Friday, July 2, 2021

Advisor abuse

 

Where is your portfolio so far in ’21?

Some of our readers have shared their wise decisions to stick with the indexes and low-cost mutual funds. Most use Vanguard funds and don’t trade. They follow the 3 Bs—“Buffett, Bogle and Bible” strategy. Ask your advisor how you did so far in 2021.

 

2021 Total Return Fund                    Long-term Return      Longevity

15.2% 500 Index                                             11.3% since 1976

17.3% Energy                                                    8.8% since 1984

15.5% Extended Market                                  10.7% since 1987

10.4% Health                                                   16.2% since 1984

  6.3% International Growth                              11.6% since 1981

17.7% PRIMECAP                                         14.2% since 1984

16.4% Small Cap Index                                    10.6% since 1960

  5.1% Wellesley Income                                    9.7% since 1970

19.6% Windsor                                                11.5% since 1958

19.0% Windsor II                                            11.2% since 1985

14.3% Average                                                11.6% *

            *Average Annual Returns as of 06/30/21.

Investing just $250 a month in the 500 Index alone can compound (Buffett’s secret formula) to $1,000,000 in 33 years. That’s $99,000 in and $999,999 out.

https://www.amazon.com/Buffett-Bogle-Holy-Bible-Investment/dp/1523693045

 

How do we know our advisor is taking advantage of us?

Even the wealthiest get taken by their “trusted” advisor. We are subject to the same bad treatment. I follow the abuse of those who put their hard-won assets with a paid “professional” money handler. If you don’t understand the cool-sounding products you own or how much you paid for them, you are being abused. If you don’t get consistent logical communication from your advisor, you are being abused. I once told my broker to sell my investment in a fund and he ignored my request, advising me to transfer the money to an annuity. My complaint to his boss was ignored. I took my money elsewhere. Wall Street makes it almost impossible to learn about the bad actors. It is easy to get their ‘rap’ sheet of complaints wiped off the record at https://brokercheck.finra.org/. Arbitrators in the Finra-administered forum are “rubber stamping” expungement (delete) requests. Many brokers or their firms settle before the hearing, thus erasing it. If you feel pushed into transactions, you are being abused. The people who get ripped off by financial advisors are those who do not pay attention. Ignoring the details of what you own leads to abuse. Advisors must generate revenue to stay employed so they will interpret your goals differently than you do. You can’t just tell them to “make money.”

https://www.amazon.com/Warren-Buffett-Your-Investment-Advisor/dp/1518690963

 

Can our employer help us accumulate enough to retire?

Large employers have the ability to help us with low-cost high-return investment options. A small biz may use an insurance agent to set up high-cost annuities for each person. Both employers can help us grow our nest egg without current taxes but poor and expensive options from an insurer can kill long-term accumulation. Example: Big firms offer us 401k plans with low-cost index funds (0.04%) that can compound our contributions at 11% per year. After having $125 invested in a stock index fund every 2 weeks, we can build a $1-2,000,000 retirement. Our $250 a month goes into a tax-deferred plan so our income tax is less each year. Small firms put us in plans with overall long-term costs of 1-2% which can take 63% of our possible accumulation. There are better solutions for those stuck in these plans but we must pursue them ourselves.

Use this guide: https://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-ReserveTM/dp/1461030072

 

Do you over think your investments?

Who are these new Wall Street gamblers? The typical soldier in the army of retail traders upending Wall Street is a 31-year old who grabs their smartphone seven times a day to check the assets in their first-ever brokerage account, which may well hold a good chunk of cryptocurrencies in addition to stocks. It is the excitement of the chase, the thrill of beating the paid “professionals” and the fun of doing the opposite of what investment wise men and women profess from experience. When the general stock and crypto markets are booming, neophytes will jump at anything with a good story. Hey why not put down some money since everyone else is. When the ‘other shoe’ drops and markets go against these new players, who will they blame? Will these new gamblers stay pat or run for the hills when their accounts fall. New gamblers are not your typical ‘buy and hold’ investors so new BDs may not survive when buying stops. Gamblers usually don’t know the time-honored “regression to the mean” so they may be financially crippled.

Switch to the long view: https://www.amazon.com/Money-Ball-Investing-Winning-unfair-market/dp/1548831409

 

 

 

**********ACCOUNTABILITY**************

 

 

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracyWe rejected an "American fascist" once

 

 

Our Jan 6 ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission

 

Trump’s Attorney General: “Trump bullsh*t

 

Finally, Biden fighting for voters

 

Too late: Supremes decide we can’t vote anymore

 

How Govt wastes our money:

Pentagon tells us again “there are no UFOs”: just dirt on windshield or space garbage?

GOP says Biden does not have a done infra. deal: Congress needs another vacation?

Congress to pass Voting Rights Act II after Supremes kill 1965 law: no voter fraud now

 

Court: Facebook can’t be a monopoly since it already bought the competition: too late!

SD sending troops to guard Texas from Mexican invasion: GOP’s private army?

Supremes decide CA can’t see private army funders: rich hide influence in elections

 

Jan 6 coup attempt investigation: little GOP help unlike Benghazi terrorist attack panel

 

SCAMS/SPINS:

B of A Merrill took higher fees on rollovers of unit investment trusts: fine; no jail

Crown Capital Securities caught selling high-fee funds; not offering others; fine $1.3 mill

Crypto sellers take big fees: at casino, the only investment winner is the house

16 Cars That Now Cost More Used Than New: did you want chips with that order?

 

 

Phillip Conley Alpax stole $5 mil caught fake statements with high returns; prison

Burlington Financial caught offering fake debt relief credit repair stole $30 mil; no refund

Robinhood caught giving false information misled about options: fine; $12 mil refunds

 

Isaiah Goodman MoneyVerbs caught promising “safe, secure, profitable” returns: 7 years

‘My Book Live’ data at risk: remote deletion of hard drive by hackers

83 percent of young adults fell for scams, more than any other age group: Facebook leads

 

Google Voice Scam: typically associated with Craigslist when you sell—phone public

Amazon Echo automatically shares your internet with neighbors: we are all connected

 

CA officials won’t travel to states that discriminate: 17 states with hate LGBTQ laws

 

Boy Scouts offer insurance money to sex abuse victims: sex abusers go free; none jailed.

J&J caught promoting opioids in NY and world: fine; no jail: lawyers retire on $27 mil

NC man faked his own kidnapping to get money out of grandparents to pay drug dealer

 

Agora Health publications using deceptive health/income claims to seniors: FTC ignored

Medicare screens: check if you are already covered: https://www.medicare.gov/coverage

Ban on “surprise” medical bills starts NEXT Jan: doctors I didn’t hire bill $thousands$

 

Only unvaxxed admitted hospital for Covid now: half of Americans still say no

Vaxx: “if the government says to do something, you need to do the opposite” Moscovite

 

Inspectors saw erosion from years of sea flooding in basement car park. Miami floods!

Warming warning: Congress waiting for polar ice to float into NY harbor to stop CO

 

Tesla recalls 300,000 3s, Ys made in China: auto driver software fix: no backseat driving

Passenger jumps from plane taking off after fight: mask mandate?

 

Gun play now requires insurance: rights and responsibility: pay to play Wild West is fair

When everyone has a gun, the heroes get shot: hero had killer’s gun so police shot him

Trump on US: “They want law and order”; US indicts Trump org. Trump evades the law.

 

Trump tax-evasion scam: $21 mil tax deduction for not selling his mansion’s backyard

 

Jobs

Surfside Mayor: “We just need to start to get a little more lucky right now.

FL gov wants juveniles to pay all their lives for mistakes: no jobs, housing, educations.

 

Who owns your account now?

El Salvador currency: Crypto seller installs 1500 crypto ATMs: Bitcoin costs $30,000 ea?

Scotland Yard seizes millions in crypto from money laundering operation

Are there FREE colleges: some requirements

 

Miracles:

Nearly all COVID-19 deaths now in people who weren’t vaccinated: even Trump got vax

MIT builds computer from molecules: almost perfected

Jonathan Bauer jumped off bridge to save toddler who fell into bay after a vehicle crash

 

Virus mutates back in LA: Masks required indoors

West: British Columbia reached 121: Warming buckles roads GOP is silent

$949 cancer test: reduce 5-year cancer mortality by about 40% prevent 100,000 deaths

 

We can apply for Medicare online: https://blog.ssa.gov/apply-for-medicare-online

We can apply for Social Security online: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/

We can apply for health care online: https://www.healthcare.gov/

 

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

MontclairNJ   07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts available at http://dankeppel.blogspot.com/

 

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