Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
Are you a victim of “Inheritance Loyalty Syndrome?”
It is common to feel emotional angst after receiving an inheritance. Inheritors may have doubts as to whether they are “allowed” to use the assets as they wish, or whether they somehow have to use them in a way the benefactor would have chosen to use them.
There are two ways to approach a sudden influx of money into your control:
1…. Read more
Do All Married Couples Need to Share Their Money?
What’s the ideal way to handle your money?
In a perfect world, married couples merge their lives as well as their finances, and have joint accounts. However, sometimes a couple can be connected at the heart but have separate bank accounts. While partners should look at their overall assets together,… Read more
Are You Getting the Social Security You Deserve?
The “Greenberg Settlement,” the resolution of a class-action lawsuit brought against the Social Security Administration (SSA), changes the way American olim receive their American Social Security payments.
Under the SSA’s Windfall Elimination Provision, if you receive a foreign earnings-based pension, your American benefits are reduced. Until now, claimants of Social Security living in Israel who also received Bituach Leumi old age pension had their payments from Social Security reduced under the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). … Read more
A Quick Solution for Non-Americans Investing in the U.S.
Non-Americans investing in the United States often use U.S. brokerage accounts. While it may seem counter-intuitive for a non-American to open an American brokerage account from overseas, here are two reasons why this is a good move.
- Efficiency– U.S. securities markets may be the most efficient and individual-investor friendly in the world.
How to Help Your Children Become Financially Independent
A client told me about her married daughter who is in a financially dysfunctional marriage. The young couple finds it hard to make ends meet, and often applies for help from charitable organizations. Yet despite their lack of funds, they still live a fairly extravagant lifestyle. Occasionally, the daughter asks her mother for money,… Read more
What Should You Do When You Get An Inheritance?
Many of my client relationships began as a result of receiving an inheritance. The sudden infusion of money is a good impetus for a review of one’s goals.
The first thing to do when you get an inheritance is – nothing. There’s usually no rush to spend or invest the money…. Read more
How To Break Your Bad Habits And Get Rich
Money woes are generally not due to a market gone awry or a low salary. The number one cause of most money problems is bad financial habits.
Do you spend without tracking what is leaving your wallet, neglect to make regular deposits in savings, and overlook regular financial reviews and discussion of financial goals with your partner?… Read more
What To Do If You Can’t Buy U.S. or Israeli Mutual Funds
Since Americans living abroad are frequently denied the opportunity to buy mutual funds, how can investors diversify their portfolios without being responsible for the day-to-day management of dozens of individual stocks and bonds?
One possible answer is a separately managed account, or SMA. An SMA is a customized portfolio offered by a brokerage firm and managed by an independent investment management firm or money manager…. Read more
Beware of 3 Types of Investment Risk
“Is it risky?” is one of the first questions you should ask about a new investment. Everyone wants investments with low risk and high returns, but it’s not always realistic. And most importantly, we all have a different feeling about risk.
A great way to test whether your level of risk is appropriate is whether you sleep well at night!… Read more
Read This if You Own – or Want to Buy – an Index Fund
Lots of people buy “index funds,” a type of mutual fund with components that track a segment of the market (like the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the price of gold, or even a specific country’s stock exchange).
Many people, too, often benchmark their own returns against the popular indices. Index funds are popular investments since they provide broad market exposure with relatively low management costs…. Read more