I've been saying this for years. The CSA Designation (Certified Senior Advisor) is just a ploy for insurance agents to sell more Equity Indexed Annuities - it does not provide a deep education into the issues of financial planning for the elderly.
Scott
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Thursday, August 31, 2006
The Only Radio Money Show You Should Listen Too
Lately I've been experiementing with Podcasting. Podcasting is basically the ability of anyone to create their own internet radio program. I'll be posting podcasts to my new website once I'm finished with it and I'll be commenting on news events and doing educational content, just like I do here on my blog.
In my research on how to do a good podcast (online or downloadable radio show) I found a radio show called "Sound Investing". "Sound Investing" is a weekly radio show/podcast that anyone can download to their computer, ipod, or mp3 and listen to at their leisure. I've listened to a lot of radio shows, everthing from Maverick Investing (give me a break) to Suze Orman ("you go, girlfriend"), yet none of them are really that good. They just don't educate you on what you really need to know about investing, or investing correctly.
"Sound Investing" is hosted by Merriman Capital, a group of Investment Advisors out of Seattle, Washington that I admire and respect. They manage money similar to the way I manage money and thus we have a common bond.
Though I believe my podcasts will be great and you should listen to them as often as you can once I make them available, I also think you should listen to "Sound Investing" as a supplement to what I'll be doing. I don't want to re-invent the wheel and I don't have the resources or the time that Merriman does to produce such an excellence podcast, thus I am recommending to you that you listen to it.
I know what your thinking...Scott, why would I listen to a competitor of yours? Why would you refer to a competitor's show as "The Only Radio Money Show You Should Listen Too"?
The answer is simple, my passion is for people to become educated about investing and financial planning and I can't do it all on my own. When I find honest, respectable, intelligent people who do a great job, I want you to hear what they say, it can only enhance your life and thus my own.
I am not saying that you should move your accounts to Merriman......I'd still like to be your advisor and will work my tail end off to be the best, but do listen to "Sound Investing" every chance you get, you'll not regret it.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
P.S. Merriman Capital doesn't pay me a dime to promote their webcasts!
In my research on how to do a good podcast (online or downloadable radio show) I found a radio show called "Sound Investing". "Sound Investing" is a weekly radio show/podcast that anyone can download to their computer, ipod, or mp3 and listen to at their leisure. I've listened to a lot of radio shows, everthing from Maverick Investing (give me a break) to Suze Orman ("you go, girlfriend"), yet none of them are really that good. They just don't educate you on what you really need to know about investing, or investing correctly.
"Sound Investing" is hosted by Merriman Capital, a group of Investment Advisors out of Seattle, Washington that I admire and respect. They manage money similar to the way I manage money and thus we have a common bond.
Though I believe my podcasts will be great and you should listen to them as often as you can once I make them available, I also think you should listen to "Sound Investing" as a supplement to what I'll be doing. I don't want to re-invent the wheel and I don't have the resources or the time that Merriman does to produce such an excellence podcast, thus I am recommending to you that you listen to it.
I know what your thinking...Scott, why would I listen to a competitor of yours? Why would you refer to a competitor's show as "The Only Radio Money Show You Should Listen Too"?
The answer is simple, my passion is for people to become educated about investing and financial planning and I can't do it all on my own. When I find honest, respectable, intelligent people who do a great job, I want you to hear what they say, it can only enhance your life and thus my own.
I am not saying that you should move your accounts to Merriman......I'd still like to be your advisor and will work my tail end off to be the best, but do listen to "Sound Investing" every chance you get, you'll not regret it.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
P.S. Merriman Capital doesn't pay me a dime to promote their webcasts!
Interest Rates Are.......Dropping?
Uh......anybody out there got a prediction on interest rates?
I once read a study (wish I could find it to cite it) that showed how often economists get interest rate predictions correct. Remember, there are only three ways interest rates can move: Up, Down, or Sideways (no movement). Thus any idiot off the street when polled would have a 33% chance (1 out of 3) of getting interest rate movements correct. The study showed that economists on average are correct in predicting interest rate movements 31% of the time.....in other words they have the best job in the world - they get paid a lot of money to be wrong consistently. If the highly paid, highly knowledgeable, and highly connected economists can't get interest rate predictions correct, what makes you think you or I can? I've given up on predicting rates, even though I've been correct on predicting where rates would go, I've been consistently WRONG in predicting WHEN they will go where.....
Thus, this brings me to today's interesting insights on interest rates.
Interest rates are falling.
Yep, you heard me. After rising consistently for the past 18 months (at least on the short side) they have been falling for the past two months. Need proof? The 6 month Treasury bill was yielding 5.33% on July 18th, while the 10 year Treasury Bond was yielding 5.25% - both 12 month highs, yet today (August 30th, 2006) they are both down. The 6 month treasury now stands at 5.14%, or nearly .20% lower, not an incredible drop, but lower. The 10 year bond however has dropped to 4.76%, almost a full 1/2% point (.49%). Bonds have rallied over the past two months (this means the prices have gone up, thus the yields have gone down).
Even wierder is that the yield curve is still inverted, meaning short term rates are higher than long term rates. In fact, a money market account is yielding more than short and intermediate term bonds. Historically this has meant a recession is on the way, however I've ceased giving any credence to these "historical" markers.
My point here is that we cannot predict the future of interest rates, the stock market, recession, or War for that matter. All we can do is build a globally diversified portfolio utilizing several asset classes and varying maturities of fixed income. Contrary to popular belief, your returns will not come from making correct predictions, but from having the correct portfolio and behaving in the right manner.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
I once read a study (wish I could find it to cite it) that showed how often economists get interest rate predictions correct. Remember, there are only three ways interest rates can move: Up, Down, or Sideways (no movement). Thus any idiot off the street when polled would have a 33% chance (1 out of 3) of getting interest rate movements correct. The study showed that economists on average are correct in predicting interest rate movements 31% of the time.....in other words they have the best job in the world - they get paid a lot of money to be wrong consistently. If the highly paid, highly knowledgeable, and highly connected economists can't get interest rate predictions correct, what makes you think you or I can? I've given up on predicting rates, even though I've been correct on predicting where rates would go, I've been consistently WRONG in predicting WHEN they will go where.....
Thus, this brings me to today's interesting insights on interest rates.
Interest rates are falling.
Yep, you heard me. After rising consistently for the past 18 months (at least on the short side) they have been falling for the past two months. Need proof? The 6 month Treasury bill was yielding 5.33% on July 18th, while the 10 year Treasury Bond was yielding 5.25% - both 12 month highs, yet today (August 30th, 2006) they are both down. The 6 month treasury now stands at 5.14%, or nearly .20% lower, not an incredible drop, but lower. The 10 year bond however has dropped to 4.76%, almost a full 1/2% point (.49%). Bonds have rallied over the past two months (this means the prices have gone up, thus the yields have gone down).
Even wierder is that the yield curve is still inverted, meaning short term rates are higher than long term rates. In fact, a money market account is yielding more than short and intermediate term bonds. Historically this has meant a recession is on the way, however I've ceased giving any credence to these "historical" markers.
My point here is that we cannot predict the future of interest rates, the stock market, recession, or War for that matter. All we can do is build a globally diversified portfolio utilizing several asset classes and varying maturities of fixed income. Contrary to popular belief, your returns will not come from making correct predictions, but from having the correct portfolio and behaving in the right manner.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
The Time May Be Right For The "Fiduciary Only" Advisor
"The investment advisory business just doesn't inspire confidence," Jonathan Clements
wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal.
The well-regarded columnist went on to say that the industry does have some great
investment advisers, but the problem is that the public has difficulty differentiating the
great from the rest.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a number of investment advisers and financial planners
began to make the transition from commission-based to "fee only" compensation. So
important was the basis of fee-only compensation to their practice that a group of
financial planners in 1983 established the National Association of Personal Financial
Advisors in Arlington Heights, Ill., to further the movement.
The time may be ripe for a parallel movement to evolve - the "fiduciary only" adviser -
the investment adviser who works with clients only on a fiduciary basis. Every client of
the adviser is provided the same standard of care - a fiduciary standard - whether the
client is a retail investor or a 401(k) plan sponsor."
I encourage you to follow the link and finish reading this piece by Donald Trone. I've been practicing as a Fiduciary Only advisor since I started Meridian Wealth Management in 2001.
Do you know what a Fiduciary is? Is your advisor a Fiduciary? Will he or she put in writing signed by their principal (manager) that they are a Fiduciary? If not, its time you made a change.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal.
The well-regarded columnist went on to say that the industry does have some great
investment advisers, but the problem is that the public has difficulty differentiating the
great from the rest.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, a number of investment advisers and financial planners
began to make the transition from commission-based to "fee only" compensation. So
important was the basis of fee-only compensation to their practice that a group of
financial planners in 1983 established the National Association of Personal Financial
Advisors in Arlington Heights, Ill., to further the movement.
The time may be ripe for a parallel movement to evolve - the "fiduciary only" adviser -
the investment adviser who works with clients only on a fiduciary basis. Every client of
the adviser is provided the same standard of care - a fiduciary standard - whether the
client is a retail investor or a 401(k) plan sponsor."
I encourage you to follow the link and finish reading this piece by Donald Trone. I've been practicing as a Fiduciary Only advisor since I started Meridian Wealth Management in 2001.
Do you know what a Fiduciary is? Is your advisor a Fiduciary? Will he or she put in writing signed by their principal (manager) that they are a Fiduciary? If not, its time you made a change.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
Police & Firefighters Gain New Benefit
The recently passed Pension Protection Act of 2006 was quite sweeping, but one provision has not gotten a lot of attention despite the fact that it has given Police, Firefighters, and other Eligible Safety Officers a great planning benefit.
Retired Eligible Public Safety Officers can not direct their 403(b) or 457 provider to pay tax-free distributions to their health or long term care insurance policy up to $3,000 annually starting next year. This is a great benefit and one that I hope spreads to all governmental employers.
While many Eligible Public Safety Workers have retiree health care provided for life, there are a lot who don't or experience higher costs than anticipated. Many would like to purchase long term care insurance but don't have the cash flow, this new provision just might push them to get that policy.
It appears that EPSW's can now save for health and long term care insurance premiums via their governmental DC retirement plans, congrats!
A word of caution, don't be so quick to rollover your 457 balances to an IRA, even though your broker will urge you to. If you do so you lose the rights just granted. Having said that.....if you do want to rollover money (in order to expand your investment options) check with your 457 plan provider and see if you can do a partial rollover and check to see if they will accept rollovers BACK into the plan from retirees, this way you can leave some money on deposit and roll the rest out to invest as you see fit.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
Retired Eligible Public Safety Officers can not direct their 403(b) or 457 provider to pay tax-free distributions to their health or long term care insurance policy up to $3,000 annually starting next year. This is a great benefit and one that I hope spreads to all governmental employers.
While many Eligible Public Safety Workers have retiree health care provided for life, there are a lot who don't or experience higher costs than anticipated. Many would like to purchase long term care insurance but don't have the cash flow, this new provision just might push them to get that policy.
It appears that EPSW's can now save for health and long term care insurance premiums via their governmental DC retirement plans, congrats!
A word of caution, don't be so quick to rollover your 457 balances to an IRA, even though your broker will urge you to. If you do so you lose the rights just granted. Having said that.....if you do want to rollover money (in order to expand your investment options) check with your 457 plan provider and see if you can do a partial rollover and check to see if they will accept rollovers BACK into the plan from retirees, this way you can leave some money on deposit and roll the rest out to invest as you see fit.
Scott Dauenhauer, CFP, MSFP
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