With the foliage about to change colors, Fall is the best time to visit the small towns of New England. Read this post I wrote on September 23, 2016 about how to discover your small town. You're about to read the second installment of my brand new series, Your Retirement Life. We are in this together, trying to live a more prosperous, fulfilling life. It ain’t easy. But we can learn from one another. I’d like to hear your story. I hope you like this one. When I was a kid we used to go camping. Not in a fancy RV but, like the good ‘ole days, in a tent. My favorite place to go with my … [Read more...]
Top 10 Ski Resorts 2018: Kill Two Birds with One…Pass
If you’re a skier, it’s never too early to think about snow. One of my favorite websites to peruse is ZRankings, which ranks the best ski resorts in North America. Its creator is Chris Steiner, a regular contributor to Forbes magazine, and a skier who clearly likes to SKI. Check out his Top 10 list for 2018 . Today, thanks to mega-consolidation of ski resorts, it’s not unusual to be able to ski more than a dozen mountains on one pass. For example, you can kill two birds with one stone—Snowbird, in Utah and Loon, in New Hampshire—with the same IKON season pass. Lucky you! The combinations … [Read more...]
Do ETFs Belong in Your Portfolio?
My quick answer is no. Because everywhere I turn there’s yet another ETF being formed and an article espousing their benefits. And with Wall Street firms plastering their names on all sorts of ETFs, the landscape has become littered with products that would feel more at home on the Vegas Strip. Investors be warned: Passive investing basically guarantees benchmark returns. Make sure your portfolio doesn’t rely too much on the wrong measuring stick. As Robert Powell reports in USA Today, it's also a good idea to avoid newly launched ETFs: Well-known, long-established indices are better … [Read more...]
When Governments Compete, Citizens Win
One of the less touted but possibly most significant outcomes of the Trump tax reform was forcing states into greater competition over taxation. States with already high taxes had the sheet pulled off their ugly policies. The tax reform bill stripped those high taxing states of the federal deductions that had masked their inefficient policies. With all states now competing on an even playing field, citizens are getting a first hand look at just how badly their states have been bilking them. At the Cato Institute, Chris Edwards writes that high income earners, who were already fleeing high … [Read more...]
My Personal View on Fidelity Investments for You
Ned Johnson was CEO back in the mid-90’s when I worked at Fidelity Investments. Today the CEO is his daughter Abby. What hasn’t changed at Fidelity is its commitment to invest in technology to help give it an edge. John Tlumacki writes for the Boston Globe: Johnson said that when her father, Ned Johnson, launched FCAT in 1999, the goal was to help clients and employees explore emerging technologies that could help spur Fidelity’s growth. Among FCAT’s more recent initiatives: a virtual reality experiment known as “Cora” — created in partnership with Amazon Web Services — that could provide … [Read more...]
Your Retirement Life: “The Cheapest Health Insurance There Is”
Tom, a friend of mine, recently sent me an email about what he called the four pillars of health: "Sleep, eating, movement and stress management." The email was in response to my post on the importance of exercise, Your Retirement Life: Do Something. Tom attached to the email an article from The New York Times about how exercise is the closest thing there is to a wonder drug. What struck me most of all was when he called a pair of shoes and regular walking "the cheapest health insurance there is." Earlier this year Fidelity estimated that the average retired couple would spend … [Read more...]
Are Today’s Bitcoin Investors Making the Same Mistake as Isaac Newton?
I wrote this back on August 7, but it's worth posting again in light of recent crypto-volatility. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Andy Kessler explains the mistake Isaac Newton made with his investments in the South Sea Co. After investing well and earning 100%, Newton initially sold his shares profitably. But when the South Sea Co.'s shares began to take off into bubble territory, Newton was afraid of missing out and invested once again, ultimately losing what would be millions in today's dollars. Kessler writes of today's bitcoin investors: Why relive this painful history? Because … [Read more...]
Will Turkey’s Rate Hike Be Enough to Calm Lira Traders?
Once confidence in a currency is lost, it's hard to get it back. Turkish central bankers are trying hard to hold the public's confidence in the lira by hiking interest rates to 24%. At The Wall Street Journal, David Gauthier-Villars explains the central bankers' efforts to maintain control. He writes: The monetary-policy decision could help ease investor concerns over the central bank’s independence from Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose call for lower rates earlier Thursday had weighed heavily on the lira. “This was much bigger than expected. It sends a signal to the market … [Read more...]
Beyond Bitcoin, Has Crypto-Boredom Set in?
It has been a hard year for crypto-currencies, especially once you look beyond bitcoin. Since June 30, bitcoin is down 1.7%, but as Paul Vigna writes in The Wall Street Journal, "Ether, the second most-valuable cryptocurrency behind bitcoin, is down 53% since June 30, while XRP, also called ripple, is down 43%. Bitcoin Cash is down 37%, and EOS is down 38%." Over the years I've spent time talking to you on this site about the dangers and drawbacks of crypto-currencies. Here's a brief sample of what I have written in the past: Can Crypto-Currencies Ever be Safe? Steve Forbes: Here’s … [Read more...]
Failed Fiduciary Rule Spells Caution for You
Time and time again the leadership at big brokerage houses and insurance companies seem to have their own best interests in mind rather than their clients'. They allow their army of salesmen to prey upon the public, cloaked in fancy names such as Advisor with an “O”, Sr. VPs, and/or you fill in the blank with an “important title” while following a less strict “suitability” rule. I have explained the benefits of the fiduciary rule to readers before. See here, here, and here for an introduction to the idea. Like clockwork they fail to look out for those they’re supposed to serve, YOU, the … [Read more...]
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