If you have ever received any investing advice, you have probably heard the disclaimer: past performance is not an indicator of future results. But, studying history also generates an adage: those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.

The Lange Money Hour is proud to welcome Yale School of Management Professor Emeritus in the Practice of Finance, the esteemed Dr. Roger Ibbotson.

Dr. Ibbotson has spent his career analyzing market history to make it a bit easier for investors and economists to attempt to predict how the market might perform in the future.

For many economists and financial advisors, the SBBI (Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation) comparison is an indispensable resource for statistics that are needed to analyze asset class performance. Performance analysis is critical to successful investing; and top quality data is essential to balance risks and rewards.

Jim and Roger will discuss the SBBI, the state of the markets in 2017, and multiple investment topics in Roger’s areas of expertise including:

Popularity

Liquidity

Investment Returns

Mutual Funds/Index Funds

Valuation

Portfolio Management

International Markets

Uncertainly has long been the enemy of estate planning as family, financial, and even legal circumstances can change dramatically over time. An estate plan that is intricately thought through and in-line with your testamentary intent today could be inappropriate once you die.

However in the early nineties, Jim began thinking creatively about this problem. Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan, as it came to be called, uses specific language and disclaimers to provide the most flexibility when it is needed the most—at the time of the death of the first spouse when the surviving spouse and the family have the most current picture of their finances and family dynamics. No more guess work decades in advance. The plan was first picked up by Jane Bryant Quinn in 2001 and published in Newsweek and from there it has been featured in peer-reviewed journals and in dozens of major publications like The Wall Street Journal and Kiplinger’s.

Lange Legal Group, LLC has drafted 2,444 estate planning documents to date, most of which incorporate elements of this superb plan. Tonight on The Lange Money Hour, our lead estate attorney, Matthew Schwartz and Jim will discuss Lange’s Cascading Beneficiary Plan in detail as well as offer examples of how beautifully it has worked out over time for our clients and their families.

Using disclaimers, this plan can offer great tax benefits, but it also gives the opportunity to provide children with some inheritance money earlier than at the death of both of their parents—that can be very helpful especially during the years when they are raising your grandchildren or trying to send them to college.

Tonight, Matt and Jim will shed fresh light on how Lange's Cascading Beneficiary Plan uses disclaimer planning and specialized language to help IRA and retirement plan owners prepare for the unknown.

You will learn:

The details of the plan: how and why it works

What disclaimer planning entails

How to include a disclaimer in your estate plan

The downsides of disclaimers

The tax implications of disclaimers

How Lange's Cascading Beneficiary Plan might be even more useful when the Death of the Stretch IRA legislation passes.

Imagine that you’re twenty-two-years-old and you’ve just been drafted into the National Football League. Chances are you haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about financial planning—not many people that age have, truth be told. In a world where the average NFL career lasts just three years, how does a young player avoid the pitfalls of sudden wealth to ensure that a hefty signing bonus puts him on a path to a secure life after his contract ends. How should he plan for retirement?

Are you chuckling to yourself? Maybe you think that is not going to be the first thing on his mind? You are probably correct. But, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education, about 70 percent of people who suddenly receive a windfall of cash will be broke a few years later. Is there something even we—those of us whose lives are not so high-profile—can learn from the mistakes of others?

On tonight’s edition of The Lange Money Hour, CPA/Attorney Jim Lange interviews the man who has been dubbed “Hip Hop’s Financial Advisor” – Pittsburgh native Rob Wilson. Rob is best known for representing NFL players, musicians, and other young celebrities. On the program, he’ll share some of his stories about helping these high-profile clients adjust to their newfound wealth. But, you may be surprised to learn that the fundamentals of good planning stretch across all pay scales, and may even apply to a windfall that you might be in line for—even if it isn’t an NFL contract or a recording deal!

Tune in to learn:

How Rob went from getting a degree in industrial engineering, to becoming a high-profile financial advisor and TV personality.

How he landed his first NFL client.

The advice he gives when he first meets a young superstar with a big contract.How all millennials view money differently than older Americans, and why they face challenges that didn’t exist 30 years ago.

And...why there’s never been a better time in history to start a business.

Jonathan Clements spent almost 20 years as the primary personal finance columnist at The Wall Street Journal. He contacted Jim more than 30 times for quotes and recommendations to include in his column. They both share a passion for improving financial literacy. Jonathan is the author of multiple personal finance books, including How to Think About Money. Clearly, he has spent plenty of time thinking about how the markets behave and – perhaps just as important – how investors behave.

On tonight’s edition of The Lange Money Hour, Jonathan will share his reflections and observations on some of the financial topics that have occupied his mind in 2017, including:

Taming Your Instincts: One of the biggest hurdles investors face is learning to tame their hardwired instincts—good for survival, not so good for modern financial markets. Jonathan will suggest strategies for keeping your emotions in check, such as automating your investments and removing temptation, but he is also convinced that using “social pressure” is an effective way to strengthen resolve and tame the beast.

Missing Ambition: When you help your children and grandchildren out financially are you sapping their desire to strike out and achieve success on their own? Is there an effective and responsible way to provide the next generation with a safety net without killing their ambition? Jonathan shares his thoughts.

Emerging Markets: Developing markets offer both low valuations and upward price momentum. Further, they don’t face the demographic headwinds that confront the developed world—an aging population that’s already hampering economic growth in the U.S. Learn why, despite the potential rollercoaster ride, Clements is a fan of emerging market investments.

Recognizing Luck: Don’t assume that everyone who has been successful financially is more skilled or knowledgeable than you. Jonathan will discuss the role that luck can play in the markets – and why those who play the long game are typically the consistent winners.

Investing and retirement planning can be derailed by common mistakes. Emotions running the gamut from panic to hopelessness can be spurred by the ups and downs of the market.

How do you stay the course? How do you find a course? How much will you need? These can feel like impossible decisions. And when it comes to understanding tax laws and Social Security, most people simply don’t have the know-how to maximize their outcomes.

Trying to figure all of this out on your own can be a nightmare – and most people fall victim to a pitfall or two along the way.

Tonight on the Lange Money Hour, top CPA/Attorney, and IRA expert Jim Lange will identify some of the most common investing, estate planning, and tax mistakes he has seen over and over again in his 30+ years of helping people plan for retirement.

Here are just a few examples:

Outdated wills that penalize your spouse.
Failure to make Roth IRA contributions or have a Roth IRA conversion plan.
Spending too much or too little in retirement.
Asset allocation and diversification mistakes.
Forgetting to regularly rebalance your portfolio.
Taking Social Security at the wrong time, which can cost you tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Forgetting to factor pension and Social Security allocations into your planning.
Investing emotionally – selling high and buying low.

Jim offers ways to identify and avoid these traps – and he’ll also outline specific strategies to help you prepare for the Congressional threat to kill the Stretch IRA – a potentially devastating change that could cost your heirs hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Historically, the markets have provided long-term investors with growth that offset inflation.* But, investors without that perspective can to get jumpy when the markets go down, or feel like nothing can go wrong when the markets are up—both sentiments can lead to emotional investment decision making. And emotional decision making in investing can lead to very bad results.

So, how do successful investors maintain their cool, exercise patience, and not fall victim to spur-of-the-moment irrational decisions? Having a wealth of experience really helps and having smart people conduct your research also provides a huge advantage.

Tonight, P.J. and Jim will share some important lessons from their combined 60-odd years in their respective businesses, as well as some of the wisdom from their research and the research of other experts in the field.

Listen tonight to benefit from sage advice from two trusted advisors.

Topics will include:

How trying to “time the market” can lead to disaster.

Why past performance is not a good indicator of future performance.

An explanation of what we call “smart diversification” and how it can be put into practice.

How a trusted advisor can help you stay-the-course.

Some of the big lessons from long-term data analysis of the market, and why it is so important to view investing with a well-balanced/risk-appropriate portfolio as a long-term commitment.

In our daily lives, trusting our instincts is often the smartest thing to do. In an emergency, it can even save our lives. But studies have shown that when it comes to investing, your instincts are wrong more often than they’re right. Millions of people panicked and took their money out of the markets during the 2007 financial crisis – and then missed out on a huge turnaround that has segued into one of the longest bull markets in history.

This week on The Lange Money Hour, CPA/Attorney Jim Lange will discuss investing with returning guest, Paul Merriman. Paul will discuss why it’s important to invest based on sound strategies and philosophies, and to stick to your plan – rather than reacting to “what just happened” on Wall Street.

Paul is a nationally recognized authority on mutual funds, index investing, asset allocation, and passive and active management strategies. And like Jim, he’s spent time talking with and learning from legendary Vanguard CEO, Jack Bogle. On tonight’s program, Jim and Paul will also discuss the valuable lessons they’ve learned from this index investing pioneer, and other topics including:

• How often to rebalance your portfolio

• Asset allocation tips

• And... optimal tax strategies

To listen to the MP3 of this episode go to http://paytaxeslater.com/radioshow/langemoneyhour_199.mp3

What exactly is a Roth IRA conversion? What makes them such a big deal? Why would anyone in their right mind write the government a tax check before they had to? These questions and more will be answered tonight as top CPA/Attorney and IRA expert Jim Lange weighs in on the pro and cons, and the long-term and the short-term benefits of Roth IRA conversions.

The fundamental distinctions between a traditional IRA and a Roth IRA is that the Roth IRA grows tax-free vs. tax deferred and there are no required minimum distributions (RMD) for the Roth owner or the owner’s spouse after the owner dies. If a Roth IRA is left to a child or grandchild, the income tax-free growth could potentially be measured in the millions, making them one of the most important and powerful tools in estate and retirement planning.

The sticking point for many people is that you must pay income taxes up-front on the amount you convert from your traditional IRA to the Roth. Tonight, Jim will help listeners over this barrier giving people an exciting entré into the world of tax-free growth. Jim will include personal anecdotes that illustrate how valuable a Roth IRA conversion can be – including one story that shows it’s truly never too late to do one.

Over the course of this episode, you will learn:

• How to think about your IRA in terms of purchasing power vs. total dollars and why that is so important.

• Why, contrary to what you might have heard, you are never too old for a Roth IRA conversion.

• Whether you would be a suitable candidate for a Roth conversion.

• When is the optimal time to make the conversion?

• How to determine how much to convert?

• Why making a series of conversions over a period of years is a smart move for tax purposes.

• How to adjust your Roth IRA conversion plan over the long term, as tax laws and/or your personal situation changes.

• How future tax increases might affect your accounts.

• Why Roth IRAs are so valuable to your heirs.

You can listen to the MP3 of this episode by going to http://paytaxeslater.com/radioshow/langemoneyhour_198.mp3

How do we become leaders? What makes a good leader great? What are some of the common traits that can be found among those who rise to the top of their fields?

This week on the Lange Money Hour, CPA/Attorney Jim Lange will interview Alan Olsen, a noted San Francisco-area CPA -- and a fellow radio host. Alan is the host of the Bay Area program, “American Dreams,” where he interviews some of the country’s top business leaders and entrepreneurs.

On tonight’s show, Alan will share with Jim some of the lessons he has learned from talking with his impressive guests over more than 500 episodes. Jim and Alan will cover topics such as:

• The Psychology of Money: How do people become “savers” or “spenders?”

• The Art of Philanthropy and the idea of “universal giving.”

• How do we define a true leader?

• Lessons learned from prominent athletes including legendary MLB pitcher, Vida Blue.

• The importance of service: How we can and should give back.

To listen to the MP3 file, http://paytaxeslater.com/radioshow/langemoneyhour_197.mp3

Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto will likely see a second term in office after defeating two challengers in the May primary election—everyone locally is familiar with his name. But, President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement pushed Peduto’s name into the national spotlight. When Trump justified his actions claiming to represent the people of Pittsburgh, the Mayor struck back saying,

“I’m appalled that the President used my city to justify his unacceptable decision, as most other Pittsburghers are. I was one of the nation’s mayors who went to Paris to fight for the accords, and my city, which has finally bounced back from decades of industrial carnage, will do all it can to promote its own environmental standards.”

Further, he and the mayor of Paris, Ann Hidalgo, published an op-ed in The New York Times. "The Mayors of Pittsburgh and Paris: We Have Our Own Climate Deal" stressing their mutual commitment to “embracing the global challenge of climate change.”

So… three weeks later, how does the Mayor feel about that clash with the President?

For an answer to that question and many more, join us on this episode on KQV as CPA and Attorney Jim Lange interviews Mayor Peduto. Get up to date on:

• The Mayor’s goals for his second term

• The current state of the City’s finances and the long-term outlook

• Current and upcoming development projects

• How the City is tackling infrastructure repairs, including ongoing water and sewer issues

• How Pittsburgh is affected by the unusual political circumstances in Washington, D.C.

• And… Pittsburgh’s role in the driverless car revolution

KQV will rebroadcast the show this Sunday at 9:05 a.m. The audio will also be archived on our web site at www.paytaxeslater.com/radioshow.php, along with a written transcript.

*All investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy or plan will be successful. Investment advisory services offered by Lange Financial Group, LLC.