“So many people get scared when everyone says the sky is falling. They get out of equities and into bonds when it’s exactly the wrong time to do it. When everything is sky high and everyone is optimistic, they then plow back into equities. Their emotions do the wrong thing. “
— Dr. Burton Malkiel (author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street)
MUST-READ article on the “hidden costs of mutual funds”. Study shows the average annual trading costs (commissions, spreads, market impact and opportunity costs) of mutual funds to be about 1.44% IN ADDITION to the publicly disclosed expense ratio, which averages another 1.3.% per year. That means the average fund costs 2.75% per year!
72 percent of workers in small companies don’t have retirement plans available to them. Some firms don’t set up plans because of the cost. [U.S. Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy, March 2010 via WSJ].
Common pitfalls with managing money:
[from NPR’s economics editor Chris Farrell]
Fed-up fund investors at a ‘JetBlue’ breaking point. Change your investment flight plan, but stay airborne. [The headline is so good that the article almost doesn’t matter!]
Beware the “nice” man at church who is trying to sell you financial products with high fees and commissions that benefit him more than you. — Roger Wohlner, CFP®
A common pitfall that we see over and over is owning too much company stock in 401(k)s. This is at odds with diversified investing and magnifies your exposure to one single company that you’re already obliged to for your income. The worst case scenario does happen. Can you say Enron?
Do you know your net worth? Grappling with this key number is a fantastic way to build a strong foundation for financial planning.
The Magic Question: ARE YOU A FIDUCIARY? A fiduciary is someone who is committed to putting your financial interests ahead of his or her own. Registered investment advisors are legally and ethically required to act as a fiduciary in serving our clients. Try asking this critical question next time someone approaches you with an investment proposal. You would be surprised how hard it is to find fiduciaries.
