Editor's Letter
A famous faux-commercial from "Saturday Night Live" has Sam Waterston as pitchman for Old Glory Insurance. Waterston, star of NBC’s “Law & Order,” warns of a dire threat plaguing the nation. He plays it so straight it...
Forward Motion
We’re sure this is one of many revised regulations we will see this year as a direct result of the financial crisis. The IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department have agreed to give 529 plan account holders more flexibility throughout 2009 by...
By September last year, about 700,000 boomers had homes in foreclosure, according to AARP. The number represented more than a quarter of the total number of foreclosures or delinquencies in the nation.
As to whether those in foreclosure should be...
Financial advisors say the economic crisis has not just crippled, but “severely jeopardized” their clients’ retirement security. According to Brinker Capital’s Retirement Indicator, 88 percent of advisors say their clients...
A recent AARP survey indicates boomers believe they will fare much better in 2009 than they did in 2008 — that is, if they don’t get sick. About 20 percent of boomers say they will not be able to afford health care this year.
According...
Pundits point to greedy boomers as the root of the nation’s spiraling economy. The generation has gotten such a bad rap lately that no one wants to be associated with them. Younger boomers are trying to break away, says Marian Salzman, chief...
Whether former President Bush realized it or not, he helped out gay and lesbian boomers nearing retirement when he passed the Worker, Retiree and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 in late December. The Human Rights Campaign hailed the legislation, which...
Even in a recession, boomers dominate in spending power. According to recent data from the Hallmark Channel and The Nielsen Company, baby boomers account for nearly $230 billion in sales for consumer packaged goods, representing 55 percent of total...
Before 2008’s market meltdown, pre-retirees making diversified investments beyond savings vehicles like bonds and CDs were in a seemingly better spot than those who were more conservative with their money. Not anymore, according to The...
Hard to believe but some job markets are still hot. And boomers are stoking the flames. CNNMoney.com looked at which industries are thriving:
Education – Layoffs, boomers with new careers and increasing interest in degree programs and...
Going forward in a rocky market, 401(k) investors say they are staying the course and won’t change their retirement plan. “Workers want to keep the basic strengths of 401(k)s - tax-favored savings, individual choice in investing, and...
Broker/Dealer Playbook
The current economic environment reinforces the importance of a comprehensive and repeatable process to address challenges your boomer clients face. Whether your clients’ wealth is valued at $10,000 or $10 million, it is important to...
Of course, this was before the collapse in mid-September, but we’ll take any good news we can get. American savers held $16.9 trillion in retirement assets at the end of the second quarter of 2008, accounting for nearly 36 percent of all...
In case you missed it (not sure how you could, but with the holidays and all) Congress passed a bill before the Christmas break suspending minimum distribution requirements in 2009. Seems it’s harder to make the case for the forced...
The Financial Services Fact Book ensures it’s all on the record:
“In 2008 massive mortgage and real estate investment losses led to an upheaval in the securities industry [really?], with several major players failing or reorganizing. In...
Holman Jenkins, writing in the Wall Street Journal, has a novel solution to the Madoff affair:
[Madoff] may have been casual from the start about what money he used to pay withdrawals. It is almost inconceivable, though, that he could have built a...
The Fund Watch
Several years ago, the first wave of baby boomer retirements triggered speculation about the unprecedented wealth transfer that was to come. Some projected $20 trillion would be passed down to baby boomers over the next 20 years, but what was...
Is today a good day to invest? Who knows? Timing a recovery or picking a bottom is a loser’s game. It’s like playing the lottery. Someone has to win, but why isn’t it ever me? An investor who diversifies across multiple strategies...
CheckList
If they seem obvious, ask yourself why so many clients (and too many advisors) continue to make the same insurance and financial planning mistakes over and over. Here are some of the more common — and what can be done about them —...