Last week, the Department of Labor succumbed to pressure from the financial industry and Congress by extending the comment period on a proposal to impose a fiduciary duty on brokers working with retirement accounts. Despite the 15-day extension agreed upon by Labor Secretary Thomas Perez, many Wall Street figures remain...
The concept of diminishing returns is one of the oldest tenets of economics. It states that if one factor in production is continually increased while all others remain stable, the results of that production will become smaller and smaller. The United States realized this during its three separate quantitative easing...
One of the cardinal rules mutual fund investors follow is the avoidance of ‘load’ fees—essentially, the sales charge associated with joining a fund.  Unfortunately, that leads these investors into perhaps a bigger mistake. That’s because they’re overlooking two more fees funds assess. One is covered in the prospectus, but the...
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW How much do you know about social security and its actual “fine print”, as they say? Believe it or not, Americans have a huge misunderstanding as to how Social Security works, from how taxes are collected to overestimating the average monthly benefit.
Social Security is becoming a hot topic once again as the trust funds responsible for the benefit are set to be depleted by 2035. According to projections from a 2019 report by the Board of Trustees for the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund and the...
Cause and effect—it’s one of the first things we learn as children. But few people truly understand its meaning, which can become the source of all kinds of trouble. The economy is a perfect example. Just because the stock market keeps reaching or approaching all-time highs does not mean the...
It’s been almost four years since the Department of Labor (DOL) proposed a rule that would enforce a fiduciary duty on financial advisors who work with retirement accounts. But little progress has been made towards imposing such a standard, thanks to continued protests from the financial industry. The most recent—and...
The stock market ended the first quarter of 2015 in almost the same position where it began the year. But it sure was a bumpy ride to get back to the starting position. The Dow took a beating in January—falling almost 4%—before recovering to gain 5.6% in February. This was...
Last week, stocks closed at all-time highs after the Bank of Japan announced surprising stimulus measures. This week, the fallout from that decision continued. On Monday, the Japanese yen fell to a seven-year low of 114.2 against the U.S. dollar. In other words, $1 dollar U.S. is worth 113 Japanese...
When President Trump signed the SECURE Act into law in December of 2019, saving for retirement received a boost from Washington’s legislators. While some aspects of the law adversely affect seniors and their beneficiaries, the law is seen as a victory for the working class. Similarly to...