AdviceIQ Articles

  • Bad Mix: Inflation and Savings

    Submitted by David Marotta a... on Wed, 04/17/2013 - 9:00am

    Cyprus’ recent banking crisis shows how easily government can erode your bank deposits. In Cyprus, it is through outright confiscation. In the U.S., it is through low interest rates and inflation. But there are ways for Americans to offset this problem.

  • An Advisor for the Young

    Submitted by Vincent Trivett on Tue, 04/16/2013 - 3:00pm

    Blair Hodgson DuQuesnay disproves a well-circulated myth: that financial planning is the exclusive province of gray-headed advisors who cater to middle-aged and elderly clients with fat wallets.

    The 31-year-old advisor just founded her own independent registered investment advisor business that caters to young professionals in New Orleans. She believes that advisors neglect to harness the power of the Web and ignore younger investors at their own peril. Clients in Generation X and Y are tomorrow’s well-heeled set.

  • Prepare For Inflation

    Submitted by Brenda P. Wenning on Tue, 04/16/2013 - 12:00pm

    The job market recovery fared even worse than expected in March. This is bad news for job hunters, but it’s equally bad for your savings, since continued monetary stimulus might lead to runaway inflation.

    When the unemployment rate declines, even by a little bit, it should be good news. But when it declines because people are leaving the workforce in record numbers, it’s not.

  • Stocks Peak, Keep Buying

    Submitted by Bert Whitehead on Tue, 04/16/2013 - 9:00am

    No one wants to pay too much for stocks. But with the market climbing these days, how do you avoid that? Remedy: Use what’s called dollar cost averaging, buying a constant dollar amount of stocks on a continuous schedule, in bad markets and good.

  • A Very Bad Insurance Idea

    Submitted by Rick Kahler on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 3:00pm

    Some insurance sales folks peddle a concept called "Be Your Own Banker." Don’t fall for it.

    This idea has floated around the Internet and late-night television for a while now. One of the latest versions, touted on a website called www.bankonyourself.com, shows what very bad advice it is.

  • Avoid Wedding-Cost Traps

    Submitted by Jonathan DeYoe on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 12:00pm

    Is a wedding in your future? If so, prepare yourself to pay a lot. But there are ways to rein in the spending without diminishing the joy of the occasion.

    Between the wedding planner, venue, food, flowers, cake, dress, drinks, photographer, videographer, invitations, programs and all the rest, you’re likely to be hearing a lot of this: ka-ching, ka-ching.

  • 4% Retiree Withdrawal: Safe?

    Submitted by Lewis J. Walker on Mon, 04/15/2013 - 9:00am

    How much can you withdraw annually in retirement and stay solvent? The longtime standard answer is 4%. But 3% may be more prudent if stocks and bonds continue offering low returns into the future.

  • Higher Taxes for Big Earners

    Submitted by Blair Hodgson D... on Fri, 04/12/2013 - 3:00pm

    Many people, especially higher-income types, will pay higher taxes next spring. Don't be surprised that your returns take a bigger bite from your 2013 income.

    While we were celebrating the New Year on Jan. 1, Congress passed a last-minute compromise on the fiscal cliff debacle called the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

  • Axing Bad Money Behavior

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

    Successful retirement requires you to spend less than you earn and save or invest money for your future. But it’s not that simple. As an average person struggling with money, you must overcome psychological barriers that keep you from doing those two simple things you already know you should do.

  • Overlooked Stock Risk

    Submitted by Ray Ferrara on Fri, 04/12/2013 - 9:00am

    With the market up around more than 10% this year, pessimists love to speculate on all that could trip it up, from a new Korean conflict to tepid U.S. economic growth to more European turmoil. Too few focus on the bigger risk: fed-up bond investors shift en masse to the stock market and overheat it.

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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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