This podcast (5:37) suggests three takeaways from Vanguard's new 121-page “How America Saves” report: That those 65 and older have saved just $58,000; that the gap between the wealthiest and everyone else is wide; and that, though only a few are raiding their retirement accounts, they’re doing so at advanced ages. Advisors take note: People are trying to maintain a standard of living that seemed normal to them growing up, but which is unavailable currently, given their incomes and expenses.
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Eric Nelson of Servo Wealth Management argues that retirement investors are too risk-averse. In this podcast interview (16:20), the highly opinionated advisor argues that retirement investors assume they cannot afford the risk that they might lose money in the stock market, when in reality what they cannot afford are the low returns of an overly conservative strategy.
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Back-of-the-envelope calculations – as discussed in yesterday’s podcast – may be good conversation starters, but it is often worthwhile to get advice and service that dot every I and cross every T. This podcast (5:12) suggests that people employ consultants because they want to get very important things right, or make sure they don’t botch those very important things. So too for consulting with financial advisors on retirement, which is usually the biggest-ticket item, financially speaking, in one’s entire life.
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Retirement savers generally want to know what large “number” they need to fund their retirement. But people live their whole lives based on a monthly income, and it is on the basis of that small number that we can try to arrive at the bigger one. We present an oversimplified method of generating a portfolio goal from one’s income needs. This podcast (5:09) suggests that this back-of-the-envelope calculation is really just a starting place for a much more sophisticated discussion to which financial advisors can add tremendous value.
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Let’s Talk ETFs is Seeking Alpha’s newest podcast. Each week, a different guest and host Jonathan Liss will take an in-depth look at a particular aspect of the rapidly evolving Exchange-Traded Fund space with a focus on how investors can best utilize ETFs to reach their investing goals. In addition, Let’s Talk ETFs will catch you up on all the most important ETF news including new fund launches and closures, top performers, and other notable ETF investing news from the previous week
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A New York Times essay published Tuesday about one man’s unexpected and untimely brush with near death illustrates and strengthens the dangers of overly aggressive asset allocations. But since, statistically, most people can expect to live long lives, we can’t invest too conservatively either. This podcast (4:32) argues that life’s humbling ambiguity requires that we simultaneously hedge our risks while facilitating long-term portfolio growth.
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I tell my kids to aspire to an asset allocation equal-weighted among stocks, real estate and cash. This podcast (5:36) argues that you don't attain wealth without ownership of risk-based assets such as real estate and stocks. But you don't preserve that wealth from the blows that time and chance deliver without a large dose of liquidity.
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Stocks’ higher expected returns, the fact that markets recover and stocks’ tax advantages are some of the reasons offered by proponents of a 100 percent stock portfolio, especially for those with long time horizons. This podcast (5:06) argues that while such a portfolio may be advantageous theoretically, financial advisors must remain rooted firmly in the realm of empirical experience, which is at odds with an overly aggressive investment approach.
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Financial advisors are all too familiar with the phone calls of angry and upset clients on days when markets take a big hit or portfolio statements show big losses. This podcast (4:49) argues that just as there is food with little or no nutritive value, so too is there information with no real insight. Advisors should preempt those calls by assuring clients they will offer them meat and potatoes, not potato chips. One way to do that would be to customize statements so as to highlight what is truly important.
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The reason so many fail to reach goals we all share is not because of a lack of information so much as a lack of motivation. Enter financial advisors. They can take information like this, personalize it and motivate the client. This podcast (4:21) argues that financial advisors work in the realm of actualizing human potential that would otherwise remain undeveloped.
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