Retirement Assets in the Event of a Divorce Federal law requires that participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans designate their spouse as their beneficiary unless the spouse waives this right in writing. Assuming that you and your spouse adhered to this practice, a document known as a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO), which is part of […]
What’s the best way to be happy and successful? What do most happy and successful people have in common? If you answered “money,” or anything to do with meditation or networking skills, you’re off the mark, according to Jason Butler, a former financial planner who is currently working as a motivational speaker. He says that […]
Let’s see where the action is! When you look at the geographic map of the world, you’re actually looking at several major distortions. First, unless you’re looking at a globe, the map will show Antarctica, Greenland, Iceland, Canada and Australia as much larger than they actually are, while equatorial areas like the middle of South […]
Millions of Millionaires Here’s a quick factoid quiz: which country around the world has the most millionaires? How many total millionaires are there in the world today? According to the 6th annual Credit Suisse Global Wealth Index, measured in dollar terms, there are 33.7 million households worldwide with $1 million or more in total net […]
2015 Year End Report In year just past, we experienced many things—a prelude to a Presidential election, a renewal of terrorist concerns, a trip to Pluto—but in the investment markets, we will look back and yawn. Despite some entertaining ups and downs, particularly in the third quarter of the year, the markets ended pretty much […]
Using ETFs in Tactical Asset Allocation Strategies – Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may be ideal tools for helping savvy investors execute a tactical asset allocation strategy. A general understanding of tactical asset allocation can help crystallize this strategic use of ETFs. The process of creating an allocation starts with an assessment of the investor’s age, goals, and […]
Last month Congress passed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act, a bill that allows private citizens to own resources in outer space. The headlines and quotes from different private sector space ventures hailed this as a major breakthrough, a chance for companies to travel to distant asteroids and bring back precious metals for sale […]
We will almost surely see the U.S. Federal Reserve Board start the long process of ending its intrusion into the interest rate markets, by allowing rates to rise starting on Wednesday. It will be the first time the Fed has raised rates since 2006, and for some it will mark the beginning of the final […]
Small Business Owners: Test Your Retirement Plan Knowledge While worker confidence about having enough money to live comfortably in retirement has been on the rise in recent years, that confidence is based largely on access to and participation in a workplace retirement plan. According to the latest annual Retirement Confidence Survey conducted by the Employee […]
Should I Have Separate Accounts for My Deductible and Nondeductible IRA Contributions? While it is not required to hold separate IRAs for deductible and nondeductible contributions, many financial experts recommend that you do so. The chief reason? Tax planning. What to do? If you “commingle” your funds — that is, create one account that has […]
