Time to Make a Move?

With the New Year right around the corner, we always get calls on whether or not you should make a change in their retirement accounts or wait until after the 1^st of the year. Our listeners and readers should be aware of this timing for their regular accounts too.

Regardless of the market conditions, there is no bad to upgrade or make improvements in your portfolios. If it is an improvement, never hesitate based on the old sales sayings of "You are selling out of an investment when it is worth less than you started with", "never sell an investment when the market is down", or our personal favorite, "you shouldn't sell this because it is a long term investment". Ask people who owned stock in Ford, General Motors, or any of the other huge blue chip companies that went bankrupt this year if they were better off holding onto that particular stock as the market went south.

Furthermore, there are moves in your regular taxable accounts that can help reduce or eliminate taxes. Mutual funds must distribute capital gains to anyone that owns the fund on a particular date. Therefore, you can find yourself paying stiff tax bills because of a mutual fund that actual LOST you money. Now is a time to look at your investments to see if it makes sense to harvest some losses for tax purposes.

Remember though, taxes should not be a major factor in making a decision to sell a good investment.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Active Investing

For over 25 years, we have asked new clients what has got them to be where they are at financially, whether it is up or down, good or bad. As they are telling us why it happened, when it happened, or who is to blame, it is always someone else's fault.

In investing, you have to remember it is YOUR money. You need to be or become active in it. This is not saying you have to do it all yourself, but you need to be part of the process. Here are three questions to help you get started.

First, how did you get where you are and what caused you to get the results you have seen? Were the investments solid or could you have done better? Is your money safe enough for another crash? Have you been saving enough??? You need to understand where you are and how you got here.

Second, the success or failure of your investments lies solely on you. Exactly what part were you responsible for? Have you chosen the investments yourself? Did you make an informed decision that you couldn't do it yourself? Did you hire the right advisor? Were you sold a product? Hindsight is always 20/20, but if you had to make the same choices today, would you choose the same answer? Remember, this is your money so you need to accept some responsibility for how much you have today.

Finally, are you focused on the actions needed to improve your situation in the future? Do you need to change investments? How has the economy changed your situation? Is your advisor still right for you? Do you know what you are looking for? Do you have a clear picture of what your goal looks like?

Investing is a constantly changing process. You need to be active in it if you want success in your financial future.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Time, Time, Time

One of the reasons you hire an advisor to "deal" with your investing is because you don't have time to do it yourself. You don't have time to learn, to do the research, to follow up. While we understand our client's time is invaluable, we also understand that your account could be saved thousands for each hour you invest in it.

Being active in your investments does not mean you have to learn everything there is to learn. In fact, many people are learning as much as they can since the crash of 2008. You do not see any real value from learning though until you put into action what you have learned.

You at least need to learn enough that you can actively oversee your investments. Most of the work is still done by others. Think of yourself as the foreman at a construction site. You need to be able to look around and know enough that you can see the proper work is being done.

By being accountable and active, you can be rewarded well for your time and actions.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

A Clear Picture

Everyone says they want to retire. They even know when they want to retire. Most people though have no idea what retirement will look like.

Working towards any goal is difficult. It becomes even more difficult when you don't know what you are working towards. There is an old saying that goes "what the mind can believe and conceive, the body can achieve". What this means is you have to know what you are going for. Whether retirement is more time on the golf course, spending more family time, or moving to a special retirement location, you need to know what you are working for.

Part of knowing where you want to go depends on where you are starting. This is why you need to understand your statements today!

Unfortunately, many people are still throwing these statements in a file without ever opening them. Would you go shopping without knowing how much money you have in the bank? Probably not. In the same way, you can't plan for retirement without understanding how much you are starting with. This applies to people in retirement too. You can't continue living a lifestyle your savings won't support.

Not only do you need to know what the bottom line is, you need to be able to understand what is going on in your accounts. This ISN'T your advisors' responsibility. You have to me an integral part of your money and the success or failure of your retirement.

Ask questions, get answers you understand, and get a clear picture of what your retirement will look like!

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

What Should You Look for When Choosing a New Advisor

Every book and magazine has lists and steps you should go through when you are looking to hire or change advisors. These offer great first steps when you begin your search.

Just like when you are choosing a new babysitter for your child or grandchild, you need to interview each prospective new advisor. You have questions; you listen closely to their answers, and are sure you UNDERSTOOD those answers. You trust the babysitter for your child's well being, you also need to trust your advisor for your wealth's well being.

Another way to look at the process is like a job interview. If you were hiring someone for your company, you would ask a majority of the questions. However, when people hire an advisor, they allow the advisor to do most of the talking. In reality it should be the other way around.

Again, be sure to ask plenty of questions and get the answers that make sense to you.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Are You Running Out of Money?

Regardless of where you have your retirement and investment assets, 4 out of 5 people reading this column WILL OUTLIVE their assets.

Let me repeat that. Whether you have your assets in the stock market, at the local bank, or even under your mattress, 4 out of 5 of you WILL OUTLIVE your assets.

This has been the single biggest problem facing retirees for over 25 years that I have been advising people. We have seen widows lose 50% of their portfolios in accounts they were told was low risk. We have clients that we told for years in advance that they couldn't sustain their current lifestyle. Unfortunately something has to give, and it's usually their accounts.

Beginning with the creation of the 401(k) in 1978 and continuing through the death of the company pension plans today, people who have never managed their finances, and never wanted to, are faced with more and more responsibility.

Many times, at retirement, workers are faced with huge decisions that will impact the next 20, 30, or 40 years of their life and are "helped" with that decision by nothing more than a financial salesperson.

You need to have a serious discussion about running out of your money and don't believe a planner or broker who says everything will be fine. Ignoring or avoiding how safe your portfolio is or isn't and not paying attention to how much you are spending is setting YOU on a dangerous slope.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

How Can You Get More Retirement Income

Our government has kept interest rates extremely low to help boost corporate spending and keep inflation at bay, hoping to stimulate the economy. By keeping the prices of everyday items low, we get the unfortunate byproduct of low interest rates on our savings.

For many retirees, those lower rates mean lower income for them. Is there are way to increase your current income?

Usually, after reviewing all possible income generation assets and understanding the current and actual income needs, we can usually find a solution to this problem.

Let us stress the words 'usually' and 'current'.

There is not always a solution and sometimes a possible to solution could end up being worse than the original problem. Furthermore, you can't let a short term solution strangle your flexibility for long term problems. The solution needs to allow for changes that will happen as time goes on.

The key is to get a review or your assets and be sure to understand the drawbacks that go along with any solution.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Organizations, Certifications, and Other Letters after Your Name

CFP, CFA, FINRA, NAFPA and many other abbreviations often pop up when you deal with someone in the financial and investment business. What they mean or what they do can get very confusing and all sound very professional to you, the investing consumer. Let's see if we can help straighten things out.

Most organizations are designed to help and advocate for the client. Let's take NAPFA is the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors. It is their mission to educate consumers about client-centered financial planning rather than the biased commission driven advice of brokers and salespeople.

Sounds great, right?

However, these groups and other abbreviations you may see on advisors' business cards do not provide any assurance that you are going to have better results.

Remember, the key to your financial success comes from having a program designed to fit you and have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of your plan!

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Long-Term Investment vs. Long-Term Strategy

A long-term investment is one you buy and hold for a long time, just like the name suggests. A long-term strategy involves establishing an allocation of assets, and funding each part of that with a high quality asset that is routinely reviewed for continued suitable.

We do not agree with long-term investments. Owning a bad investment for a long period of time is rarely a benefit for anyone. For example, we have seen many senior adults with General Electric or General Motors for some or their entire portfolio. For years, these stocks were good to them in the form of strong dividends and positive growth.

As the overall picture changed for these companies, they were becoming less and less suitable for senior adults. We were advising many people who owned these investments prior to becoming our clients to lower the amount they were holding or to sell completely out of these holdings. The continuing decline of those companies significantly reduced the wealth of those who kept them.

Long-term investing had these people holding General Electric and General Motors indefinitely; a long-term strategy suggests they pick an alternative as these once global leaders dropped in quality.

It is often very difficult to convince people to get rid of an investment they have held onto for a long time for two reasons.

The first reason is emotion. We often hear that the stock has been good to the clients. It paid a high dividend or that it showed positive growth from the original investment. But you should never buy or hold onto an investment because of emotion if the stock is underperforming.

The second reason is taxes. People are deathly afraid of paying taxes to the point where they will let a stock lose 30% to 50% of their account so they do not have to pay taxes on any of their gains. If they would've sold out and paid the taxes on the gain, they would have a lot more money now than they do because they didn't sell. Taxes need to be considered, but should never be a reason to hold onto a bad investments.

History has shown us that you can get rich by owning a single stock, but you usually can't STAY rich.


To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)



To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Steps You Should Take to Help Make Smarter Choice for Your Finances

There is a lot of information available. You need to be able to filter, evaluate, and decide what information is important to you. But before you get started down that path, there are questions you need to ask yourself to help make smarter choices for your finances.

As a getting started (or getting started over) guide, we are going to provide you the questions you need to answer honestly!

Question 1- Where are you and where have you been? Look at your investments and get a clear picture. Understand the strengths and weaknesses you have seen as you went along. This is a learning process and service you have already paid for! Start using it.

Question 2- Are you satisfied? Be honest because it is YOUR money. There are no maybes allowed here!

Question 3*- If YOU could do BETTER, would you want to know how? If not, then nothing really matters. You must take an active interest and align your finances to your goals and your risks. *This is a very critical question!

Question 4 - Are you equipped to routinely perform all the duties necessary to properly manage your retirement or investment wealth. Routine evaluation is key here. If you cannot self manage your investments, regardless of the reason, you need to seek a professional manager.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)




To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)

Who is Responsible for Making or Losing Me Money?

Often we hear people complain that their broker, advisor, planner, or manager lost them money. However, this is rarely the case. A broker typically gives you an opinion of what you should do with your money, introduces you to the investments, and sells you a financial solution.

A wealth manager oversees the criteria for selecting investments, hiring and firing the individual managers of each of your investments. The criteria are predetermined so your portfolio is accountable to the design.

However, the real people responsible for your profits and losses are people you have never met. The executives of a company you own stock in, the fund manager who is in charge of choosing the investments inside your mutual funds, or the head of an organization which is issuing bonds are the people who make and lose you money each and every day. They are the ones that need to be held accountable to their duties.

To hear the Smart Money Radio Show segment focused on this topic, Please Click Here! (about 7 minutes long)


To hear the full Smart Money Radio Show where Bruce discusses this topic and more, Please Click Here! (about 25 minutes long)