Keen on Retirement

My Keen Wealth team can help you make well-informed decisions for your retirement. We can help you figure out how much to save and invest. We can help you figure out an annual withdrawal rate that will keep you happy and active without breaking the bank. We can put you in touch with the right tax and health care pros. We can help get your estate in order. Heck, we'll even sit down with your children and explain to them the importance of starting their own financial plans as early as possible.

But the sad truth is this: even if your financial planning is perfect, if a cybercrook scams you out of your identity, or your nest egg, it could compromise your entire retirement.

We've talked quite a bit about cybersecurity lately as big breaches like Equifax or malware like WannaCry have been in the news. But on today's show I'm bringing in the big guns: retired FBI Special Agent Jeff Lanza. In his 20-year career, Jeff investigated cybercrime, fraud, organized crime, human trafficking, and terrorism. He's also a popular public speaker, media consultant, and author of a recently released book titled Cybercrime: How to Stay Safe from Online Fraud and Identity Theft.

At our 2017 Holiday Breakfast, Matt Wilson and I gave a presentation to our clients, families, and friends that analyzed the state of the economy at the end of a record year and attempted some predictions for where we could be headed in 2018.

So, halfway through the year, how'd we do?

At the risk of jinxing it, I'd say pretty good!

My Keen Wealth team expected some market volatility heading into the new year, but we felt that solid economic growth would help prevent a major downturn. And that's pretty much where we're sitting in July of 2018, although the current flat markets and our ongoing political dramas do have some investors nervous.

On today's show, we talk about what happened in the first six months of the year and try to anticipate how those events and trends might be setting us up for the second half of 2018.

When people ask, "How's the market doing?" the response is typically based on how the Dow Jones Industrial Average is doing (Dow for short). The Dow has been around since the late 1800s, so it has a long history of measuring how the US stock market has performed.

Despite its popularity and longevity, the Dow has some quirks that make it not necessarily the best way to measure how the overall US stock market is performing.

Recently, the powers that be decided to drop an iconic company that had been in the index off and on for more than 100 years. General Electric was one of the original companies in the index back in 1896 and has been continuously in the index since 1907. But not anymore.

One of my core philosophies is that a successful investment strategy depends on viewing our economy through a very wide lens. And just as the Dow is bigger than GE, our economy is much bigger than just the Dow, or the S&P 500, or whatever other number the media is talking about on cable news.

On today's show, we turn that wide lens on GE and the Dow to discuss what these popular market indicators really mean and answer the big questions we've been fielding from clients at Keen Wealth.

"Is the US Going Broke?"

"Social Security's Coming Crisis"

"The Economy's High Blood Pressure"

"Exploding Federal Debt: Why So Dangerous?"

"Joblessness is Here to Stay."

I know I'm not the only one who's seen headlines like these in my social media and news feeds lately. And as worrisome as these hot takes sound, what's even more concerning to my team at Keen Wealth is how they can scare investors into making mistakes that can ruin their financial planning.

On today's show, we discuss how to keep media scare tactics out of your head, out of your decision-making, and out of your portfolio.

Recently I took an amazing flight with my son, Devin, to St. George, Utah, near the Grand Canyon. Devin is a certified private pilot studying for his instrument rating, so it was a big help to have someone with his skill and knowledge in the copilot seat helping with navigation, communications with air traffic control, and helping to perform crosschecks – all of which make for a safe flight.

We cruised above the Rocky Mountains at 17,000 feet, and at that altitude, you have to pay special attention to your oxygen levels. We kept our pulse oximeters on for most of the trip, which isn't a technical requirement. But I always do my absolute best when it comes to getting out ahead of any potential issues that could occur over the course of a flight. (PICTURE)

As we proceeded on our IFR flight plan, monitoring our O2 levels, overall systems and weather conditions, it got me thinking about some issues we've helped friends and clients get ahead of recently on the ground at Keen Wealth. So on today's show, we talk about my big flight, and also about some common financial mistakes you can avoid with a little safety prep of your own.

Graduation season always brings to my mind one important subject schools don't usually cover: financial education. We parents have to take it upon ourselves to teach this important "class" at home. And the younger your kids are when you start these lessons, the more likely they are to take seed and create lasting, positive financial habits.

On today's show, we talk about how to introduce your young children to saving and investing, some important planning tips for young adults just entering the workforce, and how to involve your grown children in your estate planning.

2017 was a big year for internet hacks, with WannaCry, Petya, and the Equifax breach causing online headaches for people around the globe.

Nothing quite that widespread or dramatic has rocked the internet so far this year, but that doesn't mean we can all start relaxing about cybersecurity. In fact, some of the scams that are making the rounds right now mix online and offline tricks to try to capture your most important information. I received one in my own home mailbox recently!

More often than not, the milestones we look back on in the financial services industry are negative in nature: Black Monday in 1987, the dot com bubble burst around 2000, the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, The Great Recession of 2007 – 2009, the Flash Crash of 2010. Even as we remember how these events made life incredibly difficult for a lot of folks in the moment, the economic lessons we learn tend to trend positive: time and time again, our resilient economy and continues its long-term upward trajectory.

But the milestone we're going to discuss today is unique because there aren't many negative things to say about the Roth IRA, which this year turns 20. After two decades, the Roth IRA is still one of the best investment and retirement vehicles available to most folks of any age. That's because it has some features that set it apart from traditional IRAs and other investment products.

The difference between the fiduciary and suitability standards is such a popular topic on "Keen on Retirement" because it's such an important distinction. If you've never worked with a financial professional before, then you need to be crystal clear about the terms of your arrangement, the means by which the professional is compensated, and how committed both parties are to realizing your dream retirement scenario.

If you're still a little fuzzy on fiduciary vs. suitability, I think today's episode is going to provide some real eye-opening clarity. With a little help from an expert guest, we're going to talk through an example of the fiduciary standard in action right here at Keen Wealth headquarters.

When we open up the mailbag at Keen on Retirement we usually try to answer as many of the thoughtful questions our listeners send us as time allows.

But this week is different.

On today's show, we tackle one big retirement question from a listener with a lot on his mind. Retirement is nearing for both him and his wife. Decisions have to be made about portfolio rebalancing, withdrawal rates, and legacy planning. The breadth of issues and wealth of options are intimidating, and worse, this listener isn't sure who to trust with these important questions.