of all the money moving to Vanguard for low
fees, brokers are hurting. Brokers need fees so note that there are brokerage delayed
or hidden costs. Although an ETF may have no expense ratio, the trading cost of
that particular fund may be exorbitantly high. Beware the bid/ask spread for
newer funds. Beware the tracking error. Zero-fee funds lack a performance and
fee history, making it impossible to gauge their tracking error. Beware the
promo price. Fees are temporarily waived: investors will start paying full
freight after the fee waivers expire. Once they have your money, they
may impose 0.30% or more and you have lost your advantage over Vanguard’s
0.04% stable non-profit structure. Brokers are in it for the money. Pay less;
earn more, over time.
Trump’s new tax avoidance scheme clarified
Trump’s mob has been working hard to make this tax avoidance plan, called
“opportunity zone,” a success in time for his 2020 rerun for Prez. Investors
previously shied away from developing ‘distressed’ areas, Trump said, but when
they see tax rates “all
the way down to a big, fat beautiful number of zero” they start “liking the
location.” Nothing gets the election momentum going like the promise of ZERO
taxation to his wealthy supporters. The fact that the rest of us are going to
have to pay more to cover his ZERO tax plan for the rich, won’t occur to his
political base. Momentum is a powerful tool for an incumbent candidate. Investors
claim the breaks by taking capital gains income they’ve earned previously and
spending it in the distressed areas. This provision allows them to defer
those tax bills until the end of 2026, and it can reduce the total
amount of tax they owe. New investments in opportunity zones can grow
tax-free if investors hold them for at least a decade.
Make your earnings tax-free too: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Shelter-Young-Americans/dp/1500426520
High schools could teach this one
chart and correct financial IL-literacy.
$200 a month for 35 years in
low cost stock funds = $1.2 million
My former industry, financial services, could release our schools to
offer a basic course in investing but they don’t. For most young Americans just
beginning to save in their first jobs, this ‘education’ could be their
real life saver. The chart illustrates the Miracle of Compounding. Using a
simple analogy of buying a part of all the companies they know, they would see
the real returns of asset
accumulation. If it is true that most of us don’t have $5,000
saved for retirement, this chart could change our attitude. Understanding
that investing just $200 a month could make the difference in the future of the
American Dream for many. A simple low-cost stock index fund would be the
foundation of their investing strategy. Warren
Buffett has proved that most us would be better off if we had learned this
simple truth early in life. However, schools are run by political people and
they don’t want to rob the industry of their future $80
billions in annual trading revenues. Forced savings (our tax refund) could
be an answer since the average refund is $3,000.
$1 million in 40 years: https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Refund-Millionaires-Let-Uncle-Help/dp/149595644X
Is ‘direct indexing’ right for you?
Change the name and brokers and advisor can sell it. That is the
conclusion some investors are coming to. Financial industry has tired of
promoting ETFs so they came up with a new
name for selling stocks. ‘Direct Indexing’ is just buying a bunch of
stocks. The new name is to capture new clients who never realized that you
don’t pay capital gains if you don’t sell your securities. If you just buy and
HOLD securities (Warren Buffett’s strategy) you can avoid the capital gains of
mutual funds. Further, if one of your broker/advisor’s picks goes bust, you can
sell for a loss against a gain. ‘Tax-loss harvesting’ is another benefit they
claim. DI can shape the outcomes that each client’s goals require, they claim.
So what’s old, is new again. Follow the master investor.
Warren Buffett as advisor: https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffett-Your-Investment-Advisor/dp/1518690963
Are these ‘worst’ vehicles right for you?
At the
bottom of the list of 32 worst new is the Acura RLX, Caddy ATS,
Chrysler 200, Suburban, Dodge Journey, Dart, Ford Fiesta, Focus, Infinity Q50, Cherokee,
Compass, Patriot, etc. At the top is Fiat 500X, 500, Grand Caravan, Acura ILX.
Unless you don’t care about reliability and projected durability according to
JD Power and Consumer Reports,
stick with the Best Used list by type, user and price: https://www.carmax.com/articles/best-cars-ranking
Take all your discounts: https://www.amazon.com/Vehicle-Insurance-Beware-Double-Coverage/dp/1480027634
Can you live on 80% of your SS benefits?
In 2035, SS trustees
say we will begin receiving about 80% of our current benefits. Congress is
not likely to fix this shortfall since it would require radical change—taxes
and or age change. For those
earning over $133,000, the FICA tax ends. As Warren Buffett and other
wealthy people say, “I'll
probably be the lowest paying taxpayer in the office." Clearly, Mr
Buffett will never need his SS benefits. But since the average worker’s
real wages go down and their boss’s
keeps escalating, the answer seems obvious. Ending the cap
on FICA tax for the wealthy would help save SS benefits. Workers’ wages
have not
kept up with their boss’s nor with inflation, so inevitably, they will have
to rely on SS benefits MORE, not less. Few working families can afford to
create a retirement income to supplement SS benefits. Fewer businesses offer a
paid pension and health care package. More retirees keep working—since 2000, more
men and women work. Since most of us are not familiar with the miracle of
compounding, we don’t realize it is
time, not huge savings that make the difference in the total nest egg
we could create. $16,000 grows to
$1million. Schools can teach it!
**************
Truth isn’t truth, his
lawyer says
Two Americas
***********************
How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have!
GOP Tax Cut. The cost of interest on the national debt runs $896 million each
day.
Your portion of this debt is $65,600: Avoid
the future taxes to pay the debt and interest.
Congress continues to allow our opioid
addiction WV ‘killing fields’: heavy promotions
SCAMS/SPINS:
Trump’s Treasury Mnuchin
etc sued by Sears to retrieve ‘stolen assets.’
Russia
has your vote, thanks to Don: Between hacking machines and media, no
defense.
Trump fails to back
‘violence
against women’ resolution again. GOP
OK with abuse.
National Asset
Management caught
breach fiduciary duty: wild trading—fine, no jail.
Robare Group caught
failed to disclose conflicts: ‘kickbacks’
on sale of Fidelity funds.
"Jeb"
Bashaw, star TX broker, caught
‘borrowing’ client funds—fired but no jail
Scammers as CEO tell
HR to send your pay to their bank: Watch
your D Deposit close.
Prosper Funding
online lender caught
overstating returns: fined $3 million, no jail
Fiat recall 2013-16 320,000
Dodge Dart: rolls
away by self; defective transmission cable.
BEWARE: DNA
test not accurate test for cancer—90% are wrong! Then
steal our ID.
It
took 32 kids’ deaths for Fisher-Price to recall “Rock ‘n Play Sleeper”: capitalism
kills.
Professional opioid
drug pusher charged finally: killed 400,000 of us since 1999.
Some 11 brands of bottled
water with arsenic have been sold in stores; stick with tap!
8,000 Boy Scout leaders
have been accused of sexual abuse: law ignores so no jail time.
Parents robbing
kids of mature independent future. Will the kids take care of parents?
MyPillow
caught using fake research to claim ‘better’ sleep: fine is just cost paid
by us.
Caddy headlights may
not work: Buyers
never told like ignition switch; GM knew.
FL GOP says you
must pay court to vote.
If you ignore
Congress subpoena or a Trump
judge’s order: Trump as dictator.
Mueller
ignores Mob Boss family Russia
deals: OK to conspire
with enemy & obstruct!
1. “Russia Russia Russia
REDACTED Mueller
Report here: https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/439485-read-muellers-redacted-report:
tell lawyer to stop probe, stop probe, mislead public.
Trump: ‘nobody disobeys my orders’ except when unlawful, he forgets, it’s Ivanka.
The Mob Boss can never go to jail: Trump
has Kava as Supreme so no indictment.
‘No man is above the
law’ … well up till now. Dictators
nullify courts first, then votes.
Supremes
protect Don’s ‘Orders’? – GOP: ‘Sure, pres
can change
Constitution anytime.’
Jobs:
Some employers
offering more
education benefits: where “you can thrive.”
In 1975, 60%
of workers eligible for overtime pay: today only 6%. Trump to cut more.
Who owns your account now?
Is
Jeopardy fixed? Gambler knows everything: memorize the cheat sheet?
Half of all mutual
fund investments went to Vanguard: low-cost
= earn more!
Miracle:
When you say “I
can’t do it,” remember Sara, winner national handwriting competition.
Philip Morris sells
‘death’
sticks AND now life insurance. How’s that possible?
IAN
41 Watchung Plaza,
B242
973.746.2014
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