The Investment Fiduciary

[Guest Post by Christopher Guest] I have stated numerous times in my newsletters, I am not an automatic proponent of creating trusts for people. I will tailor an estate plan for a client depending on the needs of the client. However, many times creating some form of trust is necessary. The basics of trusts can [...]

Why Physicians Are Not Wealthy my latest contribution to KevinMD.com How Complex Derivative Products Imperils Seniors’ Retirement Security by John Wasik Financial Wealth – It’s Time, Not Money by Allan Roth at MoneyWatch.com CME Pushes Managed Futures: Wealth With Little Risk by Allan Roth at MoneyWatch.com Why the Economic Recovery is Lagging by Richard Posner Three Reasons [...]

[Guest post by Andrew Platou] Who qualifies as a plan’s fiduciaries? Fiduciaries are generally those individuals or entities who manage an employee benefit plan and its assets. A plan must have at least one fiduciary, a person or an entity, named in the written plan, or through a process described in the plan. The named [...]

Recently, a high-net-worth investor came to me for my portfolio review service. What caught my attention was that a large chunk of his money was allocated to various commodities trading advisors (CTAs). CTAs are folks who are licensed to take your money and speculate with it in the futures markets. In 2008, managed futures reportedly returned [...]

[Guest post by Jeremy Bendler] Few people realize that, even though they may have a modest estate, their families may owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in estate taxes because they own a life insurance policy with a substantial death benefit. This is so because life insurance proceeds, while not subject to federal income tax, [...]

10. Top Wealth Management Google Ranking 9. Shall You Sell in May and Go Away? 8. Variable Annuity Fees You Don’t Know You Are Paying 7. The 2011 Estate Tax Changes 6. America’s Top Financial Advisors: How They Are Made? 5. Asset Allocation Return Report: 60/40 Portfolio Model 4. A Balanced Portfolio to Avoid (i): [...]

This report shows the construct and performance of a 50/50 model portfolio. Asset Classes and Fund Selection There are six asset classes in this portfolio model. The asset allocation is implemented using DFA funds, as shown in the table 1. I explained why DFA funds are superior here.  Table 1: Asset Class Funds Asset Class Percentage Funds [...]