Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
Why Interest Rate Risk is Important
Conservative investors who buy bonds to avoid high risk might inadvertently be exposing themselves to a potentially devastating risk: interest rate risk.
If you are concerned that you may have interest rate risk or other hidden risks in your investments, call my office at 02-624-2788 to discuss your portfolio.
Are bonds safe?… Read more
What You Need to Know About Financial News
Should financial news and media reports affect the way you make your investment decisions?
Recently, a client said: “I just read about _________ (fill in Israeli company name) in The Jerusalem Post, and I’d like to buy 1000 shares.” I hear comments like this fairly often. Since I help people who live in Israel with their U.S.-based IRA and brokerage accounts,… Read more
How to Increase Your Retirement Cash Flow
When you retire, your cash flow changes. Since most pensions won’t replace 100% of your pre-retirement income, you need other ways to increase your monthly cash flow.
A bank may not meet your needs
If you put your money in a regular savings account in the bank, you have little risk of losing your principal…. Read more
What to Do When You Inherit an IRA Account
If you inherit an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), you may be tempted to simply withdraw the funds and put them into your own name. But if you do, you would possibly be making a big mistake. Instead, you should transfer the money into a “beneficiary IRA” account.
Money in an IRA is tax-deferred in America,… Read more
Do You Need to Worry About a Market Crash?
No one knows if or when there will be another market crash. Anyone who could accurately predict the ups and downs of the market on a consistent basis would make an absolute fortune.
Even if the market’s exact moves can’t be predicted, you can be sure that the market will take a hit sometime in the future…. Read more
How Non-Americans Can Benefit from American Brokerage Accounts
This past week, my office phone rang several times with non-Americans inquiring about opening American brokerage accounts.
Given the hassles of dealing in some of the more popular offshore jurisdictions, and given the many benefits of keeping investments in the United States, these people were happy to see how they could easily invest through a U.S…. Read more
What Should You Do About the FBAR?
Whenever I mention the acronym FBAR, Americans often say one of two things: “F what??” or “I don’t need to do that.”
What’s an FBAR?
The “Report of Foreign Bank Accounts” (FBAR) is a required U.S. government form, which is important in the post-9/11 world. The purpose of the form is to alert the authorities about accounts held outside the United States with a total value of $10,000 or more at any time during the year…. Read more
Is Your Brokerage Account in Danger of Being Sold Out?
Imagine if your brokerage firm called you up and told you that they were going to sell out all of the positions in your brokerage account within the next 60 days.
“Why?” you ask them. They respond that due to increasing regulatory restrictions they will no longer service your account. They give you two options:
1…. Read more
Can Your Israeli Bank Provide Investment Services?
Have you found that your Israeli bank no longer provides investment services for Americans living in Israel?
Because of onerous reporting requirements to the American government, many Israeli banks have stopped opening investment accounts for U.S. citizens. While dual American-Israelis can continue with banking and checking services, they need to look elsewhere for their long-term investing…. Read more
Read This Before You Transfer Your Money to Israel
Making aliya doesn’t mean you need to close your American brokerage accounts. In fact, there are many sound reasons for maintaining assets in America even if you move away. Think twice before converting your American retirement accounts to shekels and bringing them to Israel.
Recently, some American brokerage firms asked their non-resident clients to transfer out their accounts…. Read more