Wiser Estate Planning
Have you planned for the unexpected? Have you considered
a Revocable Living Trust for your estate planning needs?
If interest rates are too high such as to make your minimum payments too onerous to allow much wiggle room, do not be shy about calling the debt provider to ask for a reduction in the rate. They don’t have to honor your request, but it doesn’t hurt to ask. Continue reading
IndexUniverse.com recently published a report with all the ETFs that pass though capital gains to its investors. Apparently in 2011 only 93 ETFs made this list. Continue reading
You can go with your gut when choosing between steak or chicken. Use knowledge to choose an advisor. This book will help you do that. Continue reading
A stretch IRA is not officially in the IRS code. It is a wealth transfer method that allows you to potentially “stretch” and even grow the IRA assets over several generations. The strategy involves adjusting beneficiary designations to minimize so-called required minimum distributions (RMDs) over a long period of time. Continue reading
It’s almost 2012. Your business has done better than expected. Here are a few things you may consider to help lower your tax liability before year end, but you had better hurry! Continue reading
No matter how aggressive an investor you are, investing in one company, or even a few companies, is not a wise move. Continue reading
A few weeks ago Wiser sent an email alerting our followers of the under performance of the ASA 401k Janus Overseas Fund. A great source for commentary regarding mutual funds is MorningStar, an independent research firm. To read the Morningstar Analysis please click HERE.
In light of these changes, …
By now you have received notice that there are some changes happening within the ASA JPMorgan 401k plan. The good news is some of the funds are getting cheaper. Thefrustrating part is this should and could have happened a long time ago. Continue reading
We often get questions about what can be done in a portfolio to protect from a falling dollar. Often many people refer to gold for this solution, especially with every other advertisement on Fox News from companies trying to sell you- guess what- gold! Continue reading
So you quit the corporate rat race to start your own business. It’s hard work, but you enjoy the freedom and the thrill of being your own boss. There is nothing that you miss about your old job.
Except maybe your 401(k). …
There is no room for greed in investing. In the investing world you can’t have your cake and eat it, too. If you want the reward you have to take on the risk as well. Put another way, you have the potential to be rewarded for the amount of risk that you take. Notice I said “potential”. Reward is not a guarantee. The reason is risk. Continue reading
But is a debit card really better than a credit card? Studies have shown that we spend more when using a credit card. You’d think that using a debit card would alleviate this problem, since you know that you’re using your own money to make the purchase. This isn’t true. Some smart college students I know have figured out they do indeed spend more using a debit card, and now use cash for most purchases. Continue reading
Worry much about your investments? In volatile markets, it’s easy to feel uneasy. Memories of 2008-2009, when the market lost more than half its value, are still fresh in everyone’s mind. So when the market swings widely nowadays, investors get concerned. Sometimes concerned enough to act.
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The 2010 Tax Act1 has made it possible, under specified circumstances, for the estate of a surviving spouse to make use of the unused estate tax exemption of his or her predeceased spouse, a concept referred to as portability of the applicable exemption amount. Some estate planners have suggested that portability makes it unnecessary to continue to draft estate plans that include credit shelter trusts. Continue reading
Stocks are overreacting to the unfortunate confluence of events: the downgrade of U.S. government bonds, some weaker than expected economic data, and the troublesome but manageable U.S. fiscal position. Along with sovereign debt issues threatening Europe, these factors turned market sentiment ugly. Continue reading
No one likes to lose, especially money, even if it is just on paper. In times such as these, investor behavior is more important that asset allocation. Continue reading
Emerging Markets should be a part of every portfolio. With many ETF choices this post dives into Emerging Market modeling. Continue reading
At what age is it better to save for retirement? In your early years of working, money is probably tight. It’s hard to find the extra money to save towards such a far end goal, when the rent needs to be paid, and you have a more immediate need to build emergency savings. You might think that waiting until later in life to save for retirement, when your income is likely higher and you can more likely afford to do so, would be the best option.
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The last few days have been very volatile ones for the global stock markets. The headlines of a Greek debt default and the US August 2 debt limit increase deadline are contributing to the uncertainty in the market. Continue reading
***Originally published in the July 2011 edition of NAAIM’s “The Active Manager” By Scott Freeze.
Best Execution is a very difficult metric to measure since it is such a subjective benchmark. In a “thinner” ETF with a wide spread, such as MNA (IndexIQ Merger Arbitrage), you have a 20 cent …
You have done well for yourself. You’ve watched your pennies, saved aggressively, invested wisely, and now, in your golden years, you have a retirement nest egg that is more than you need. You have a philanthropic bent – an alma mater you’re fond of, a charity that is near and dear to your heart. How can you donate to these worthy causes without sacrificing to the IRS more than you think it deserves?
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The research staff here at Wiser Wealth recently analyzed all the broad based ETFs that track emerging market indices. The staple in Emerging Markets is currently Vanguards VWO and iShares’ EEM. The comparison articles on these funds are endless. One fund that filtered to the top of the Emerging Market ETF list that might be less known is Wisdom Tree’s DEM. We compared it in this article to Vanguards VWO. The following report helps compare the DEM and VWO Emerging Market strategies as well as the results of the last few years. Continue reading
Casey Smith was recently interviewed by ETFs Asia. ETFs Asia is a conference in Hong Kong in late 2011 covering Exchange Traded Funds. Casey was unable to speak at the conference because of a conflict, but did this interview to talk about the development of ETFs in Asia and at home here in the US. Continue reading
The University of Maryland has a study that shows only .06% of active fund managers from 1975 – 2007 beat their corresponding index. Continue reading
How much do you want to put your eggs in one basket? Even a few baskets? Continue reading
Risk tolerance is how much risk you are willing to take with your investments. Let’s look at the market crash of 2008-2009. In early March, when the market finally bottomed out, how did you feel? Continue reading
Would you borrow money on your house or on a credit card to buy into an investment or put in your savings account? Continue reading
If you do not need to save on taxes now, a Roth IRA is your best option. The reason is the taxation of earnings. With a traditional IRA, you save on taxes now on the amount you contribute. But you pay taxes when you take the money out on both …
The pictures and stories from Japan have shocked us all. The human aspect of this country’s struggle to cope with the earthquake and tsunami tugs at our hearts. The same applies to those in Middle Eastern countries crying out for freedom and democracy only to be responded to with bullets …
The 401(k) and the IRA offer tax advantaged savings. The differences to consider are in maximum contribution limits and matching money.
Employers typically will offer to match a certain portion of your 401(k) contributions to encourage you to invest for you retirement. The level is most often a percentage of …
Portfolio yields are under pressure due to the worldwide flight to safety over the last few years, making conservative and income growth portfolios more difficult to manage. While bond investments made a few years ago have done historically well, new investments have greater principal risk with low historic yields. Continue reading
“The problem with freedom and democracy in the Muslim world is that it is a figment of the imagination that only exists in the minds of Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.” Continue reading
A new exchange traded note (ETN) has come to market offering a well-known approach to investing found in active investment strategies, but new to the exchange traded products. The US RBS Trend Pilot ETN (ticker TRND) tracks the total return of the S&P 500 (actual return plus dividends), but provides safety in that if the S&P 500 drops below its 200 day moving average, then TRND will “sell” the S&P 500 and “purchase” short duration US treasury bonds. Looking back to 2008, TRND would have been in treasuries during the financial crisis, missing the worst decline in the S&P 500 in decades and benefiting from treasuries climbing to record prices. Continue reading
Casey Smith talked with Shishir Nigam of etfshub.com to discuss the future of Active ETFs and the hurdles that they will need to overcome. Continue reading
The 2010 Tax Relief Act has been passed. What does this mean for your estate plan? Continue reading
Casey Smith will be providing a 401(k) workshop for Atlantic Southeast pilots and flight attendants on January 12th and 15th. The workshop will be held at the airport Hilton Garden Inn from 9:30am to 1pm each day. There are no strings attached with this event. Casey will simply be there …
ignorance is to reject something that you know nothing about.” Financial advisors, individuals, the media and professors are all still learning about the benefits of Exchange Traded Funds. Undoubtedly, ETFs have shaken the investment world by empowering investors at all levels with quick access to low cost diversification. Adding ETFs to the Atlantic Southeast 401k brokerage link will allow investors low cost access to global asset classes. If used properly, ETFs can increase the standard of living of the Atlantic Southeast retirees and allow for current reduced company risk, active management risk and portfolio liquidity. ETFs will allow plan participants to purchase the indexes that the active managers cannot seem to beat over long periods of time.
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There are several types of annuities with the most popular being the variable annuity. The bank salespeople, often falsely referred to as financial advisors, make the sales pitch sound as if these products are the best things since the Wright Brothers took flight. I say buyer beware. Continue reading
Can an ETF Fail? A study by two PHD’s makes one believe that ETFs are unsafe investments. Continue reading
TD Ameritrade offers 100 commission free ETFs. Continue reading
Vanguard has lowered the floor on S&P ETF index investing. Continue reading
WisdomTree has introduced an addition to the ETF landscape with an active ETF in the emerging market bond category.
Emerging market bonds are a unique asset class with extraordinary characteristics which many ETF investors have made part of their portfolios for many reasons. Emerging market bonds have high absolute returns with low correlation to other markets and are high yielding vehicles. Continue reading
Investors tend to do poorly when they react to what the market does instead of preparing for what may happen and taking advantage of long-term forecasts. With a reactionary attitude, investors will rarely do well. Continue reading
First-quarter gains have taken a huge hit against large declines in the second quarter. According to Morningstar’s ‘super sectors’ reports, Information is down 10.46%, Service 12.23%, and Manufacturing 10.92%. Some market data would suggest that an underlying cause of these losses is uncertainty in the market. Continue reading
Top 5 estate planning mistakes
I recently read a report that suggested that only about 20 percent of the population has a formal estate plan. After reviewing the points below, please take a minute to consider whether it’s time for you to create or update your estate plan.
Here are
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When building a 401k portfolio, many people simply look at a fund’s performance without considering the risk of the investment. Fund performance should not be the only tool used in selecting mutual funds for your 401k. Another analytical tool that should be used is standard deviation.…
By Kyle Waller, Research Analyst Wiser Wealth Management, Inc & Casey T Smith, ASA ALPA 401k Specialist
In 401K investing, there is a major asset class that does not get the respect it deserves. In fact, it is largely ignored both by investors and plan sponsors. This asset …
By Casey Smith, ASA ALPA R&I Committee 401k Specialist and
Kyle Waller, Research Analyst, Wiser Wealth Management, Inc
The saving rate among Americans is decreasing, yet the need for income in retirement is as crucial as ever with pensions and social security becoming scarce and …
The stock market has experienced a 5% pull back over the last few weeks and we have seen daily trading volatility similar to that of 2008. This has been caused by Europe’s own financial crisis. In 2008, American taxpayers bailed out their large banks. The European Union is currently bailing …
TIP Securities have been around only since 1997, placing them a time period with only relatively tame levels of inflation. That being said, the need for inflation protection is very relevant, and investors now have access to five TIPS ETFs. They give investors a choice among broad based, intermediate, short-term, and long-term durations. Continue reading
Debt, while once viewed as a negative for the average American, now seems to simply be a part of life. Using credit and having debt outstanding is normal now not only for the most people, but for the government as a whole. The US federal government deficit is currently over $13 trillion and is growing by about $4.09 billion each day. To put this amount into perspective, with a $13 trillion debt obligation, each person in the world owes almost $2,000. That is $2,000 for 6.7 billion people. Continue reading
The Senate sweats this week over the self imposed July 4th deadline for President Obama to sign the Financial Reform Overhaul Bill. The bill is reported to be over 2,000 pages, and reaches into every corner of the financial industry from credit card transactions to advisors.
The bill ventures into some places where legislation has previously left alone. In many ways, the financial system needs some changes, however, for the most part, the Independence Day bill is more confusing than freedom-promoting. Continue reading
PowerShares listed the second-ever international corporate bond ETF for trading this week, behind State Street Global Advisor’s international corporate bond product, falling right in step with the unfolding of the debt crisis in Europe. The PowerShares ETF provides a broad exposure to international, investment-grade corporate bonds issued in developed countries. Continue reading
One of the most popular ideas in the investing world, the Efficient Market Theory, argues, very simply, that a stock’s price equals its value. This would mean that a stock’s price reflects all publicly known data, including future expectations of the stock’s performance. Continue reading
ETF cashflows have climbed despite worries about rising rates in fixed income ETFs. Investors also seem to be pouring money into global ETFs even though overseas markets continue to abound.…
“Because major developed markets are now so highly linked, there is no way for problems in Europe to remain isolated there; we will see a ripple effect here in the US.” Continue reading
The amount of jobs added went up in April even well above what is expected, adding 290,000 jobs to the market. Up from 200,000 added in March. Continue reading
The government allows companies like Goldman and other brokers to act under suitability rules. This means that a client has to be suitable for the investment, but does not mean that the product is the best for the client. Continue reading
ETFs in Europe are starting to get some interest. This is my journal from the ETF Conference in Amsterdam. Continue reading
Dawn Levine an Attorney in Marietta, GA often gets asked what she thinks about Wills done over the internet. Continue reading
Wiser Wealth Management offers free tax preparation services to those currently out of work. Continue reading
The end of 2009 saw the entry of a new ETF in the already dense ETF landscape: a currency hedged ETF. This new feature is of interesting significance due to its packaging inside an ETF.…
Morningstar has released their Box Score Report looking at active vs. passive investing strategies over the second half of 2009.…
Faith Shares launches the first faith based ETFs. Continue reading
You expect that your banker or broker will always do what is in your best interest. Can they? It’s a mixed up world when your financial advisor is your salesman. Continue reading
ETFs are empowering individual and professional investors with the power of transparency, diversification, low fees, and, compared to many of active fund managers, better performance. …
I was recently privileged to be on a panel at the Inside ETF Conference in Boca Raton, FL last week. The event was a great success with over 800 attendees, and was broadcasted live by CNBC.…
Irving Kristol, “an indexer is stock-picker who has been mugged by reality.” Continue reading
There is an old joke that financial news journalists write about the hot stock or mutual fund by day and privately invest in long term healthy index funds by night. Could this be true of active fund managers as well? Continue reading
Despite Republican efforts to do away with the Death Tax, the House voted to pass H.R. 4154 with a final vote of 225 to 200. H.R. 4151 will extend the 2009 3.5 million personal exemption (7.0 million per couple) and the 45% tax rate above those levels through 2010.…
A look at look at 401k Maximizer, a active trading platform for airline employees and how this pie in the sky approach may leave some grounded in the long term. Continue reading
Recently, many have reasoned that sectors drive market returns. Using the complete lineup of global sector ETFs from iShares, an investor can utilize the power of sectors within the US while reaching into developed and emerging international markets for simple to complex asset allocation strategies.…
We have been bombarded with spam emails claiming that the dollar is falling and that we must purchase their strategy to save our portfolios.…
Morningstar has released their BoxScore Report covering actively managed mutual funds to Morningstar indexes.…
Recently, Jason Zweig, in his Intelligent Investor column, discussed data mining and proprietary trading on Wall Street, and the unreliability most of these strategies have on predicting the future.…
I recently received an Estate Tax update from The Estate Plan (TEP). TEP cited Leimburg Associates, Inc as the source of the following information. Here is my summary.…
The article was created for www.etfmarketpro.com.
Investable indexes are designed to be realistic representations of actual market spaces (the S&P 500 index represents the securities in the S&P500); however, in some asset classes, indexes are too idealistic to be managed as ETFs in a cost effective and efficient manner.…
This ariticle was also posted at ETFMarketPro.com
Commodity ETFs are different than traditional, plain vanilla ETFs and investors need to be made aware of the risks.…
Recently, some commodity ETFs have been forced to stop the creation process of ETF creation units, meaning that the funds and trusts are being forced to act like closed in funds. …
Correlation is generally defined as “the strength and direction of a linear relationship between two random variables.”…
Leveraged ETFs Under Investigation
The Massachusetts Secretary of State, William Galvin, is looking into the marketing of leveraged ETFs and has reportedly written letters to the three biggest players in this market, ProShares, Direxion and Rydex.…
This article was written for and also appears at ETF Market Pro.
Currencies are different than any other type of investment. …
The managers of the Harvard Endowment have long been hailed as innovators. Their alternative investments include commodities like timber (famously employing lumberjacks), private equity, and hedge funds.…
Our friends at indexuniverse recently interviewed John Bogle. Mr. Bogle is the mutual fund indexing pioneer that started Vanguard.…
Georgia’s banks made the front page of the Wall Street Journal yesterday (6/10/09). The article notes that Georgia is home to 4% of the banks in the United States, but is responsible for 20% of the US bank failures since August.…
When investing in mutual funds, the investor is handing his money over to a mutual fund manager, giving him or her full discretion in trading the asset as he or she sees fit. …
In an environment where the stock market recovers and the credit crisis is in the rearview mirror, will your investments recover with the stock market, lag behind or remain at today’s levels? The investment tool you are using will make the difference.…
In a recent report, President Obama disclosed a large holding in Vanguard Index Funds. Continue reading
PowerShares, a company who has lead the way for fundamental ETFs, closes 19 of these funds. Are more closings in other ETFs to follow? Continue reading
Click Here to view PDF With Charts inserted.
IndexIQ, on March 25, 2009, launched its first hedge fund ETF. This is following in the wake of 2008 where many hedge funds were affected by mass withdrawals and highly leveraged bets went bad, causing many to shut down.…
In recent years, gold has seen spectacular price increases. Looking at some history may reveal where gold is heading in the future and why.…
Something I’ve been big on lately is ETF tracking error. An ETF’s ability to track an index can be a bigger cost (implicit cost) to an ETF, and investors should be very concerned with this. …
Index IQ came out with their first Hedge Fund ETF last week. A lot of press has been surrounding this ETF in the industry. The ETF, the IQ Hedge Fund Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF, ticker symbol QAI, has an expense ratio of .75%. Below is the fund’s strategy.…
ETFs in a 401k: The Wave is Building
There has been a lot of discussion concerning the use of exchange traded funds (ETFs) as the primary investment vehicle within 401k plans. The barriers that once stood in the way are being removed by innovative record keeping and the growing use of ETFs in private and institutional accounts. Continue reading →