In my last post I wrote about one method to protect retirement portfolios from the long term impact of market volatility, an often feared retirement risk.  However, there are other sometimes forgotten risks that can be just as devastating to a secure retirement.  Some of those are discussed below. Longevity Risk:  Back when Social Security…

Benchmarks are indices used for measuring the performance of a particular strategy or total portfolio. The goal of most money managers and investors is to outperform their respective benchmark. However, caution should be exercised so as not to rely too heavily on benchmark comparisons especially over short-term investment periods. With my thirty-four years of experience…

I have the privilege of writing this post on July 1 – the midway point for the year.  I actually felt chills up my spine last week when I realized that we’re already closer to the next holiday shopping season than the last one.  Fortunately for those of us in the US, the halfway point…

After a day at work, making dinner, washing dishes and folding laundry, I can finally sit down, relax and unwind for the day.   I put my feet up and grab my laptop.  I decide to quickly check my investment account to see how my portfolio is performing.  I go to the Legacy Trust website and…

I read an article this morning in The Fiscal Times that said 59% of Americans surveyed by Gallup were worried about the sufficiency of their retirement savings.  Disappearing pension plans and concerns for Social Security have forced a reliance on 401(k)’s, IRA’s and personal savings for retirement security.  This thrusts the investment risk on to…

When I started my job at Legacy Trust, they provided me what I would call a welcome packet.  It talked about the values of the company, its history and culture as well as the expectations of its employees.  The welcome packet is very important because it helps to give me direction on how I present…

The baby boomer generation defies any simple description, except to say that it includes the massive number of people born after World War II, between 1946 and 1964, about 25% of the U.S. total population.  As the “boomers” have passed through each stage of life, this demographic juggernaut has had a profound effect on nearly…

More than five years later, the 2008 global financial crisis continues to have long-lasting consequences. One unsurprising side effect of the crisis is that it has led to increased public cynicism about our economic and political institutions, and about the financial services industry as a whole. The CFA Institute, a group of global leaders that…

My wife Deborah and I are the parents of a special needs child.  Lillian, our only child, was born with significant physical and mental limitations and we have devoted our lives to assuring she is provided the highest quality of care and given all the opportunity to maximize her potential. Lillian turned eighteen last fall,…

On my drive back home the other day I was listening to NPR’s Marketplace.  They had a segment titled “When the IRS ‘likes’ your Facebook update.” The segment talked about how the agency is using sophisticated algorithms to mine for data about what you are posting on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social media…