Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
What You Need to Know about Moving Money
Moving money from one financial institution to another, or from one country to another, is not as easy as it sounds. Even though the money may be legitimately yours, financial institutions can make you jump through hoops in order to gain access to it. Moving money in and out of accounts can look suspicious, so… Read more
How Much Money Can You Afford to Lose in a Risky Investment?
If I asked you, “How much money do you want to lose in a risky investment?” you would probably think this was a strange question. However, you must consider the risks before you invest. When you put money in the stock market you give up the certainty in return for the potential reward of growth…. Read more
How Memory Loss Can Affect Your Money
What happens to your finances if you suffer from memory loss? Memory loss can have negative financial repercussions beyond not knowing where you misplaced your checkbook. Time to hand over the reins If someone you love finds it hard to remember things, financial tasks may slip through the cracks. Not paying bills in a timely… Read more
Here’s When to Stop Supporting Your Children
My clients, “Mr. and Mrs. Generous” and “Mr. and Mrs. Enablers,” both wanted to help their children. As their financial advisor, I told one couple that it was fine to help their daughter on a regular basis. But I advised the other couple to stop helping their son as they were enabling him to continue… Read more
Why Are Dividend-Paying Stocks like a Paycheck?
Dividend-paying stocks can provide steady income in the form of regular quarterly cash payments. Two ways investors earn a return on a stock investment are capital appreciation and dividend payments. Ideally, you want your stock to appreciate in value, but if it doesn’t, an income-paying stock still provides you with regular income, like a paycheck…. Read more
Do Simple Investments Generate Higher Returns?
Simple investments can help increase your returns. When Confucius said, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated,” he could have been alluding to the fact that using complicated investing strategies can reduce your overall performance. Simple investment strategies (like diversification and dollar-cost averaging) may have the best chance to lead to… Read more
How to Protect Someone You Love from Financial Abuse
If you have elderly parents or other loved ones, there are concrete steps you can take to make sure they stay financially safe. While we may think of a stranger as the “bad guy,” sadly, some caregivers (even relatives) exploit an older person’s health situation for their own benefit. Be alert for possible signs of… Read more
Is It Easier to Invest with an American Brokerage Firm or with an Israeli Bank?
If you are an American oleh, people may encourage you to open an investment account through an Israeli bank. But if you try to do so, as an American citizen, you will need to sign some very specific documentation. Is the alphabet soup a deterrent: FATCA, FBAR, PFIC? As a result of FATCA (Foreign Account… Read more
Why Getting an Inheritance Doesn’t Always Make You Rich
“If you spend that amount of money from the inheritance you just received,” I told a client a few years ago, “it’s going to vanish over time.” Guess what? It did. This client spent hundreds of thousands of dollars and had nothing to show for it, other than feelings of regret. Even if you’re lucky… Read more
Why You Shouldn’t Worry about Market Volatility
High volatility is a headline grabber. The media seldom writes about a ho-hum day in the markets. Skewed headlines create fear in investors who have an exaggerated view of market instability. Volatility is a measure of how much a stock price fluctuates. High volatility stocks have wider fluctuations in prices, providing higher potential returns but… Read more