Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.
The development of the third generation Ratnik infantry combat system is already under way in Russia, according to the country’s Land Forces commander Col. Gen. Oleg Salyukov.
The Ratnik gear comprises more than 40 components, including firearms, body armor, and optical, communication and navigation devices, as well as life support and power supply systems.
Remember when the talking heads said to stay away from bonds? That the balanced approach was dead? Well, they were wrong. Not that I’m taking a victory lap, I’m not. Because now that the Fed has cut interest rates by a half point, fixed income investing just got that much harder. All those eschewing bonds […]
Within Fidelity’s excess of SIPC coverage, there is no per-customer dollar limit on coverage of securities, but there is a per-customer limit of $1.9 million on coverage of cash awaiting investment. This is the maximum excess of SIPC protection currently available in the brokerage industry. What is SIPC? The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) is […]
Are you working with a fiduciary? How would you know? You should ask. Here’s what it means to be a fiduciary from Fidelity: The fiduciary rule is a regulation underpinning fiduciary duty, or the legal requirement for financial advisors to work in their customers’ best interest. Issued by the U.S Department of Labor, the fiduciary […]
Are you looking for a Fidelity branch location near you? Here is a list of branches by state from Fidelity: Alabama Birmingham 216 Summit Boulevard Suite 110 Birmingham, AL 35243 800-873-5140 Arizona Chandler Chandler Pavilions 7001 West Ray Road Chandler, AZ 85226-1517 800-544-7095 Peoria 7565 W. Bell Road, Peoria AZ 85382 800-227-0629 Phoenix-Biltmore 3240 East […]
America’s debt load is the highest it’s been since the post-WWII era. Look at the interest costs to carry all that debt in the chart below, and imagine you had such a personal debt load. Wouldn’t you want to reduce it? Of course, you would. Now, throw in the fact that the government can print […]
When interest rates decline, bond prices increase. Now you see one of the motivations for the Fed and the federal government to cut rates. It increases the value of the Fed’s bonds and reduces the payments on interest for new borrowing to finance the government’s debt. Action Line: Click here to subscribe to my free […]
Who said history doesn’t repeat? The Fed is firing up its old free money truck. It’s just a different driver. “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or, today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at essentially no cost.” – Ben Bernanke Investment […]
Your Survival Guy doesn’t want you to be in the interest rate prediction business because the talking heads just might end up being wrong. Sure, the Fed funds rate may come down, but what if the buyers for the rest of the yield curve have a different opinion? Bond prices trade in anticipation of what’s […]
When you roll over a 401(k) to a Rollover IRA, you need to remember the default is to put the money in cash. Greg Iacurci explains at CNBC: Many investors unknowingly make a costly mistake when rolling their money from a 401(k) plan to an individual retirement account: leaving their money in cash. Rollovers from […]
Why does the Federal Reserve want so desperately to lower rates? It’s about servicing the debt. The United States has rapidly run up its debt load, and refinancing all that debt at high rates will be difficult to pay for. So even if it means additional inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to lower rates. Action […]
When you’re looking at dividend-paying stocks, mutual funds, or ETFs, you want to be selective because, historically, it’s not the highest payers that have performed the best. And when investors reach for yield and buy those highest payers, they tend to invite avoidable problems into their portfolio. There’s a difference between the dividend-centric investor who […]
There’s a lot of slicing and dicing going on in today’s markets. When you have more ETFs than stocks to buy, that’s a problem. In The Wall Street Journal, Jason Zweig wonders if there’s any asset left to make an ETF out of. He writes that “Good new investing ideas are getting harder to come […]
Once again, over the weekend, President Donald Trump was the victim of an assassination attempt. This time, the President was playing golf and was shot at by a man named Ryan Wesley Routh. The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board explains: One question is how Mr. Routh knew Mr. Trump would be golfing on Sunday at […]
If you have a 529 plan that exceeds what was needed for education costs, there may be a way to roll it over into a Roth IRA. Laura Saunders explains in The Wall Street Journal: It happens more than you think, given the spiraling costs of college: People who save money for a child’s education […]
Your Survival Guy visited my friend Marc Streisand this week, owner/proprietor of Marc Allen Fine Clothiers, Custom Suits, and Imported Sportswear, to pick up my handmade, bespoke cashmere sport coat. It’s such a beautiful piece, I can’t wait to put it on when we hit Paris for three weeks in October. Every time I leave […]
