Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
Is Fear Causing You to Lose Money?
Some investors’ fear of losing money compels them to completely avoid the stock market and other volatile investments. This phenomenon is often called “loss aversion.”
People suffering from loss aversion will sometimes wait until they see the market has gone up a lot, and then they invest. They forget about history and just believe that the economy will continue strengthening…. Read more
Problems With Your U.S. Brokerage Account?
Many readers have recently contacted me because they received a letter from their U.S. brokerage firm informing them that either “You can no longer purchase additional shares of mutual funds in your account,” or “We will no longer provide investment advisory services to you and/or you may only enter liquidating orders or non-solicited orders in your account.”
This letter is not a result of new American legislation;… Read more
How Being a Good Listener Helps Your Investments
When I started my career as a financial planner, my mother, who was also a licensed stock broker, gave me this important piece of advice: “Just listen to what the clients are saying and let them talk. Then, it will become obvious what investment is appropriate for them.”
The importance of listening to what others have to say is vital in so many fields and professions,… Read more
How to Make Money with Mutual Funds
One of the easiest ways to diversify your portfolio is to invest in a mutual fund. A mutual fund is like a basket in which lots of investors place their money and then that single large account is managed by a team of professionals. There are mutual funds that specialize in stocks,… Read more
Three Important Retirement Planning Worries
Though the difference between retirement planning and all-inclusive financial planning may seem slim, people often plan too much for one target.
If you focus excessively on your future retirement, you might forget that you have other bills and goals before then. Obviously, the less money you spend today will mean the more money you’ll have tomorrow…. Read more
Why Cash May be More Important Than Stocks
While it’s important to divide your assets between stocks and bonds, cash plays an important role in your asset allocation.
Cash as an investment vehicle is not the same as any cash in your emergency fund, which should be the equivalent of three to six months’ living expenses. Successful investment portfolios sometimes have a slice of their pie invested specifically in liquid (cash) investments…. Read more
Why You Can’t Buy a U.S. Mutual Fund
The compliance officers at many mutual fund companies seem to believe that the Patriot Act (which was supposed to deter and punish terrorism, and strengthen U.S. measures to prevent, detect, and prosecute international money laundering and financing of terrorism) made it illegal to let people living outside the United States buy U.S…. Read more
How Strategic Thinking Can Make You Wealthy
Have you ever wondered which kinds of thinking strategies successful businessmen follow?
According to Stanley Ridgley, a professor in the department of management at Drexel University, the answer to what makes one person stand out from the rest is strategic thinking. When I interviewed Professor Ridgley on The Goldstein on Gelt Show,… Read more
If Your Parents are American, Uncle Sam May Be Looking for You
Recently, I received an interesting phone call. The caller was a young Israeli woman. After apologizing for her “not great” English, she told me that she has lived in Israel all her life and has never visited the United States. Her mother was originally from New York but has lived in Israel for several decades and is married to an Israeli…. Read more
The Truth You Should Know About Behavioral Finance
As a financial planner, my exposure to the field of behavioral finance isn’t just theoretical. When clients come to my Jerusalem office for a consultation, I’m constantly amazed at how frequently their thought processes and rationalization of decisions follows the scientific research of behavioral finance.
What influences financial decisions?
I recently discussed why people invest the way they do,… Read more