Can bull market continue?

 

Most employers are charging you too much for their 401k

Nearly one-third of investors believe they do not pay any fees or expenses at all for their investment accounts or they don’t know how much they are paying. Thirty-seven percent of people with a 401k told TD Ameritrade they didn’t think they paid any fees at all. My former industry has been hiding financial advice and product fees from us all our lives. Since employers should be helping us reach our retirement goals (since they don’t provide pensions anymore), they should be charging us zero. Instead they have not made it easy to decipher 401k 403b plan documents. They are written by legal scholars to protect employers, not help us understand how much we are losing over time. Paying 2% in investment, plan and services fees “will erode 63 percent of what you would have had.” Even worse, if you are using a variable annuity, you may be charged 7%. Small employers often use variable annuities from an insurance agent since this costs your boss nothing. Consider low-cost alternatives: https://www.amazon.com/Your-Pension-Box-tax-FREE-employer/dp/1481945157

 

 

How assets build your Wealth Reserve

Over time, using a low-cost stock mutual fund, you can create your retirement nest egg. And if you use your IRS-approved investment account, you can spend it all without federal and state income taxes. We call this account a Wealth Reserve because after accumulating your assets for a number of years, you can use your reserves to save on insurance premiums and credit card interest. Debt is the biggest wealth killer. Mortgage debt works because it is tax-advantaged for a large asset that “grows by itself.” We use a low-cost stock mutual fund because we can overcome advisor fees and inflation. The Miracle of Compounding helps us convert $250 a month, $3000 a year, into $1,000,000 in about 33 years. After 15, years you can borrow from your Wealth Reserve to buy a used luxury car. If you make the payments back to your Wealth Reserve instead of paying a car loan interest, you can fund a business start-up. The sooner you begin the sooner you can accomplish all your financial goals. dalbar.com/Portals/dalbar/cache/News/PressReleases/DALBAR%20 Pinpoints%20Investor%20Pain%202015.pdf

Start your Wealth Reserve today: https://www.amazon.com/New-American-Retirement-System-Wealth-ReserveTM/dp/1461030072

 

Is a “direct indexing” product right for you?

A direct indexing product is a ‘low-cost’, highly customizable, separately managed account. Your advisor personalizes your portfolio of stocks. It attempts to replicate the performance of an index by purchasing the underlying individual equities instead of using an ETF or mutual fund. So you are paying for each trade (500 index, for instance) instead of just buying the low-cost no commission alternative. There are thousands of index funds already; having your advisor re-create the wheel seems stupid and expensive. One of the benefits, according to one money manager, is that “you can buy part of a share that costs a lot, like Google or Amazon.” But you can do that already via any online broker, even at Vanguard. It is difficult to see how buying and maintaining 500 stocks individually commissioned can be cheaper than using a mutual fund costing 0.04% like the 500 Index. One broker claims that "This concept was developed when the research showed that the active manager fails to beat the market the vast majority of the time, so investors have a higher probability of success if they just own the index," according to one advocate. Tax harvesting, ethical stocks and reduced risk are the benefits, he says. Sounds like Wall Street has come up with another trick marketing scheme to sell managed portfolio management for a fee to ‘compete’ with simple low-cost index funds.

Use real indexing: https://www.amazon.com/Millennials-Investment-Strategy-BEST-journey/dp/1533079242

 

Can the stock market continue to hit new highs?

When the market produces average annual gains of 15.59% since 2009, you must ask how much longer can this continue? The long-term average is 10-12% depending on the period. Every honest advisor and economist (not on TV) will admit they don’t know what will happen. So we all face the same dilemma: hold or try to time the market. Option 1: hold your assets where they are. This requires patience when the market goes down and up. And ‘patience’ is what Warren Buffett advises: "The market is a way to transfer money from the impatient to the patient." Over most periods of time, compounding works best when you don’t trade or re-balance your portfolio. Option 2: Trading requires that you know when the market is at a high point and again when the market is at a low point. You must be right twice. No amateur or professional has been able to know those points over any period of time. Buffett has held some stocks forever: “our holding period is forever.” Since we don’t know when to sell and re-buy, the best strategy is to do nothing—be patient—stocks will rebound. Where else can you put your money? There  is no better asset for the long-term. Fidelity analyzed the outcomes of their long-term investors and found the non-trader accounts had the best investment successes. In fact, the best outcomes were in accounts that were forgotten or the owners had died. Face it; no one can know the future.

“Know thyself:” https://www.amazon.com/Meek-Patient-Shall-Inherit-Earth/dp/1492869538

 

 

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

 

 

Like 1776, this period is a test of democracy—We rejected an "American fascist" once

 

 

Our Jan 6 ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’

 

Terrorist gets 8 months for coup attempt

 

GOP big lie: Trump ‘won’: repeat repeat repeat: new “TRUTH”

 

 

 

How Govt wastes our money:

Gov spyware for terrorists put on phones of reporters, human rights, execs, pols, officers

“From a dozen countries, you can spy on the rest of the world.” Gov buys info on anyone.

Millionaire GOP drops IRS audit funding bill: wealthy free to hide income; we pay more

Jeff uses his tax avoidance for $5.5 Billion ride: Amazon pays 0% tax; we pay 32.9%

 

How a society treats its elderly tells you all you need to know about its human values

Biden lets Trumpist Wilbur Ross escape after lying to Congress: Biden’s wrong message

Judge halts Arkansas ban on abortions: “imminent threat” to women constitutional rights

 

SCAMS/SPINS:

We train assassins for the world: we help nations kill people

Terrorists go to the game; to the fire;  Some terrorists named heroes.

Texas stops teaching that Ku Klux Klan was morally wrong: racist culture in TX

 

Jeff could have paid a bonus for every unvax person to get the vax: we all live longer

Trump told America Covid was hoax but got vax himself: now ½ of us on death watch

Covid cases rose 140% in the past two weeks: our health going in wrong direction

Year late, McConnell urges vax after watches 610,000 die: too little too late Mr Hannity

Covid carrier boards plane as woman in ni·qab so he can fly: easier to get vax?

Texas hospital reported its first case of the Lambda COVID-19 variant

LA: On Wednesday, 2,551 new infections were recorded among non-vac people

 

Crypto market Binance has no complaint center so buyer beware: FTC can’t help you

Same price but get less: downsizing raises profits/CEO pay or just raise prices for CEO $

 

Scammers keep our scam money: Supremes vote against recovery: where is Congress?

Rental car scams: demand high; supply low: prices rise. Beware low price scammers.

MoneyGram scam refunds: 300,000 complaints to FTC.

Food package dates: we waste more food than the world combined.

 

UBS caught selling inappropriate funds: ETP linked to short-term market volatility: fine

BlackRock managers take $4.82 billion from higher fees from 15% market gain: no sweat

Joy and Brent Kovar caught stealing from 277 clients: offering “massive returns”  crypto

 

Jobs

Fake job scams have skyrocketed: check sent to set up is fake so they can empty account

Since July 2009, when the $7.25 minimum went into effect, it has lost 18% of its value

NFL requires vax so some players may quit: $ millions at stake: hurting teammates?

 

Who owns your account now?

Your iphone is vulnerable despite Apple claims: “hacked multiple times with Pegasus”

Retirement plan business of Prudential Financial to Empower Retirement

Medicare cost and payment problems: report shows areas of concern

 

 

 

Miracles:

Court rules kids in US can buy and use guns: “teens used to serve in militias in 1791”

Fire so overwhelming it’s creating its own weather: OR burns area larger than LA

 

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

Montclair, NJ   07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

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

 

Is your Advisor/Broker really ‘Acting in your best interest’?

Is your Advisor/Broker really ‘Acting in your best interest’?

Advisors/Brokers mislead Americans about ‘acting in our best interest.’ Two years ago, 46% of investors incorrectly believed that their financial advisor would only make recommendations in their best interest. In 2019, that statistic has risen to 65%. Most of us don’t trust salespeople whether selling used cars or financials. However, when asked about their own experience, they have become a victim of a salesperson’s strategy. Presumably once we make a commitment by giving them money, we defend our decision. No one wants to admit they made a mistake. Yet the number of frauds and ‘death by a thousand cuts’ goes on. A salesperson is under tremendous pressure now because there are many alternatives to reach financial goals at less cost with unbiased advice. Brokers hide the total costs because the costs can take over 63% of your total accumulations. Only RIAs are legally required to act in our best interest. Brokers have little accountability. Trump killed the Obama Fiduciary Rule for all firms and sellers. Actually, all advisors/brokers only sell products chosen for profit by their firm. Only a fee-only financial planner can provide ‘unbiased’ advice. Only one firm is unbiased.

Don’t surrender your common sense: https://www.amazon.com/Avoid-Scams-Brokers-Advisors-Sender/dp/1726328023

Where FREE tax preparation?

The free AARP tax-aide sites are filling up quickly: aarp.org/money/taxes/aarp_taxaide/. Before spending $200-400 for a paid preparer, try filling in the screens using the IRS partners at irs.gov https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/. The instructions are easy to follow especially if you have last year’s return to compare what forms you need. I have found https://www.freetaxusa.com very easy to negotiate and respond to email questions. This one charges only $15 for your state return: Fed is free. It is still $15 when complicated like mine. Basically, you must pay tax on all your taxable income—wages, pensions, etc. This year you have less to deduct because the standard deduction was doubled. However, you lost the personal exemption of $4,050 for yourself, your spouse and each of your dependents. For each child under age 17 you receive $2,000. In high property tax states—NY, NJ, CA, CT, etc you will probably owe this year. The deduction cap is now $10,000 and the average homeowners in these states pay about $20,000 property tax. The law was written by a Rep from a Red state.

Try software at irs.gov https://apps.irs.gov/app/freeFile/ before you go to paid preparers.

Is that ‘fixed’ annuity offered at a seminar really paying 12%?

No, of course not. Use your common sense. If it were true, don’t you know everyone would buy one at their local office—no ‘seminar’ hype on Social Security would be needed? Recently, a client using the AARP Taxaide service said he sat through one. He did not bite. Some sellers use 12% in tag line: https://annuityguys.org/annuity-types/fixed-annuities/. They show the real rates below on their site. Perhaps the client heard what he wanted to hear. For instance, many ‘fixed’ annuities claim to pay you 80% of the market return so if the S&P 500 hits 15%, your credit (not money) is 12% for that period (month, day, year?). Since there are 125 different ways insurers ‘figure’ returns, you may want to take your accountant with you to the meeting. Read the contract: Cap is 10%: no 12%! An insurance company creates marketing ‘talk’ to sell. Once you give them your hard-earned dollars, they invest it like you could. What would you buy to make sure you earn a profit and pay claims in later years (surrender charges for 12-20 years)? You would buy stocks and bonds with most of your money. NYLife has been around since 1845 so they have done the same. I managed the sale of annuities at banks and security firms. The average return of all actual fixed ‘indexed’ annuities was 3.27% [inflation is 3%]. The range of returns over many years was 5.5% average annualized (best) and 1.2% (worst). Sales people save the bad news—3-4% annual costs—for their lawyers to explain in small print. Consider the alternative: income AND growth.

Best annuity: https://www.amazon.com/Best-Annuity-Strategy-Income-and-Growth/dp/1497532019

Which mix of stocks and bonds should we use?

As in anything, it depends--it depends on our time frame. Our daughter’s money is in 100% stocks with earnings from all over the world. She has 50 years to enjoy the 10-12% growth from low-cost index funds. At the other end of the age/risk continuum, ultra safe US treasuries have a 30-day yield of 2.92%. However, bond value goes down as interest rates go up. Our time frame is very important. As we get nearer the date we will need more of the income than the asset growth, we have to move from market ups and downs to a balanced trend. Starting 10 years away from living on dividends and interest, we need to pick a fund that maintains the balance automatically. Retirement Date funds do that for us without wasting our money with high-fee managers. RDFs are new so some investors have found 50-year old ‘managed’ funds that don’t often lose money and earn 9.58% over time, a better deal. So the main part of successful investing is understanding Warren Buffett’s famous advice: “The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient." Our daughter will stay in the 500 Index Fund costing only 0.04% for years. We have moved most of our nest egg to Wellesley Income Fund and can now enjoy steady income.

Can it be that simple: https://www.amazon.com/You-Beat-Wall-Street-professionals/dp/1986031373

More American Socialism

Amazon’s Bezos, the man with more wealth than half the nations of the world, takes government money to locate in VA. If Bezos needed another place to work, he could have built anywhere and people would work for him and pay taxes. It will take years for government to earn back this Socialist handout. Many taxpayers across the country are putting their hard-earned money in the pockets of the already wealthy business owners. Governments give money to the elites: Russia helps Putin’s big businesses just as China helps its businesses. In many studies, subsidies are ineffective for the public since the payback never happens. Once we give money to one, everyone wants the same deal. Of course most businesses that receive tax money don’t really need it like a small business starting out would. An estimated $18 Trillion was transferred from taxpayers to private hands between 2000 and 2015. 99% of it went to large companies, even foreign banks. Yet when those same taxpayers could not pay their mortgages from temporary layoffs, they were ignored. Many lost the home they had put their savings into.

Avoid paying corporate subsidies: https://www.amazon.com/Pay-No-Taxes-Retirement-legally/dp/1507527977

Corporations ‘move’ overseas to avoid tax but we can’t

Congress encourages all corporations to move out of America to pay lower taxes. However, if I do that, I am a felon. I am taxed on any income created anywhere in the world but if I incorporate overseas, it is OK to avoid US taxes. Tax avoidance through offshore tax loopholes is a significant reason why corporations, which paid one-third of federal revenues 60 years ago, now pay one-tenth of federal revenues. U.S. corporations dodge $90 billion a year in income taxes by shifting profits to subsidiaries — often no more than a post office box — in tax havens. U.S. corporations hold $2.1 trillion in profits offshore — much in tax havens — that have not been taxed. For instance, GE uses offshore financial profits to claimed tax refunds of $3.1 billion. Apple made $74 billion from 2009-2012 on worldwide sales (excluding the Americas) and paid almost nothing in taxes to any country. 26 profitable Fortune 500 firms paid no federal income taxes from 2008-2012. We actually pay large corporations with refunds and subsidies. 111 large, profitable corporations paid zero federal income taxes in at least one of those five years. $90 billion could help fund Medicare for All.

We can avoid paying their taxes: https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Tax-Shelter-Avoid-taxes/dp/1985448300

**************

Make America, “The Don”, Great Again

Senile Psychosis or Parkinson’s delusions? quetiapine and clozapine

Truth isn’t truth, his lawyer says

“The campaign -- for him -- was always a marketing opportunity.”

Two Americas: A Banana Republic? Do we really want an infant king? Daddy Putin!

***********************

How Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have! 

Why buy poor equipment for our Armed Forces? Govt does it every day.

https://www.newyorker.com/cartoons/daily-cartoon/friday-march-15th-tax-cuts

After NOT doing their jobs for years, these people want a raise: most are millionaires!

Trump debt: The Don has added 50% more debt $22.8 Trillion; $17 T in 2017

Navy spent $16 BILLION on ships that don’t work right: no accountability.

Marines object to holding the border for Trump: “unacceptable risk” to combat readiness.

SCAMS/SPINS:

Financial plans are created by just 2 coding firms: advisors don’t do plans, just input.

Big signs will be installed on driverless vehicles so we can walk the other way.

FAA had Boeing certify safety of its own 737 planes not smart idea. fox/henhouse?

Delta head put in charge of FAA by Trump: extra pilot saved one 737 from crash

GOP on climate ‘change’ owns 289 wells $3 million: NO ‘change’ from Congress.

GOP WI sore losers: laws to restrict new gov pass by lame ducks. NC & MI tricks failed

GOP to limit voter initiatives and voting places and times … again.

Lobbyists tell our Reps: kill health care reform by paying them to kill bills. Money talks!

Simple Health Plans FL, fake insurer, still collecting premiums but no coverage

Facebook: your password is available to anyone inside and any high school hacker.

Death by fentanyl: real national emergency! pandemic and Washington does nothing!

IN teachers: armed and dangerous--shoot & injure each other in ‘practice’? AR 400 RPM

Craig Arsenault CA caught stealing $5.7 million promised returns from loans to Dr.

Grant Rogers NY Talimco caught sham real estate auction helps friends

James Daly Michael O’Keeffe MA caught lost $10 million on oil/gas contracts.

Trump: ‘transparency’ "makes us all look good" but not my taxes, deals, Putin talk, etc.

Trump stopped consumer agency enforcement actions: 96% less returned from fraudster

Trump borrows at money-laundering Deutsche Bank: US banks decline ‘King of Debt.’

“I didn’t get a thank you” for honoring guy ‘I don’t like.’ My teen said the same for chore

Mob Boss so weak mentally he stabs McCain’s family after died. GOP still silent support.

“Individual 1” could be a Russian “asset”: Why FBI opened a file on The Mob Boss.

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:

900 Ford electric vehicle jobs Flat Rock MI—last year said end all cars in US

Who owns your account now?

Wells Fargo retirement plan services to Principal Financial

GE long-term care policy premiums to go up $500 million now; $1.2 billion next.

Miracle:

Boy survives tetanus but cost him 57 hospital days, rehab, $812,000, parents still refused.

This immigrant ran toward the killer of 50 and saved others.

NZ bans military killing machines after atrocity: Is this what it takes?

IAN

41 Watchung Plaza, B242

Montclair, NJ   07042

973.746.2014

www.InsuranceAdvisorsNetwork.com

Alerts