Back in 1995, I subscribed to the big industry rag for stock brokers, Registered Rep Magazine. Twenty years later, I still get the magazine, although I haven’t held a broker’s license (the Series 7) for more than a decade. When I sat down to read it a few days ago, I was struck by one of the articles, which said that the popular Social Security maximization strategy, File and Suspend,… Read More
As opposed to the horse with a single, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, today’s unicorn describes privately held start-ups that are worth more than $1 billion: think Uber, AirBnB, Snapchat or Pinterest (actually, these are all considered ‘deca-corns’ because they are worth more than $10 billion). Current estimates suggest that there are now 143 unicorns in existence today and are supposedly worth half a trillion dollars, but it’s actually hard… Read More
One of the interesting (but less than encouraging) data points in the inflation data is that medical care service costs increased 3.0 percent in the 12 months ending in October while core inflation was 1.9 percent (core inflation excludes volatile food and energy costs). Everyone at Acropolis knows that retirees and pre-retirees worry a lot about healthcare costs. A recent UBS study of 1,849 high net worth individuals with an… Read More
For most of last week, I was in Boston at Schwab’s IMPACT conference – my fourteenth pilgrimage that includes prominent speakers, workshops and a football field size area of vendors pitching everything under the financial services sun. This year featured more academics than usual, which I found particularly engaging. One of the sessions was actually a debate between academic Roger Ibbotson (who also manages some money) and Rob Arnott, a… Read More
Yesterday was Veterans Day. A Federal holiday in the US where we honor those who have served in our country’s military during wartime and peacetime. But it also makes for something a bit strange in the financial markets. If Veterans Day falls on a weekday, the stock market is open while the bond market is closed. Because we are sensitive to transaction costs and realizing capital gains in our client’s… Read More
It seems like it was only yesterday that I was pouring over US News & World Report magazines and the Princeton Review book ‘best colleges.’ Of course, it’s obvious that it was a while ago because I’m referring to magazines and books. Today, everything you need is online. In fact, the volume and quality of the data just got a little better in my opinion thanks to the new College… Read More
