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 with bad financial habits…. Read more
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,… Read more
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 long-term success…. Read more
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 financial abuse
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 Tax Compliance Act),… Read more
“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…. Read more
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 also higher possibilities of losses…. Read more
Recently, I found myself in the Financial Professional’s Twilight Zone when a client assured me, “It’s OK if I lose money. My investments are for the long term and the market always goes back up eventually.” Why was this client so carefree?
Some investors think that if they lose money on an investment,… Read more
“Copycat trading” is when a regular trader copies the trades of more experienced and successful traders. It sounds simple enough: copying someone else’s trades makes trading easier for you as it eliminates the need for you to do your own research. If you want to trade foreign exchange, for example, just follow the top performing foreign exchange trader;… Read more
Can you make more money gambling in a casino or investing in the stock market?
Both investors and gamblers make decisions on where to place their money based on the likelihood of certain events happening. The probability of high gambling returns is low. In fact, the slot machine is the ultimate game of chance as its returns are random…. Read more
