It’s been said that some people spend more time on choosing an automobile to purchase than they do on selecting a financial advisor. If that observation has a ring of truth to it, it may be because people are familiar with the daily driving experience and the ease of determining one’s preferences. In contrast, financial management is a task that, for most people, involves decisions and considerations that they know little about. Similarly, they are ill equipped to assess the qualifications of those who seek to provide financial services. [More]

If you’ve taken steps to protect those who depend upon you – such as obtaining life insurance, writing a will, or developing a trust – give yourself a pat on the back. If you haven’t taken those steps, you should. Having a will and/or a trust helps to ensure that your hard-earned assets are distributed properly, and life insurance can help your spouse, children, and any other dependents meet their financial needs if you can’t. [More]

There are many times in your life that a decision you make will have lasting and long term consequences on the rest of your life. Choosing a financial advisor can be one of those decisions that profoundly impacts on the rest of the future, either positively or negatively. [More]

Should I invest? Should I not invest? Will the market rebound in my timeframe? Should I invest only in safe money market funds or can I add some risk to my portfolio? These are questions investors ask themselves during a recovery period, such as the one we are in. [More]

People devote several hours to planning their retirement. They seek expert advice and watch the performance of their investments regularly but when it comes to naming a beneficiary, it is often done as an afterthought. If you don’t take into consideration this very important step of correctly naming a beneficiary(s): your wishes may go unheeded, your family may suffer because of difficult decisions that might need to be made, taxes that could have been avoid may reduce the value of your estate or your estate could very likely end up in court. [More]

Advisors earn their money in a variety of ways but what is most important to you as an individual investor is making sure that compensation and advice are not somehow linked together. Conflict free advice is worth seeking out. [More]