Blog
Regime Shift Coming?
all investors have seen is a market where both stocks and bonds rise. This has led to diehard institutional allegiance to this style of portfolio management. But the 60/40 portfolio is in trouble today
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A Simple Question
I often ask Clients the question: “Do you think taxes will be higher in the future?” Everyone says “yes!”. Then I ask, “where are the majority of your future assets located?” I will see a lot of...
Read MoreLocking up your money
The truth is: You Do NOT Control the Money in Your 401(k) or IRA, or Any Similar Plan. You Control Your Money in a PRA Strategy
Read MoreNo Deals in the Life Insurance Industry
access to capital is the greatest living benefit of permanent insurance.... It's the only product that will guarantee what you want to happen will happen, whether you are there or not. An account that allows you to accumulate money
Read MoreHow to access your 401k prior to 59 1/2 without penalty
I get this question regularly. It reminds us again how restrictive these accounts can be! About 31,000,000 Americans have tapped into these accounts for funds during 2020. This reduction in future assets can be a real hindrance for...
Read MoreSix Streams of Tax-Free Income
We operate upon three beliefs when it comes to tax-free income in retirement. The first is that tax rates are likely to be dramatically higher in the future than they are today. Possibly much higher. Mathematically speaking, we are...
Read MoreIf Not the Stock Market, Then What?
Investments and Savings Opportunities. “The individual investor should act consistently as an investor and not as a speculator.” Benjamin Graham The stock market has been the default investment for a generation. And it has...
Read MoreTax risk made clear in one chart
Most Americans will owe taxes on their retirement income withdrawals. Up to 85% of their Social Security distributions also will be taxable. Many don't realize this nor understand how to minimize these taxes. This can equate to 15, 20...
Read MoreThe government does NOT have your back as an investor
With just one mistake, Dennis Buchholtz lost a quarter of his life savings... Today, I want to share Dennis' unfortunate story with you. That's because many honest, hardworking folks just like Dennis are about to make the exact same...
Read MoreThe Best Place in the World to Save and Distribute Money
The World's Best Account What would you say if I told you the life insurance industry is the world’s safest industry? What if I shared that the life insurance industry can provide a strategy that yields 20 to 30 times the safe...
Read MoreHow to Never Run Out of Money in Retirement – Even if You Live to 120
“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” Henry retired on New Year’s Eve 1999. As an investment banker on Wall Street during an economic boom, he’d spent the previous 10 years working...
Read MoreTarget-Date Funds are a recipe for mediocrity
You know something that would be no fun… retiring broke. What would be even worse is thinking you’re doing all the right stuff… and still retiring broke. For a lot of folks, it’s becoming a scary and...
Read MoreIs a 529 Plan the best choice for university savings?
A 529 Plan is a tax-advantaged savings plan designed to encourage saving for future education costs. But are they the best tools for college savings? Let's look at the pros and cons vs permanent life insurance.
Read MoreWill You Outlive Your Money?
In 1928, U.S. life expectancy was about 57 years. Today, according to the Social Security Administration, folks turning 65 this year have an average life expectancy of 84.3 (men) or 86.6 (women). What’s more, people are living...
Read MoreLife Insurance Celebrities
Now that Biden is expected to roll back the gift allowance, the wealthy are even more interested in owning permanent life insurance (PLI). Here are just a few of the reasons why: Owning PLI equalizes estate planning so that the estate...
Read MoreThe Demographic Time Bomb
With the recent release of the US Census we are getting a picture of the upcoming demographic time bomb facing the country. The 2020 census revealed that there are 331 million US residents, which represents a 7.4% increase since 2010....
Read MoreBeware of the Market for the Next 10 Years
If you think the next 10 years in the market will be similar to the last 10… it’s time to change your expectations. That means if you’re currently retired and living off your savings, or close to your retirement age...
Read MoreAnnuity Myths: Why Americans Hate Annuities
Popular speakers in the financial and retirement space like Ken Fisher and Suzy Orman have made annuities rather unattractive. The major objection has to do with the supposed fees of the product. But did you know many of the annuities...
Read MoreRule #1: Don't lose money
To successfully plan, you must focus on how you can lose money. You must focus on risk. Once you've taken care of the risk, you can move on to the fun stuff... making money. The thing is, amateur investors are almost always thinking...
Read MoreIs The Fed playing Monopoly with your future?
Our politicians have turned our financial system into a game of Monopoly. Can there be any real question that with all of the money printing and out-of-control stimulus spending… The next meltdown in our financial system could...
Read MoreThe Great American Tax Hike
Biggest Tax Hikes Since 1993 President Biden and Vice President Harris are gearing up for a grand cross-country tour in the coming weeks. The two are embarking on a series of public speaking events in an effort to help sell the...
Read MoreIf I can show you a way to help you avoid taxes would you give me 30 minutes of your time?
If you have money in a tax-deferred retirement account such as a 401(k), IRA or 403(b), you're sitting on a tax time bomb. I'm going to explain the tax traps you face and show you how to move toward a 0% tax bracket in retirement...
Read MoreBuffett: “retirees face a bleak future.”
Warren Buffett minced no words in his most recent annual shareholder letter (which came out in early March) when he told investors that “retirees face a bleak future.” Buffett was referring to the pitifully low interest...
Read MoreMan trades in his 401(k) for an increasing income for life
Jason is 53 years old and just changed jobs. He's facing two retirement planning dilemmas... 1. He has $830,000 in his 401(k) from his previous job and wants to move it where it gives him more guarantees that he and his wife, Julie,...
Read MoreThe Stunning Problem With The 4% Retirement Income Rule
Risky Years Are you in the “retirement risk bubble”? This is called a 'systematic withdrawal' approach to retirement planning. Risk of the 4% rule. Sequence of Return Risk
Read MoreThe Dual Forces Creating Opportunity in Gold
Amid the strong rise in commodities over the last few months, gold has underperformed dramatically. Since August of 2020, copper, platinum, and palladium are up 48%, 32%, and 10% respectively, while gold actually dropped 10%. Gold is...
Read MorePlan Like a Fighter Pilot
He's one of history's great military strategists, but you likely haven't heard of him... Colonel John Boyd was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, and joined the Army Air Corps in 1944, while he was still in high school. After graduating from...
Read MoreHow to Maximize Your Returns as Crypto Goes Mainstream
Editor's note: No matter your situation, you should consider owning some bitcoin... As I've explained, even skeptical investors should consider making room for "the ultimate store of value in the current environment." For most, just...
Read MoreA Golden (State) Opportunity (Part 2 of 2)
Facts: Why the Antelope Valley? The Antelope Valley (AV) has made a commitment to becoming the first Net Zero city of its kind. Meaning the city will be totally self-sufficient and not reliant on any external energy companies such as...
Read MoreA Golden (State) Opportunity (Part 1 of 2)
A party is raging right now – perhaps the biggest bash ever seen. But, you simply haven’t been invited. Worse than that, you’re unknowingly footing the bill. The tab is so high, in fact, your children and...
Read MoreWhy You Should Plan To Live Past 100
More People Are Afraid of Going Broke Than Dying Do you want to live to 100? If you're like the majority of Americans, the answer is yes. In 2017, the National Center for Health Statistics reported that 65-year-old Americans can...
Read MoreProtect Yourself from America's Free Money Free-for-All
Did you hear the news? Joe Biden wants to give you $1,400. That’s on top of the $1,200 and $600 checks that Trump signed, sealed and put into your mailbox. All told… that’s a lot of money. It’s pushed stocks,...
Read MoreHow to Maximize Your Net Worth and Income
The basic premise of the Power of Zero is that due to the fiscal irresponsibility of the U.S., tax rates will have to rise dramatically over the next few years just to keep the country solvent. Combine that situation with a...
Read MoreLong-Term Care Riders and Hybrid Policies: A Better Solution
The chance of your house burning down or sustaining other damage is 1 in 1200. The odds you will use your auto insurance for a claim on your car is 18%. The odds that you’ll need long-term care are 72 in 100, but less than 30% have it
Read MoreDo You Manage Your Risk?
To successfully plan, you must focus on how you can lose money. You must focus on risk. Once you've taken care of the risk, you can move on to the fun stuff... making money. The thing is, amateur investors are almost always thinking...
Read MoreDual Compounding: A Case Study in Maximizing Your Gains
With Income for Life (a.k.a Private Reserve Account, PRA), we put our money into a high-quality indexed universal life insurance policy from a solid company. And we set it up a specific way to supercharge the growing cash balance in...
Read MoreLosses are Optional
Safety Is Just One Key to a Prudent Retirement Vehicle Mark Cuban almost lost his fortune in the stock market. And it would have been bad… If you are a retiring corporate executive, this could apply to you, too. Let me explain...
Read MoreBond Basics
The basics of corporate bonds... Corporate bonds are debt instruments issued to the public by companies. They're typically issued in increments of $1,000, known as the "par value" or "principal" of the bond. Unlike a share of stock, a...
Read MoreThe 'tax bubble' of Social Security can be dramatic
Effect of provisional income on effective marginal tax rate According to David McKnight, author of the Power of Zero, the name of the game in retirement is to get yourself into the zero percent tax bracket, as tax rates are likely to...
Read MoreThe Crucial Differences Between Monetary Policy and Fiscal Policy
October 2020 was an ugly month for the U.S. stock market. The Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq Composite all declined more than 2%, registering their second down month in a row.Some will attribute this market weakness to pre-election jitters....
Read MoreInterest Rates and Your Mortgage
With the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates at or near zero, you may wonder about your mortgage. Is it a good time to refinance or even pay off the debt entirely? After all, your mortgage is one of the biggest expenses you may...
Read MoreDo you have a Hope? Or a Plan?
In early 1948, a group of US Air Force officers was working on a secret research project in the California desert codenamed MX981. The purpose of MX981 was to test how extreme gravitational forces from fast-moving fighter jets would...
Read MoreObjects at Rest
In the summer of 1687, after years of study and reflection, the legendary English scientist Isaac Newton published one of the most important works in the history of the world. He called it Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica,...
Read MoreTax-Free Retirement: Why Does It Matter? 🤔
Most people have not been planning for a tax-free retirement. They have been accumulating assets; they have not been thinking about distribution. They usually have accumulated assets in tax-postponed accounts. That tax will be paid at...
Read MoreUnrealistic Expectations
When saving for retirement, it’s best to assume slightly lower returns than average to make sure you’re not relying on risky investments to save enough. Overly-aggressive return assumptions could well cause you to not have...
Read MoreWade Pfau: COVID-19 Trashes the '4% Rule'
In the good old days (before coronavirus), many people could rely on working longer to wrangle a wayward retirement plan back on track. Not anymore. The devastating loss of jobs set off by the COVID-19 pandemic is depriving many folks...
Read MoreThey aren't making any more of it...
Folks didn't like this idea because it seemed too simple... Back in 2015, Neil Jordan proposed a simple way to save the cows in southern Africa. At first, experts in the conservation and biology fields took the scientist to task for...
Read MoreBitcoin for Beginners
By Andreas Antonopoulos In October 2008, on an obscure electronic mailing list, a participant using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto made an announcement. He said, “I think I have solved a problem in computer science. I have found...
Read MoreShould You Retire Early?
Do you dream of life with no alarm clock, no commute, and no boss? Then you might be one of the many Americans who aspire to retire early. But for many, the dream of early retirement leads to a rude awakening when the reality of...
Read MoreFinancial Planning has Failed!
In the old days, they had this rule of thumb that your age should be your percentage allocation to bonds. So if you were 70 years old, you should have a 70% allocation to bonds. The reason is simple. When you’re close to...
Read MoreSave like Dave Ramsey—just don’t invest like him!
I often get the question about Mr. Ramsey...here are my candid thoughts... “Ramsey is the pro bono financial adviser to millions of Americans who otherwise could never afford one.”—Politico.com There’s a gap in...
Read More30-year Home Loans Fall to Historic Lows
Lately, it can feel like each day brings a new headline about fluctuating market behavior. But amid the ups and downs of 2020, there may be some potential good news on the horizon. On July 16, 2020, the interest rate for a 30-year...
Read MoreFees and more Fees!
AARP published a report in which it found that 71% of Americans believe they pay no fees at all to have a 401(k) plan. (Put another way, more than 7 out of 10 people in America today are completely unaware that they are even being...
Read MoreThe Outrageous Effect of Taxation of Social Security Benefits
As you may be well aware, Social Security retirement benefits can be taxable to you, depending upon how much other income you have. What you may not be aware of is how this can seriously increase your taxes for small amounts of...
Read MoreWhat the CARES Act Means for Retirement Accounts in 2020
The CARES Act made a few changes to the rules surrounding retirement account withdrawals... Under normal circumstances, if you withdraw money from your qualified retirement plan – like a 401(k) or 403(b) plan – or...
Read MoreU.S. Banks Flush with 2 Trillion Dollars in Cash
An “eye-popping” $2 trillion in cash has been stashed in deposit accounts at U.S. banks since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit the country in January.1This surge of money into banks has no precedent in history.Several...
Read MoreDemise of 60/40 Portfolio
According to the Financial Times: “One of the basic rules of investment is coming unstuck, forcing some fund managers to rethink how they build their portfolios.” All to say the classic portfolio structure — 60%...
Read MoreQualified Plans: The Hidden Truth
For many people, the term 401k is synonymous with retirement preparation, and sometimes represents the full extent of their preparedness. Such accounts are often included as part of a benefits package provided by employers, and...
Read MoreThis May Be the Best Time in Your Life to Become Tax-Free and to Diversify Your Assets
A Roth IRA is an individual retirement account that offers tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals in retirement. Roth IRA rules dictate that as long as you've owned your account for 5 years and you're age 59½ or older, you...
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