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What You Should Focus On

  • August 4, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Best Practices, Financial Planning, Live Well

What-you-should-focus-on-1200x914We all want to live a great life.  The path to achieve that life relies, in part, on knowing what to focus on and what to ignore.  Focusing on the things you can’t control is a waste: a waste of time, energy, and often, money.  Here’s a list of things that matter, things you can control, and the things you should focus on.

Things that matter:

  • Health
  • Human progress
  • Long-term market returns

Things that you can control:

  • How you treat people
  • Feeling good about yourself
  • Making smart financial decisions

What you should focus on:

  • Living a happy, productive life
  • Surrounding yourself with good people
  • Not letting a long-term plan be derailed by the current market environment

 

Source: Carl Richards, Michael Batick


Politics & Investments Don’t Mix

  • July 21, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Uncategorised

 

hillary trump_1
As the Republican National Convention wraps in Cleveland and the Democratic National Convention is about to start in Philadelphia, this is a timely opportunity to remind you that you shouldn’t mix your politics and your investments.

Salespeople and product-sales organizations are very astute at selling during political stress. They usually find a hook to sell their products…products that in most cases are not really in your best interest.

As Mike Piper points out in the Oblivious Investor, fear is a powerful sales tool. Salespeople exploit a person’s political views to instill fear and ultimately sell undesirable financial products. Those products are not only intrinsically bad, they come with a huge cost.

The pitch goes something like this,

  1. [Political event X] just happened or is likely to happen.
  2. As a result, the economy will take a nosedive.
  3. You should buy my product to protect yourself.

This strategy is popular because it appeals to people of vastly different political views. To lure in investors with left-leaning views, the pitch evokes a narrative that the markets are rigged by the financial elite. To draw in the right end of the spectrum, the pitch emphasizes over taxation, over regulation, or excess government spending.

The technique is also popular because it can be used to sell just about anything…

  • The economy is going to hell, and that’s why you should buy gold.
  • The economy is going to hell, and that’s why you should buy my market-timing newsletter.
  • The economy is going to hell, and that’s why you should buy this annuity.
  • The economy is going to hell, and that’s why you should invest in my hedge fund.

If the fact that someone is trying to play you with a sales pitch designed to sell any product to two contradictory sets of beliefs isn’t enough to drive you away, consider this. For the recommended product to be right for YOU the following conditions have to be met:

  1. The salesperson’s political prediction must be right
  2. The salesperson’s economic prediction must be right
  3. The salesperson’s product must indeed be a good solution to the proposed scenario

Good luck getting all that to be true!

Source: OI


Two Deadly Assumptions

  • July 14, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Scams & Schemes

false-assumptionWe live in a world that is replete with financial scams. Here are two classic and deadly assumptions that can rapidly separate you from your money.

Deadly Assumption #1 — The guy belongs to my church / temple / country club / ethnic group, of course he’ll look out for me. 

Maybe he will, but is affinity a good enough reason to trust a financial advisor? Quarterback Mark Sanchez found out the hard way that this sort of thinking can easily lead one into the arms of a predator…

From ThinkAdvisor:

Former New York Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez and other professional athletes said they were cheated out of millions of dollars in a Ponzi-like scheme orchestrated by an investment advisor who appealed to their Christian faith.

Sanchez and Major League Baseball pitchers Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt were defrauded out of about $30 million, according to a recently unsealed U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit in Dallas federal court. The athletes all used the same broker, Ash Narayan, formerly of RGT Capital Management. The advisor gained their trust through religion and their interest in charitable works, the SEC said.

Deadly Assumption #2 — This advisor works for a big, prestigious firm and the product is very sophisticated, I deserve this special access. 

Structured products are a minefield for the wirehouse wealth management client because the firms’ “producers” are highly incentivized to sell them. Anything being pushed on the brokerage sales force by the home office is, by definition, perilous for the client. Because if it were so good, then no commission would be necessary – the product would be found by savvy investors and there would be no need for extra compensation. But structured products are unnecessary for most investors, although profitable for the firms that create them, hence the degree to which they’re sold to people.

As proof of this, you almost never hear of a fiduciary advisor recommending this stuff. It’s not even in the lexicon for a client-centric practice or an unconflicted advisor.

Source: TRB

 


Where Are the Customers’ Yachts?

  • July 7, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
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  • Under : Uncategorised

where_customers_yachts-188x300Tony Isola shares ten great quotes from the timeless classic, Where the Customers’ Yachts?:

  • Wall Street Greed – “At the close of the day’s business, they take all the money and throw it up in the air. Everything that sticks to the ceiling belongs to the clients.”  Merrill Lynch Structured Notes, anyone? Yes, the customers got to keep 5%.
  • The Value of Market Predictions – “It seems that the immature mind has a regrettable tendency to believe, as actually true, that which it only hopes to be true.” 90% chance ‘Remain’ wins the referendum… OOPS!
  • Financial Salesman Having an Answer to the Unanswerable – “Now if you do someone the single honor of asking him a difficult question, you may be assured that you will get a detailed answer. Rarely will it be the most difficult of all answers – ‘I Don’t Know.’” Market pundits who were completely wrong on Brexit, telling you what to do now.
  • Data Mining and Confusing Causation with Correlation – “There have always been a considerable number of pathetic people who busy themselves examining the last thousand numbers which have appeared on a roulette wheel in search of some repeating pattern. Sadly enough, they have usually found it.” Long-term capital management had it all figured out, until they didn’t.
  • Valuing Paper Trading, or Simulations, over Real Life Experience – “Art cannot convey to an inexperienced girl what it is truly like to be a wife and mother. There are certain things that cannot be adequately explained to a virgin either by words or pictures.” Trading Academies advertised in the media will make you rich like the Trump University graduates who are now real estate moguls.
  • The Value of Individual Stock Picking – “They told me to buy this stock for my old age. It worked wonderfully. Within a week I was an old man.” Kittens and monkeys throwing darts routinely outperform stock pickers.
  • The Aversion to Holding Cash in Clients’ Accounts – “To them having a sizable cash balance in an account for any length of time is unbearable. Suppose stocks should go way up? They would be left high and dry with nothing but some dirty money.” Money markets give you nothing. MLPs work as bond substitutes; they will provide a terrific yield with little risk.
  • Churning Clients’ Accounts – “The man who chooses to take his money and churn it furiously either below or above Chambers Street, cannot in any way predict his fate, save for a single assurance. So long as any of the money still clings to the sides of the churn, he will not be bored.” Managed mutual funds have an average turnover rate of approximately 85% and underperform the markets basic indices.
  • The Folly of Choosing Market Beating Funds – “The subject of choosing profitable financial investments does not lead itself to competence. There is almost no visible supply. If there were, it would have been discovered long ago.” The odds of an individual investor in 2016 picking a fund ahead of time, that will outperform the market over the next decade, are close to zero.”
  • Chasing Hot Stocks – “The pathetic fallacy is that what are thought to be the best are, in truth, only the most popular – – the most active, the most talked of, the most boosted, and, consequently, the highest in price at that time. It is very much a matter of fashion, like Eugenio hats or waxed mustaches.” Ten stocks to buy right now!

Source: TM


Thank You for Ten Years!

  • June 30, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Uncategorised

ten-years-smallNorthStar Capital Advisors would like to take this special occasion to thank you, our loyal clients and friends, as Sunday we celebrate 10 years of financial planning and investment management. We have come a long way since we rolled out our objective and disciplined approach to investing in 2006. Our success is attributable to clients and friends who faithfully support our business and receive great service and advice in return.

We deeply appreciate your loyalty, support, and trust over the past 10 years. We hope you and your family have a safe and happy holiday!

With heartfelt thanks,
Chris Mullis, Jimmy Irwin & David Berger


5 Words of Advice for New Graduates

  • June 23, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Best Practices, Investing 101, Live Well, Seeking Prudent Advice

Congratulations to the 3 million young people who have graduated from high school over the past few weeks!  Want to be happy and prosper?  Consider these 5 words of advice from 20 thoughtful people:

Budget. Save. But enjoy yourself.
Ben Carlson, A Wealth of Common Sense

Live simply. Fees add up.
Kanyi Maqubela, Collaborative Fund

Buy every month, never stop.
Josh Brown, Reformed Broker

Save. A lot. Start immediately.
Bob Seawright, Madison Avenue Securities

G
Carl Richards, The New York Times

Your potential is an asset.
Noah Smith, Bloomberg

Sleep on it. Then decide.
Sam Ro, Yahoo! Finance

Live on less. Have more.
James Osborne, Bason Asset Management

The world owes you nothing.
Jason Moser, The Motley Fool

Savings is the best investment.
Tadas Viskanta, Abnormal Returns

Perpetually seek your true passions.
Tom Gardner, Motley Fool CEO

“No downside” means “run away.”
Bill Mann, CIO Motley Fool Asset Management

Time is your scarcest asset.
Bryan Hinmon, Motley Fool Asset Management:

Don’t carry credit card debt.
Eddy Elfenbein, Crossing Wall Street

It’s not a race. It’s a marathon.
Craig Shapiro, Collaborative Fund

Focus on what you control.
Phil Huber, Huber Financial Advisors

Invest as soon as feasible.
Matt Argersinger, Motley Fool analyst

Never stop asking questions. Ever.
Chris Hill, Motley Fool radio host

Your best investment is yourself.
Cullen Roche, Pragmatic Capitalism

Spend less than you make.
Matt Koppenheffer, Motley Fool

Source: TMF


The Best Advisors Will Tell You “NO”

  • June 16, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Behavior, Best Practices, Seeking Prudent Advice

As a fiduciary we’re obligated to put our clients’ interests first. This essential mandate can on occasion run into direct conflict with what a client wants.  There are circumstances where an advisor knows that what the client is requesting defies common sense and is at odds with his or her long-term interest.

What kind of things are we talking about? Here’s a short list courtesy Barry Ritholtz:

• Taking on more risk than is prudent.

• Buying the hot new thing.

• Participating in an expensive, underperforming private investment (e.g., hedge funds, venture capital).

• Using excess leverage.

• Following the advice of pundits or talking heads.

• Overtrading.

• Pursuing the latest media fixation.

• Speculating in commodities.

• Allowing emotions to steer investments.

• Buying low-quality, high-yield “junk” fixed income paper.

• Buying non-liquid investments (private equity, gated private investments).

• Market timing.

• Buying IPOs.

• Cherry-picking portfolio allocations.

Our gently communicated but firm response to all of these is “NO.”  All the academic research in the world suggests these are a bad bet.  As Barry says, “if you want to make an expensive gamble, enjoy a lovely vacation to Monte Carlo, but please leave your retirement plans out of it.”

That’s our stance on this issue and we take it from a position of deep care and protection for our clients.  But what’s your opinion?  Should advisors do what a client wants, even when the advisor knows it is not in the client’s best interests?

P.S.  In case you’re wondering…here’s what a big “YES” is in our book:
We invest through a broadly diversified set of indexes via a robust asset allocation model. It is global, inexpensive and primarily passive. It is statistically what is most likely to generate the highest returns for the least amount of risk over the long-term.


10 Signs You Own the Right Portfolio

  • June 9, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Behavior, Investing 101, Seeking Prudent Advice

ten

The following elegant observation comes courtesy of Jonathan Clements.

  1. You’re so well diversified that you always own at least one disappointing investment.
  2. Your livelihood isn’t riding on both your paycheck and your employer’s stock.
  3. If the stock market’s performance over the next five years was miserable, you wouldn’t be.
  4. You can remember the last time you rebalanced.
  5. You have no clue how your investments will perform, but a great handle on how much they’ll cost you.
  6. You don’t have any hot stocks to boast about.
  7. For every dollar you’ve salted away, you have an eventual use in mind—and the dollars are invested accordingly.
  8. Jim Cramer? Who’s that?
  9. A year from now, you plan to own the same investments.
  10. You never say to yourself, “Wow, I didn’t expect that.”

Source:  JC


NorthStar Client Family Featured in AARP The Magazine

  • June 3, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Live Well, Personal Finance, Retirement, Seeking Prudent Advice

Debra and Gary Wilhoit, a NorthStar client family, are featured in the June/July 2016 issue of AARP The Magazine. Dr. Chris Mullis, CEO and senior planner at NorthStar, is quoted in the article alongside senior advisors from Charles Schwab and T. Rowe Price.

Kudos to the Wilhoits for candidly sharing their early-retirement anxieties and the actions they have taken to ultimately reach greater peace of mind and long-term success. Millions of Americans who are transitioning toward and into retirement can immediately relate to the Wilhoits’ experience. And millions of Americans can benefit by adopting the Wilhoits’ long-term perspective and positive investor behavior.

AARP The Magazine addresses the evolving life stages of 50+ Americans and is the largest circulation magazine in the United States (35.9 million readers).

AARP The Magazine
AARP The Magazine
AARP The Magazine


Class of 2016: Financial Advice That will CHANGE YOUR LIFE

  • June 2, 2016/
  • Posted By : admin/
  • 0 comments /
  • Under : Behavior, Best Practices, Personal Finance, Saving Money

PDS-CommencementThe following is a brief excerpt from the commencement address by Dr. Chris Mullis to the graduating class of Providence Day School on May 31, 2013. The full text of Dr. Mullis’ speech, that includes career advice, financial guidance, and a few pearls of wisdom, can be found here.

At my investment advisory firm, we developed complex computer algorithms and use them to manage our clients’ investment portfolios. But the basic steps you need to take to manage your own money well are deceptively simple. First, live within your means and avoid being caught up in rapid lifestyle inflation. You will not live like your parents when you first start out. Second, save and invest your money wisely. Let me elaborate on this point.

Wealth accumulation depends on three factors: how much you save, the rate at which your money grows, and how long you save. That last factor, time, is very, very important. There’s an urban legend that Albert Einstein once said that compounding interest is the most powerful force in the Universe. That quote is likely misattributed but the message is spot on. If you save $5,000 a year for 40 years and earn 8% annually, you will eventually have $1.3M. But if you delay starting for merely 5 years, your results after 35 years will be only $860k. That 5-year delay preserved $25k of short-term capital but ultimately cost you >$400k in the long run. Time is the most powerful lever in the machinery of investing. Nothing else comes close to it.

So what do you need to do? Start saving and investing right out of high school regardless of how hard you think it hurts or how unpleasant the tradeoffs. Even if you set aside only 5% of your paycheck starting out, do it to get into the habit of saving. Delaying getting serious about investing until my 30s was a significant financial mistake on my part. No one ever sat me down and explained how important it is to start investing early. Now that we’ve had this little talk, you’ll never be able to say that no one told you.


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