How to protect yourself from computer hackers!
There was a recent article in the New York Times that I think you will find very helpful. It is about passwords and how to better secure your personal and confidential information. After reading this article, I changed all my passwords. I think you will too.
Here is the link:<http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/technology/personaltech/how-to-devise-passwords-that-drive-hackers-away.html?_r=1&>
Monday, November 26, 2012
Friday, October 12, 2012
Does the stock market want an Obama or Romney presidency?
Does the stock market want an Obama or Romney presidency?
As a Certified Financial Planner™, I have been trained to stay away from two topics; politics and religion. The choice of who you vote for is a personal decision and everyone has the right to express their opinion. This year, there are many important issues to be discussed including healthcare, employment, taxes, interest rates and fiscal challenges. The next President and the next Congress will have to deal with all of these challenging issues.
According to JP Morgan Asset Management, the stock market returns have been highest when we have had a Democratic President and the Republicans controlled the House and the Senate. The second best performance was when the Democrats controlled The Presidency and the House and the Senate. Third best performance came when the Republicans controlled the Presidency but the Democrats controlled the House and Senate. Fourth best performance came when the Republicans controlled the Presidency and the House and the Senate. Fifth place went to when the Republicans controlled The Presidency and the Senate and the Democrats controlled the House.
What can you make of this? First, remember the adage that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Second, it would appear that the stock market favors split governments.
Perhaps, just as big an issue for this election is what happens in the House and Senate races. As you know, Congress has one of the lowest approval ratings in US history and there is tremendous gridlock. According to www.voteview.com, over 90% of the members of the House and Senate are voting with the majority of their party. Thus, unless this changes, we may see more gridlock in the future.
No matter what your opinion, don’t forget to vote on November 6th!
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
New York Times: A Fancy Financial Adviser Title Does Not Ensure High Standards
Many people don't realize that there is a huge difference between the suitability standard and a fiduciary standard. Under a fiduciary standard, your advisor is legally obligated to look out for your best interest. This article does a great job of explaining why it is important. It also highlights the fact that only 17% of advisors at brokerage firms are Certified Financial Planners®.
All CFP™ Practitioners have had training in the major areas of financial planning and they must pass a rigorous 12 hour examination. By becoming a CFP, a registrant must also agree to act as a Fiduciary on behalf of their clients and agree to ongoing continuing education and ethics training.
Unfortunately, this is truly an area of buyer beware. Potential clients need to ask questions about what training their financial professionals have and how they get compensated. Unfortunately, there are many misleading labels on business cards that give the impression of credibility, education attained and experience.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Timothy Watters CFP® on CBS Evening News
Recently, I was interviewed by CBS Evening News to give my thoughts in regards to the recent Federal Reserve study, showing that the average person's net worth has gone down since 2007.
I commented that this analysis was greatly influenced by the type of assets you owned. If your assets were primarily invested in real estate, it's a fair statement to say that your net worth has probably gone down in the time period. However, for many investors, it was a better picture because their investment portfolios have come back strongly since 2009.
I suggested several strategies that could help people get back on track including:
· Refinancing
· Paying extra principal on your loans
· Analyze your cash flow to see where we can find potential dollars to redirect towards savings
· Review your asset allocation to make sure it is still appropriate.
Unfortunately, trying to be entertaining, they only used the most enticing comments instead of the valuable planning advice I had discussed with them during the 45 minutes of interview time.
Monday, June 11, 2012
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