Are ETFs right for you?
Yes, you can trade exchange traded funds all day but
at what cost? ETFs are index funds sold by brokers so you pay commissions/fees
and you pay the 1.35%
expense ratio of the fund itself. That makes some funds lose
16% for their 3 year return. The only reason to pay a broker and expenses for
an index is to try to time the market. You have the chance to win big or lose
big. I call this gambling and even the best gamblers in the market rarely do
well. With millions of folks trying to find and use that special edge (your
broker’s insight) it is just mathematically impossible. But as you have heard,
gamblers have eternal hope that the strategy that doesn’t work for others will
surely work for them. In study after study, cost was the best
determinant of an investor’s success.
How do you avoid taxes on your excess cash?
Buy tax-FREE municipal bonds if your tax bracket is
high. This is the traditional solution for the wealthy. But if you are not
wealthy and still want to reduce your tax bill, buy quality
stocks that don’t produce dividends. Since you would prefer not to lose
money, buy a firm that seems to have a diversified portfolio that ignores
business cycles. One firm that stands out over time is Warren Buffett’s
Berkshire Hathaway. It owns GEICO, Coke, Wells Fargo, American Express, Kraft,
BNSF rail and others.
It has symbol BRK.B. It
has growth and profits. Over time the stock has gained about 20% a
year for shareholders. You pay tax only when you sell. Buffett has called
this method an ‘interest-FREE loan from the government.’ His tax rate is
17%--HALF that of his staff at 33%.
New way the wealthy maintain their wealth: summer
camp
Is your child at this kind of summer camp? Do they
spend their summer camp learning how to grow
their wealth? If this is something you might be interested in but just
can’t afford it, there is hope. Your kids can learn the real secret to building
wealth by using a little used tax shelter for those making under $120,000 or
$189,000 for couples. They can put away $5,500 a year and end up with TAX-FREE
$500,000. The teacher at this summer ‘camp’ is the most experienced investor of
our lifetime: Warren Buffett. He recommends your child use a simple formula
that anyone can learn. And because he is the ‘advisor’ not some Wall Street
slick, there is no cost to invest. He will not be taking 1-2% of your kids
money each year to assure that the firm knows best. He will help them learn how
to control their fears about money and investing. And as proof that his
strategy works, he explains how he recently beat the strategies of multiple
Wall Street gurus. That kind of information is priceless but because Warren
This is your child’s chance to be wealth. https://www.amazon.com/Tax-Shelter-Young-Americans/dp/1500426520
Get best price for your home and skip gains tax
There are secrets
to selling your home successfully. You have to prepare your home and find the
right agent to help you in return for your 3%. You may also skip taxes on the
gains in your home since you purchased it. And you can even skip the gains on
your rental properties. IRS says
take your gains FREE up to $500,000 for couples. If you spend 2 years in
your rental, you
get to save gains tax again. Rental properties can provide special tax
benefits while you build equity. Like Trump
you use other people’s money to add value to the property and deduct expenses from your income
taxes. When you sell, you keep up to $500,000 in gains. Timing is important.
Is Aflac insurance worth the money?
What does the lapsed-in force ratio tell us about
this kind of insurance? Aflac customers quit at about the same rate as new ones
begin. For 2017, annualized premiums in force was $5,896 billion, new sales,
including conversions, of $1,552 billion, and Premiums
lapsed was ($1,525) billion. So new replaced lapsed. The duck commercial gives
the impression that we can receive money when
we can’t work. Most states require that employers carry workmen’s
compensation for just this need. Some even provide temporary disability
insurance and sick/vacation time. Also, if you have a savings fund or other
income, this policy may not be needed. Other
buyers have had their problems with this coverage. Sales are necessary to
maintain the cash flow so Aflac concentrates on that. When a firm must
concentrate on sales, sales bonus and prize trips are the expense that you must
pay. Expensive incentives are your costs. Consumer
Reports has concerns too.
Look at all alternatives: https://www.amazon.com/Disability-Insurance-Cash-better-Self-insure/dp/1481843893
New ways the wealthy avoid taxes that we have to pay
for them
The Trump tax breaks
allow the newly wealthy to avoid paying capital gains taxes on their $ millions
worth of stock. They can also claim a charitable deduction that most likely
saves millions of dollars more, and probably reduced their personal tax bill
for years to come. How? Donor-advised
funds, allow wealthy individuals like Mr. Woodman founder of GoPro to give
assets — usually cash and stock, but also real estate, art and cryptocurrencies
— to a sponsoring organization like the Silicon Valley Community Foundation,
Fidelity Charitable or Vanguard Charitable. They get the benefits—tax cuts
of 50%--and then get to grant it to their favorite organization. This gives
them influence without negative press or taxes. The Trump administration said it would stop requiring these nonprofit
organizations to disclose the names of large donors, a change that will make it
easier for some political groups to hide their funders. Now they can make
policy without any accountability. Since they don’t pay taxes, we have to pay
for the courts, police, military, roads, airports, etc. The rich use all the
services but don’t pay for them.
You can have a Trump tax shelter too: https://www.amazon.com/Trump-Tax-Shelter-Avoid-taxes/dp/1985448300
Are Dividend Reinvestment Plans right for you?
These plans automatically buy more stock with your
dividends from the stock. Typically you are putting all your eggs in one basket
and for someone in a low tax bracket like a child, this is great. A $2,000
investment in Pepsi in 1980 would be worth more than $150,000 by the end of
2004. You would have started with 80
shares, but by reinvesting dividends, you’d now have 2,800 shares. If you have a favorite firm you may be able
to buy direct from it but watch the brokerage fees
and DRIP charges—nothing is FREE even for young investors without money. It
would be good to research the lowest
fee highest yield stock so you earn over time. However, there is no
guarantee that your pick will keep raising dividends. Of course, most mutual funds
offer FREE dividend reinvestment as part of their share ownership. Buy broad
markets earning 11% over time.
Our broker/advisors will now have a background check
BrokerCheck
information about our representative is accurate, complete and up to date as
possible claims FINRA, the
brokerage trade representative. Our advisors are monitored by the
securities regulator using form ADV. https://www.sec.gov/fast-answers/answersformadvhtm.html.
If you feel there is something wrong in your account or their behavior, report
it immediately to these regulators. Brokers with
questionable records tend to move to new firms so it is best to track their
missteps going back as far as you can. And don’t let the publicity of a big
firm cloud your research. EG: Morgan Stanley needs the fees as much as a small
firm. Presumably FINRA checked on this broker before she moved to a new firm.
Now that the Fiduciary Rule has been eliminated by Trump, we have little
protection except by our own due diligence.
Is your broker/advisor’s Financial Plan right for
you?
They will be paid more if you buy their Financial Plan.
And don’t be surprised if the Plan calls for more products. Morgan Stanley has
released their comp grid (pay scale) for next year. The most radical aspect of
Morgan Stanley’s plan is tying
pay changes and bonuses to individual customer accounts rather than to
overall production that can be generated from a small percentage of a broker’s
book (your account), said insiders and consultants. It’s also the riskiest in
terms of winning broker acceptance, because he or she needs widespread adoption
across clients to make a meaningful difference to compensation.
“You’re going to need to fundamentally shift your
business approach for this to add up,” said Andy Tasnady a comp consultant. “In
the past, it hasn’t been designed at a micro level for just a household.” They
will earn more by moving your mortgage and bank accounts to their bank. Most
firms strive for the “whole client wallet” meaning they control all your money.
Just remember that you will need help taking all your accounts back. Merrill
Lynch is actually lowering payouts if you don’t buy their plans.
****************
Conspiracy
against the United States, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to
receive Emoluments
from foreign states, false statements, subverting
constitutional tax power, obstructing
justice, failure
to secure voting systems from attacks, and Foundation
self-dealing.
***********************
How
Govt wastes our money: Congress spends $1.3 Trillion we don’t have!
Trump lawyers to kill
ObamaCare’s protection of pre-existing illness clients
Trump military parade costs $92 million; Pentagon
cancels; Trump
goes to Paris!
What happens when you
don’t show up for work? Our reps dock pay, fired, something?
SCAMS/SPINS:
John Maccoll UBS MI caught stealing
$4 million ‘diversification’ investment fraud
Richard Moseley Hydra caught collecting
unlawful debts, fraud, conspiracy $14 million
Scott Kohn NV Future Income Payments stole
$100 million in pension buying scam.
David Laurance Tomahawk Exploration caught
oil drill fake projections
LifeVantage sued for being
a pyramid
Lockwood Advisors BNY Mellon caught undisclosed
wrap fees hidden in ‘net’ price.
Citigroup’s 1-year ‘structured note’ claims cushion
inversion in yield curve: Bet
now!
Ameriprise failed
to safeguard retail investor assets from theft by its representatives.
Valley Electronics Daysy contraception may not work.
Citrus World and Florida Natural Growers selling
‘natural juice’ that isn’t.
Crisco Virgin Oil Spray that is not
an ‘extra virgin’ at all. Extra? How?
Trump
destroys FBI agent for 1st Amdmt tweets The Don does not like.
(like Putin does)
Trump Supreme nominee: Trump
can ignore any law deemed unconstitutional by self
Home insurance: you
don’t get what you pay for
police
shoot owner who already shot intruder. All kids have plastic
killer guns?
Jobs:
MO
says no to GOP right-to-work law: stops union busting
Retire? Never! I switched to
part-time instead; saved in Roth IRA for Tax-FREE.
Wages
same 40 years ago with inflation: same as $2.50 1964; $22.65 2018; 1973
$23.68
Money
and job keep us up at night: relationship is No 1.
Extra
cash with part time job: 40% of us average $700/month
Who
owns your account now?
Putin
owns FL voting system: Nelson on cybersecurity
comm. Trump:
election rigged.
Bankruptcy: 3
times higher than 1991 for seniors: health costs, no savings? Get help.
Wells Fargo blames computer for
illegal foreclosures
Health and drug companies fighting
against single payer plan already
Stream movies for FREE with Consumer
Report pics
Your DNA
test may influence your future insurance needs: rights vary or change.
Inflation rising: Shelter 41% of core CPI is running
at a 3.5
percent annual rate.
You can lose
SS benefits by NOT knowing the rules: Visit your local office.
Amazon
taking your Defense secrets into cloud. Old computers are broken. Jeff has
new!
Miracle:
Time for Pope to end celibate priesthood: Catholics
and Church are ready for the change.
FL wakes up from ‘stand
your ground’ BS: Black man had no gun. Not fair gunfight!
IAN
41 Watchung Plaza, B242
973.746.2014
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