Hot Off the Web– May 8, 2009 No surprise. The world is unfolding as it should. Investors are getting smarter! Jonathan Chevreau predicts in Financial Post that “Mutual Fund execs: Brace yourself for ETFs hitting $1T mark in assets” . For those still unconvinced, or unconverted due to inertia, the evidence is compelling; it’s time […]

Hot Off the Web-May 1, 2009 In the Financial Times’ “Real news to be had from demographics”, John Dizard writes that we should pay more attention to demographic data as an economic and market indicator. “Demographic information, in contrast, is more reliable because much of it has already happened. Births and deaths aren’t falsified like […]

Hot Off the Web– April 26, 2009 WSJ provides a good overview on available options with annuities in Tergessen and Scism’s “Getting Smart About Annuities “. There is a growing interest in the U.S. after steep market losses, to “secure” one retirement with annuities. They point out that the appeal of immediate annuities seems great; […]

Hot Off the Web– April 19, 2009 Shelly Banjo lists “Seven questions to ask when picking a financial advisor” in the WSJ. The questions include: adviser’s background (at Finra.org, http://adviserinfo.sec.gov, http://www.cfp.net and http://www.fpanet.org), clients’ recommendations (use a grain of salt with this), compensation mechanisms, checks and balances (auditor, custodians, etc), track record (not an end […]

Hot Off the Web– April 12, 2009 BusinessWeek’s Amy Feldman discusses longevity insurance in “Investment options for the latter retirement years” She quotes Jason Scott of Financial Engines, that the cheapest way to get a guaranteed income is with longevity insurance, a deferred annuity that one may typically buy at 60-65 and starts paying annual […]

Hot Off the Web- April 5, 2009 Tom Bradley (founder of Steadyhand Investments) in Globe and Mail’s “‘It will sell’: A tipoff for bad investment products” warns readers who may now be psychologically ripe for the trap of “guaranteed income” and “principal protected funds” to beware! “Such things as downside protection, tax deferral or arbitrage […]

Hot Off the Web- March 29, 2009 Jason Zweig in WSJ’s “The fight over who will guard your nest egg” discusses the tug war over who will regulate those who sell investment products and financial advice to investors. He explains the distinction between “stockbrokers and other securities salespeople who work for Wall Street firms and […]

Hot Off the Web- March 22, 2009 WSJ’s McQueen reports that “Worry grows over insurers as ratings slip” . Investment losses and in some areas higher than expected claims, have forced states to take over in excess of half million policies. Some individuals are concerned, not just because of recent ratings downgrades but even if […]

Hot Off the Web– March 15, 2009 WSJ’s Larry Light writes in “With deflation possibly near, this economist is all abuzz” about preparing for the coming deflation. He reports on Garry Shilling’s views who recommends apartment REITs (demand for renting will increase as buying houses will become less interesting given little or no promise of […]

Hot Off the Web- March 8, 2009 Tom Lauricella discusses problems with target-date funds in WSJ’s “For retirement, ‘One size’ isn’t always a good fit” . First of all they are not all the same; they use different levels of asset allocations (not just stock/bond mix, but also for example domestic/international) as retirement date approaches. […]