investing: What are the 10 things you should ask a financial planner? - 03/15/11 12:35 PM
When interviewing a potential financial planner it is alright to be a little tough (remember these people are handling your money and investments).
Retirement expert Roger Wohlner shares the top ten things you should be asking when hiring a potential financial planner:
1. Will my assets be held at an independent third-party custodian?Will I receive account statements directly from them?
2. Do you have experience working with clients whose situation and advice needs are similar to ours?
3. How do you communicate with your clients?
4. How are you compensated? Do you receive any compensation based on … (2 comments)
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investing: Setting Up Your Real Estate Investing Business - 02/11/11 10:09 AM
For people considering an investment in real estate, it can be tricky to know where to begin. A reader of mine wrote to me to ask about a property he was renovating in order to rent it. He wanted to open a bank account to keep those funds separate from his personal finances, but the bank told him that he needed a business license. Confused, he turned to me for help.
I contacted my colleague, real estate investor and author Andy Heller, who together with his partner Scott Frank, have written a number of books on the subject and currently hold more … (2 comments)
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investing: New Year's Resolutions for Investors - 01/04/11 03:18 PM
Did you vow to make smarter investments in 2011? The new year is a great time to start taking charge of your finances, but it can be a challenge to know where to begin. If you're looking for tips to get started on your New Year's financial resolutions, check out the four useful tips from personal finance expert Dan Solin.
He offers four New Year's resolutions for investors that will get your 2011 off on the right foot. Read his full post here: http://retirement.equifax.com/2011/01/new-years-resolutions-for-investors.html
Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should … (1 comments)
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investing: 8 Ways To Ponzi-Proof Your Portfolio - 12/21/10 10:19 AM
You would think that after the Bernie Madoff scandal was exposed, the era of Ponzi scammers would come to an end. Sadly, this is not the case.
Recently, former Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway and his business manager were scammed out of $15 million in a massive Ponzi scheme. The Colorado district attorney alleges that hedge-fund manager Sean Mueller may have stolen as much as $122 million from hapless investors. That's scary news. How can an investor protect his or her hard-earned money? Personal finance expert Dan Solin offers 8 tips for protecting your portfolio from these greedy schemes. To read … (3 comments)
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investing: I Want My Money: Capture the Advertised Returns of Mutual Funds - 11/30/10 10:44 AM
Here’s what goes through the minds of most investors when they read about the stellar returns advertised by mutual funds: “I owned that fund, and I didn’t get anywhere near those returns.”One article estimated investors end up with less than 20 percent of the annual returns of the mutual funds they once held. Personal finance expert Dan Solin says the reason isn't hard to figure out: Most investors are advised by brokers. Brokers typically encourage them to chase returns by investing in “hot” funds with stellar recent performance records. The funds get a massive influx of cash and are unable to repeat … (0 comments)
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investing: Tax Tips That Can Save You Real Money - 11/23/10 10:32 AM
What factors do you consider when making investments? Retirement and investing expert Dan Solin says most people have their eyes on the wrong ball: they try to time the market, pick the "right" stocks, and choose "hot" fund managers. There is no data indicating anyone can engage in these activities successfully over an extended period of time. Much-touted winning streaks of the investment guru du jour are a consequence of luck and not skill.Dan suggests that a far more productive use of your time would be to understand how you can minimize the taxes you pay on the returns earned from your … (1 comments)
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investing: Improve Your Investment Returns Without Increasing Risk - 11/16/10 09:30 AM
Volatile markets make everyone nervous. Investing in stocks involves risk. Risk means you can lose money. No one likes that. What if you could increase your returns without taking any risk? According to Equifax blogger and personal finance expert Dan Solin, you can, and with limited effort. Here are some suggestions he gleaned from Allan Roth’s excellent book, How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street:
1. Maximize your cash. Where is your cash deposited? I suspect you could obtain greater returns on it without taking any more risk. The trick is to use the Internet to find out who is paying … (0 comments)
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investing: Running Out of Money: Retirement Withdrawal Strategies in a Low Interest Rate Environment - 11/09/10 10:02 AM
My fellow Equifax blogger and retirement expert Dan Solin gets a lot of questions about retirement. Lately, the questions he's been hearing most are: What percent of my retirement funds can I safely withdraw without fear of running out of money? How can I generate enough income from my portfolio in this low-interest-rate environment?
Here's the advice he gives people who are concerned about saving enough for retirement in this low interest rate environment:
Understanding the role bonds play in your portfolio is critical to both of these questions. Bonds (including treasuries) should not be viewed as a source of income. … (4 comments)
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investing: Strategies for Outsmarting Uncle Sam at Tax Time - 10/26/10 09:42 AM
As we approach year-end, investors should start to focus on tax planning. Given the volatile state of the markets, and the steady drumbeat of bad news, this is not easy. Retirement expert and Equifax blogger Dan Solin shares some tips to avoid taking a big tax hit in 2010.
Max out a Roth IRA contribution: Tax avoidance is the holy grail of tax planning. The best tax-avoidance investment is the Roth IRA. First, you need to determine if you qualify. Contribute to a Roth 401(k): There are no income limits for those who contribute to Roth 401(k)s. This is great … (1 comments)
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investing: Investing As A Couple Can Lead to Marriage Stress - 09/07/10 04:45 PM
Retirement fund expert and Equifax Personal Finance Blogger Dan Solin offers an provocative new insight in his latest blog: investing with your significant other can ruin the relationship.
Dan writes: "Many couples believe in togetherness, which can be a good thing. However, there are dangers to investing jointly that should give even the closest duos pause.Remember the best-selling book Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus, by John Gray? The difference in the way men and women view the world has particular applicability to investing.As many women know, men generally don’t lack confidence. They typically love the “action” of … (3 comments)
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investing: Short Selling Is Shortsighted When Navigating Today's Stock - 08/31/10 05:11 PM
So is there money to be made by selling stocks short?Not really.Here's how short selling works:
The investor borrows the shares of a particular stock. The investor sells the shares he borrowed and puts the proceeds of the sale in his brokerage account. The investor buys back the stock (hopefully at a lower price) and returns the shares borrowed to the broker or lender. It works great if the shares of stock drop below the price on the date they were borrowed-in that case, you buy the shares at a lower price and pocket the difference. But you can get clobbered … (2 comments)
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investing: Why Timing the Stock Market Never Works - 08/24/10 12:23 PM
Wouldn't it be great if you knew when the markets were going to take off or tank?
Armed with that knowledge, you'd have no trouble achieving your investment goals. You'd just buy if the markets were going up and sell if they were going down.Here's the problem with that scenario:Market direction is driven by tomorrow's news. No one knows tomorrow's news. If we did, we would have predicted the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the precipitous decline in the price of BP's stock.
The impossibility of predicting the unknowable does not stop the financial media and self-styled … (1 comments)
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investing: 10 Golden Rules for Investors - 08/17/10 12:25 PM
Investing may sounds daunting, but it doesn't have to be.
Equifax Personal Finance blogger Dan Solin has a few great tips for good investing that won't turn into headaches for you.
http://retirement.equifax.com/2010/08/10-golden-rules-all-investors-should.html
… (0 comments)
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investing: Unemployment Rising? - 08/09/10 02:03 PM
Is unemployment rising? Economists have been puzzled why so few jobs are being created now that the recession appears to be over.
I don't think it's that surprising. This is the second post-recession period in a decade that has seen anemic job creation.
Frankly, between the 15 million Americans who have already lost their jobs and the millions more who are working at jobs that are below their skill level, or are at part-time jobs rather than full-time jobs, it could take years to return to pre-crash employment levels.
More attention is being paid to those Americans who are employed now … (0 comments)
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investing: Creating Your Own Best Retirement Plan - 06/09/10 02:15 PM
Here's an excerpt from Dan Solin's Retirement and Investing Blog on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog:
Generally speaking, I am no fan of 401(k) plans. They are brimming with high costs, conflicts of interest, and poor investment choices.
The allure of these plans is the corporate match.If your employer will match your contribution, you should seriously consider investing the minimum necessary to obtain the maximum match.
What if your employer doesn't match your 401(k) contribution? Here are three things you can do to create your own best retirement plan.
Click through to the Equifax Personal Finance Blog to read Dan's three … (2 comments)
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investing: Four Rules For Solving The Investment Rubik's Cube - 05/26/10 02:28 PM
The following is an excerpt from Equifax Personal Finance Blog investment expert Dan Solin's post about how the solve the investment Rubik's Cube:
Investing is not like eating. You don’t want to try something new every day. Your investing strategy should be like eating the same meal day after day. The only time it should be adjusted is when your tolerance for risk or your investment objectives change.
I have put together four basic rules that should guide your investment decisions. Following them will help you solve the investing Rubik’s Cube.
Investing Rule #1: Ignore the financial media.
Investing Rule #2: … (0 comments)
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investing: Optimizing The Retirement Portfolio: A Rescue Plan For Your Retirement Portfolio - 05/26/10 12:52 PM
Dan Solin, a Senior Vice President of Index Fund Advisors and best selling author of "The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read" blogs about retirement and investing for our new Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
Here's an excerpt from his tips on how to rescue your retirement portfolio:
You have to feel sorry for anyone nearing retirement or those who have recently retired. They worked hard and saved enough to retire with dignity—or so they thought.
We can’t change the past, but we can learn from it. Here are two simple decisions you can make that could significantly increase your investment returns … (0 comments)
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investing: To Convert to a Roth IRA or Not: That Is the Question - 05/21/10 02:48 PM
This article comes from the brand new Equifax Personal Finance Blog. I am the Real Estate blogger for the site and we also cover credit, retirement/investing, tax and insurance.
Here is an exceprt from the Investing blog by Dan Solin, to read his entire article visit his page on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog.
The income constraints are gone: now anyone can convert a pre-tax IRA or 401(k) plan assets into a tax-free Roth IRA. All you have to do is pay ordinary federal and state income taxes on your pre-tax IRA, and you’ll have created a fund from which no … (0 comments)
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investing: Where To Invest Your Money When You Have No Debt - 05/10/10 01:16 PM
Wouldn't it be great if you had no debt? And if you had no debt and had money to invest, where would you put it?
Leave your comment below on your advice as to where you would invest your money if you had no debt. Would you invest in the stock market, bonds or put the money into a retirement account like a 401k?
Some people might even invest the money in a tax free annuity. But if you are self employed, you may have additional options available to you.
Read more of my advice on how to invest your extra … (0 comments)
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investing: Top Three Real Estate Investing Mistakes - 04/16/10 10:44 AM
Everyone makes mistakes, but if you want to be a successful and profitable real estate investor, there are some mistakes you should be sure to avoid.
First, don't buy real estate investments on impulse. Second, don't fail to do your due diligence on real estate investments. And finally, don't forget that numbers matter with real estate investments. Get ahead in the game and avoid these top real estate investing mistakes.
Read more about these critical mistakes at ThinkGlink.com
… (1 comments)
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