Crowdfunding: The New Venture Capital?
Rewind to 2010. “Crowdfunding” was a term you heard and thought “Oh, that sounds fun.” At the time, your eyes probably opened wide when you heard that it accounted for $880 million in project funding. Today, we’re sure your eyes would open even wider when you hear this: a recent report from Massolution states that […]
Read ArticleAdvisor Succession Planning: Why It Matters To You
Hiring an investment advisor to help you properly prepare for retirement is a smart play. But, have you ever stopped to consider whether your advisor has planned for his own retirement—to ensure you aren’t left adrift when that happens? If you think most advisors have succession plans in place, you’d be wrong. A recent report […]
Read ArticleReal Estate – Is it a Good Investment?
For many investors, the lure of real estate is, well… real. You’ve heard “get-rich-quick” success stories; you’ve done a bit of research; you’ve heard from your friend, the real estate agent, that its the best investment around. We’ll tell you right off the bat: to an agent, real estate is always a good investment. Does […]
Read ArticleWhat Can a High School Coach from Arkansas Teach Us About Investing?
Kevin Kelley is an Arkansas high school football coach who almost never punts the ball. When he first arrived at Pulaski Academy, local fans were furious and confused by his coaching strategy. Kelley says he stumbled upon research done by a Harvard college professor. The main theme of the professor’s paper was that conventional […]
Read Article3 Important Investment Mistakes to Avoid in 2015 and Beyond by Morgan Smith
Mistake #1: Diversifying by Hiring Multiple Financial Firms Many investors want their investments diversified. This is a good thing for those who want to reduce many of the risks associated with investing, but the mistaken perception of what diversification actually means causes investors to have some strange ideas.One of the things I’ve heard people […]
Read ArticleThe Basics of Property and Casualty Coverage
Christopher Van Slyke and Scott Obrien of WorthPointe interview Allstate’s Melissa Fleming about the basics of property and casualty coverage:
Read ArticleIs it the IRS…or a Scammer? Don’t Be Fooled! By Kermit Johns
A client recently told me about a call he received from the Internal Revenue Service that seemed suspicious. The caller left an urgent callback request, but he was not adept at representing himself as an IRS agent. Regardless, my client was concerned about the IRS having access to his fee-based investment account. Unfortunately, this […]
Read ArticleAn American Retirement Crisis? By Charles L. Stanley CFP® ChFC® AIF®
The National Institute on Retirement Security (NIRS) recently released a public opinion research report that found that an overwhelming majority of Americans – 86 percent – believe the nation faces a retirement crisis. Some of the findings are: Some 86% of respondents agree that the nation […]
Read ArticleWhy Tim Duncan Hired The Wrong Financial Planner
NBA star Tim Duncan became the latest professional athlete to file suit against his financial advisor. He alleges that Charlie Banks, who he’s been working with for 17 years, pushed him into investments despite conflicts of interest that ultimately resulted in substantial loss. “I invested in a series of opportunities presented by Charles Banks, […]
Read ArticleSocially Responsible Investing: You Can (Just About) Have It All
In the old days, not so long ago, investors had to decide if it was worth it to them to sacrifice returns by supporting socially responsible companies instead of “sin” companies that produced a more robust bottom line. Looking at it simply from an investment perspective, some studies found that excluding sin companies resulted […]
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