DIY Personal & Retirement Financial Planning
Do-It-Yourself financial and investment planning Excel spreadsheet software
Check out this automated tool for aligning your investment risk tolerance and asset allocation – A Tip from The Skilled Investor Your tolerance for investment risk is a relative thing. Few people like investment risk, but some can handle it better than others can. The more investment risk you are willing to tolerate, the higher […]
Commodity futures in your investment portfolio – Is there really any future for individual investors? The Skilled Investor’s previous article, “Be wary of the new investment asset classes,” voiced skepticism about many supposedly new asset classes. This article delves into the financial science behind this skepticism, as it relates to one of these supposedly new […]
Hear ye, Hear Ye, individual investors: Be wary of new investment asset classes – A Tip from The Skilled Investor Many promoters in the financial services industry have shown a strong proclivity in recent years to invent and to market supposedly “new” investment asset classes. Industry advocates will claim that these new asset classes deserve […]
Your personal tolerance for investment risk should drive your asset allocation decision – A Tip from The Skilled Investor Your tolerance for investment risk is a relative thing. Few people like investment risk, but some can handle it better than others do. The more investment risk you can and are willing to tolerate, the higher […]
PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA — Part 5: I write to the President of CitiBank Customer Service My saga to recover my credit card treasure continues. Previous articles have covered the particulars of my situation, and I will not repeat them. In summary, for fifteen years I have always done my best to conform to […]
Use Caution with Classical Investment Books – A Tip from The Skilled Investor Individual investors should exercise caution when applying the tactics of classical investment books to current markets. The more handcrafted, seat-of-the-pants, and individual actor approach to the securities markets in the pre-computer, pre-networking era has given way to different practices. What might have […]
PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA – Part 4: Hitting the Citibank Stone Wall in Polite Conversation This article continues my personal saga of trying to get Citibank to fix problems with their management of my credit card account with them. For a summary of the overall situation, go to Part #1: My Treasure Is Taken! […]
PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA – Part 3: I want my treasure back!! (Please) What are my rights in the situation that I summarized in my previous article: “PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA: My Treasure Is Taken!“? Well, the answer is very simple. I have a contractual right to get my treasure back. I also […]
PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA – Part 2: What are my rights? What are my rights in the situation that I summarized in my previous article: “PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA: My Treasure Is Taken!”? Well, the answer is very simple. I have a contractual right to get my treasure back. I also have a […]
PIRATES OF THE CREDIT SEA – Part 1: My Treasure Is Taken! Regular readers of The Skilled Investor have already been warned previously of the general dangers of consumer debt and of the risks associated with credit cards. Now, The Skilled Investor has himself become ensnared. In a series of articles, I will: A) summarize […]
Two examples of the Tax Assets graphic in VeriPlan TAX ASSETS: Taxable and Tax-Advantaged Financial Assets (real $/yr) Below are two examples of the blue-tabbed TAX ASSETS graphic, which come from VeriPlan’s “Sue and Sam Saver” tutorial. This graphic separates their cash, bond, and stock assets by account taxability throughout their lifetime projections. Assets are […]
VeriPlan can estimate the lost lifetime value of investment sales loads that you have already paid in the past Your personal investment portfolio losses related to past investment sales load payments can and should be measured, when you evaluate the cost-efficiency of your investment strategy. However, you cannot recapture any of the lost returns (past […]
How expensive is financial advisor compensation paid via sales loads? A sales load might be the method that you prefer to compensate your broker or advisor. If your advisor is truly competent and ethical, he may be able to manage properly the inherent conflicts of interest that are associated with commissioned investment product sales. Even […]
VeriPlan automatically tracks returns lost to investment sales loads Many justifications for investment sales load charges might be offered by financial advisors during the sales process, but once a front-end load is charged, your diminished portfolio will ‘forget’ about the load charge for the rest of your life. Loads become ‘phantom’ assets, which are rarely […]
Understanding one-time investment fees, such as sales loads Sales load charges and commissions on investment purchases differ from the financial service industry’s numerous other recurring methods of charging fees to their retail consumers. Sales loads are less straightforward to analyze for investment lifetime cost-effectiveness, compared to annually recurring charges. (See: Pay less to get more) […]
The heavy burden of recurring investment fees (Part 2 of 2) < < — Go to Part 1 By charging fees as a percent of your assets, the investment industry can make their recurring fees seem small – like they are “just a few†percent. Financial Planning Software for Consumers Furthermore, by charging fees against […]
The heavy burden of recurring investment fees (Part 1 of 2) Recurring investment costs can significantly impact the long-term value of your retained investment portfolio assets. Recurring fees, such as asset management fees, 12b-1 marketing fees, and advisory/asset custody fees are charged periodically, as a percent of your investment assets. The relative cost-efficiency of your […]
Can you really get free and objective investment advice, when you pay investment sales loads? Excessive investment expenses are one of the most significant barriers to your family’s lifelong financial security. Excessive investment costs are a plague on your personal financial planning. While financial services industry sales people tell you that you need to pay […]
Pay lower investment expenses to get higher investment returns While financial services industry sales people tell you that you need to pay more to get more, the correct answer is the opposite. Excessive investment costs are a plague on your personal financial planning. Excessive investment expenses are one of the most significant barriers to lifelong […]
Pay Lower Investment Expenses To Get Higher Investment Returns – Part 1 Excessive investment costs are a plague on your personal financial planning. Excessive investment expenses are one of the most significant barriers to lifelong family financial security. While financial services industry sales people tell you that you need to pay more to get more, […]