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Author Archives: Lon Jefferies
Why You Should Not Trust Financial Advisors
This month I received a fax from one of my clients requesting that I liquidate his IRA so that the funds could be invested in a guaranteed annuity product. In the letter, the client stated he was aware that market-driven investments have greater potential for growth but the annuity would provide him a guaranteed return. [...]
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Will Long-Term Care Destroy Your Nest Egg?
Estimates of the likelihood of a 65-year-old needing long-term care vary between 35% and 55%, depending upon definitions. Further, the average cost for a semi-private room in a nursing home is about $75,000 a year.¹ Assuming this cost increases by 4% per year, as many experts expect nursing home costs to rise faster than general [...]
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Accumulate Wealth Through Your Tax Return
Most people view filing their federal tax return as closing the books on another financial year. Many don’t realize that reviewing their two-page IRS Form 1040 can provide insights leading to better financial habits and the creation of wealth going forward. Here are nine items to consider: 1. Do you know what tax rate you pay [...]
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Which Social Security Payout Option is Best?
Introduction When people are considering their options for taking Social Security they often overlook some strategies available to them. In fact, there are actually 20 different possible benefit choices, and an individual should consider each strategy in full before making their final decision. Sometimes utilizing the correct approach can amount to over a million dollars [...]
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Not Retiring Soon? Save, Save, Save!
One of my clients recently took advantage of my offer to sit down with and advise his daughter. This young woman was 25 years of age and just getting started with her career. Along with eliminating consumer debt, it was clear that the most helpful advice I could provide was to save early and save [...]
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Dividend Stocks – What’s All the Hype About?
In an effort to help the U.S. economy recover, the Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates to historically low levels. Furthermore, the Fed has announced its intent to keep interest rates low until 2014. Classic income-producing investments such as savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and money market funds pay next to nothing. Borrowers are being [...]
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How Much Did Today’s Retirees Save?
As noted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, only 29% of today’s retires have more than $100,000 saved and invested for their future. By contrast, 54% have less than $24,999. What do you need to do to ensure you end up on the right side of this spectrum? Saving 15% of your gross income, save [...]
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Would You Pass The Chalkboard Test?
Could you explain your investment strategy if you were handed a piece of chalk and directed to a chalkboard? How did you choose the investments within your portfolio? Common responses include, “I invested in what a friend or co-worker recommended,” or “I invested in what performed well last year.” For most, the honest response is [...]
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The Bucket Approach
According to various studies, the first of which was published in Financial Analysts Journal in May, 1991, stock selection accounts for only 4.6 percent of investment returns, while market timing is responsible for only 1.8 percent. Meanwhile, the proportion of assets allocated to stocks, bonds and cash was found to account for 91.5 percent of [...]
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Guaranteed Income Annuities: The Holy Grail of Investments?