AdviceIQ Articles

  • ETFs and Funds: Both Good

    Submitted by Roger Wohlner on Thu, 05/02/2013 - 9:00am

    Since the financial crisis, many investors lost faith in mutual funds, especially actively managed ones with higher fees, and flocked to low-cost exchange-traded index funds. This isn’t a bad thing, but there is no reason to categorically exclude mutual funds from your portfolio.

  • Is Your Advisor a Crook?

    Submitted by Eve Kaplan on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 3:00pm

    How can you be sure that your financial advisor is on the up and up? Your assets are too important for you to blindly trust the person you hire to tend them.

  • Investing Lessons from Golf

    Submitted by Dan Crimmins on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 12:00pm

    Successful golfing and successful investing are similar. The key to both is determining how much risk is appropriate to accomplish your goals and when it is not.

    Watching the different styles of the golfers at the Masters reminds me of an analogy that I sometimes use while talking to prospective clients. While each of the golfers tries to complete the four rounds of golf in the least amount of strokes, the way they accomplish this varies. That is also true for investors.

  • Don’t Bet on Investing Genius

    Submitted by Elizabeth Anderson on Wed, 05/01/2013 - 9:00am

    Over the course of your investing life, you will probably hear a large number of misstatements, partial truths, and out-and-out whoppers about investing. These ideas are typically part of a well-rehearsed sales pitch, often by someone who has a financial interest in getting investors to believe them.

    They sound very seductive. Some ideas are bandied about so widely that they become folk wisdom.

  • Emotions and Your Money

    Submitted by Rick Kahler on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 3:00pm

    There is a relationship between money and feelings. Understanding it is key to your financial – and psychological – wellbeing.

    Anyone who sent a check to the Internal Revenue Service this month certainly doesn't need to be convinced about the emotional link to money. I can personally attest that paying a hefty tax brings a great deal of pain.

  • Life Insurance for Smokers

    Submitted by Jeff Rose on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 12:00pm

    How can a smoker get insured, and at reasonable premium? If you smoke, it hurts your life insurance rates.

    Since this habit carries so many health risks, smokers generally need to pay more for coverage and also could have a more complicated application process.

    If you handle your application properly, you can minimize the extra costs you need to pay. Here is a complete guide to life insurance for smokers to help you get prepared:

  • The Case for Gold Now

    Submitted by Yale Bock on Tue, 04/30/2013 - 9:00am

    Gold is in a slump. Should you own it? Yes. The prospect of inflation looms, given central banks’ stimulus campaigns, and gold protects you well if that happens. Besides, it’s cheaper now than before.

    Over the long term – let's say longer than the rest of 2013 – gold has merit because printing more money historically leads to inflation, and the yellow metal is a good inflation hedge. Plus, gold is nice insurance in case military conflicts arise, or people are scared by other world events. 

  • How Advisors Get Paid

    Submitted by Sterling Raskie on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 3:00pm

    When you first meet with a financial advisor, it’s important to ask not only how much his or her fees are, but who actually pays. An advisor’s compensation method can affect the type of advice you get, so you should understand the differences before you choose who to hire.

    There are three basic ways financial advisors and planners are compensated: Commissions, fees and a combination of both. Neither is absolutely more or less expensive for you.

    Here is what makes them different and relevant to you as an investor.

  • Travel With the Grandkids

    Submitted by Lewis J. Walker on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 12:00pm

    Here’s a retirement tip: Use some of your hard-earned money to take your family on trips, particularly the grandchildren.

    Sure, conserving the money necessary to sustain income throughout retirement is a valid concern. But some retirees become financially paranoid, unduly tight with spending to the point that they fail to enjoy the fruits of their saving.

  • Cyclicals’ Surge: Not Bad Sign

    Submitted by Raul Elizalde on Mon, 04/29/2013 - 9:00am

    Defensive sector stocks surged ahead of aggressive ones in the last month or so. That seems like a bearish sign. Yet it really isn’t.

    Usually, aggressive stocks – in more cyclical sectors like industrials and energy – lead in a robust bull market. So with the opposite happening, some pundits see this as a sign that investors remain tentative and unready to take on risk, despite equities’ rallying since last November. They view it as a reluctance to invest that doesn't bode well for stocks.

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SMART ADVICE

 

A Tragic Mistake: ‘I Don’t Need Help Handling my Money’

 

By Larry Light, Editor-in-Chief

May 1, 2013

 

We all like to think we’re smart and self-sufficient. A lot of folks believe they can manage their financial lives by themselves. These do-it-yourselfers are woefully wrong.

 

AdviceIQ is about giving the world the wisdom of smart, honest (none can have any regulatory infractions) advisors. Are we blindly pro-advisor? No, we are clear-eyed about being pro-good advisor. Everyone, even the financial cognoscenti, should have such a helper to sort out life’s perplexities.

 

Lamentably, the financial crisis and the Bernard Madoff scandal convinced many to steer clear of advisors. According to a Deloitte consulting firm study, 57% of those polled say they’re more comfortable handling their retirement planning on their own. Plus, 38% contend they need no professional advice to plan.

 

Really? A story from Paul Sullivan shows how wrong-headed they are. Sullivan is enormously well-versed in personal finance, which he writes about for the New York Times. But it turns out that even he could use some help with his portfolio. One day he went before Tiger 21, an investment club of very wealthy (with at least $10 million in net worth) types who assessed his financial situation. To Sullivan’s surprise and dismay, the group found major holes: He and his wife didn’t have enough insurance, they carried an unneeded vacation home and spent too much.

 

The blasé DIY attitude vexes Edmond Walters, founder and chief executive of eMoney Advisor, which provides support services to advisors. He watches discount broker TV ads that promise you can direct your investments by yourself, without paying an advisor. “It’s dangerous,” he says. “The ads say you can come home after work and spend a couple of hours trading a month. But the professionals have a lot more information than you.” Result: You get slammed.

 

As the Times’ Sullivan attests, it’s good to have a more knowledgeable someone guiding you, an expert who keeps up with all the arcane changes in the financial arena. Do you know how much disability coverage you need? Are you saving adequately for your kids’ education? How much money are you wasting for no good reason? Will your investments support you through your retirement?

 

Walters spent almost two decades as an advisor before he started his current company. “But,” he says, “even I have an advisor.”

 

 

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