investing advice: What are the 10 things you should ask a financial planner?
- 03/15/11 05:35 AM
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)
investing advice: Twitter Anniversary!
- 03/02/11 07:27 AM
Sadly, I missed my 5,000 tweet milestone! Maybe with the help of my Twitter friends I can make it to 5,000 followers by the end of March? Follow me @Glink. Thank you!
Ilyce Glink is the author of several books, including 100 Questions Every First-Time Home Buyer Should Ask and Buy, Close, Move In! She blogs about money and real estate at ThinkGlink.com, The Equifax Personal Finance Blog and CBS Moneywatch She is Chief Content Strategist at RealtyJoin.com, a community for real estate investors. … (1 comments)
investing advice: Five Questions You NEED to Ask Potential Investment Brokers
- 03/01/11 04:37 AM
My fellow blogger Dan Solin is pretty critical of investment brokers--"I don't believe anyone should rely on brokers or onvestment advisers who claim to be able to 'beat the market' for investment advice"--but he was kind enough to share the five questions that anyone in the market for a broker needs to ask.
If you insist on using these brokers or advisers, here are five questiosn you need to ask them. When you get the answers, you may be persuaded to fundamentally change the way you invest: 1. Can you predict the future? 2. How risky is my … (0 comments)
Dan Solin, a retirement expert and a writer for the Equifax Personal Finance Blog , has some great tips on how to diversify your investments without knowing too much about investing. He has suggestions for safer stock options that will ensure that your cash outweighs the rate of inflation. http://retirement.equifax.com/2010/09/how-to-maximize-your-investment-returns.html … (2 comments)
investing advice: Investing As A Couple Can Lead to Marriage Stress
- 09/07/10 09:45 AM
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)
investing advice: Why Timing the Stock Market Never Works
- 08/24/10 05:23 AM
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)
investing advice: 10 Golden Rules for Investors
- 08/17/10 05:25 AM
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)
investing advice: Whole Life Insurance: What Your Broker Doesn't Want You to Know
- 08/09/10 07:12 AM
Dan Solin finds that investing in whole life insurance is the best deal. He tells us why brokers still discourage this investment in his post on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog. Financial advice is unique. Most of it is dead wrong. The advice given by brokers (or "financial consultants," as they like to be called) frequently has nothing at all to support it. If you ask most financial advisers about cash value life insurance, this is what you will hear: Buy term and invest the difference. For many people, this makes perfect sense, but most people buy term and spend the … (2 comments)
investing advice: 529 Savings Plans for College
- 08/09/10 06:43 AM
With your own children out of the nest, you seem to have fewer expenses. Being a generous grandparent, you may want to consider investing your extra cash in your grandchild's future. Dan Solin explains the best ways to save for your grandchild's college education: The recession and market turbulence have made the dire financial situation facing some baby boomers much worse. Few were prepared for retirement before the financial crisis. Most are hopelessly behind in their retirement savings. Consider these statistics:
* By some estimates, almost 10 percent of retirees have children dependent on them for financial support. * Almost 33 … (0 comments)
investing advice: What You Need to Know About Investing in Bonds
- 07/20/10 05:44 AM
Dan Solin shows that you don't need a financial consultant to introduce you to bonds. Here are some of his tips for bonding with this type of investment. Bonds Play a Critical Role You may be surprised to learn that the purpose of bonds is not to help you meet current and future income requirements. Bonds diversify your portfolio and reduce overall risk. Your goal is to increase the value of your total portfolio. If you view bonds as a source of income only, you will be tempted to take risks that could prevent you from reaching your investment … (2 comments)
investing advice: The Volatility Index- Much Ado About Nothing
- 07/13/10 04:19 AM
My friend Dan Solin explains the confusing volatility index in his post on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog. You have no doubt been reading a lot about the volatility index lately. Before I tell you why I believe it is irrelevant, let me first tell you what it is. The Chicago Board Options Exchange established a volatility index (VIX). The VIX is not a measure of how volatile the markets have been. It is a reflection of how volatile investors predict the markets will be in the short term. An increase in the VIX option price means investors expect market … (0 comments)
investing advice: Creating Your Own Best Retirement Plan
- 06/09/10 07:15 AM
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)
investing advice: Gold Investment Advice: Should I Be Investing In Gold?
- 06/02/10 05:46 AM
This week on the Equifax Personal Finance Blog, Dan Solin discusses the question of whether or not people should invest in gold. Read the full story by following the link at the end of this post.
The question I get asked most often is should I buy gold? My answer? You are asking the wrong question. Investors buy and sell gold at the wrong times. If you are talking about making a short-term profit by buying gold and then selling it at a higher price, the issue is very simple. You are speculating and not investing. You could be right … (0 comments)
investing advice: Four Rules For Solving The Investment Rubik's Cube
- 05/26/10 07:28 AM
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)
When interviewing a potential financial planner it is alright to be a little tough (remember these people are handling your money and investments).
;)
;)
;)
