Daniel R. Solin's Blog, page 20

The Rap Sheet Attraction

Given a choice between brokers with an extensive rap sheet and advisors whose ethical conduct is unblemished, what’s the appeal of the rap sheet?

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You’re No Angel

Rather than denying the existence of conflicts, a better approach would be to adhere to the fiduciary Best Practices formulated by the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard.

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Ignorance Can Increase Your Returns

This is probably the first article you’ve read that extolls the benefit of ignorance.  The ignorance I’m advocating is willful ignorance of information readily accessible to you.

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“Value” is Relative

With investments becoming a commodity, advisors have shifted to demonstrating “value” by offering a wide range of other services.  At their core, these services involve comprehensive financial planning.

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Active Fund Managers Are Losers

Those of us in the financial media make big deal out of the results, which always show significant underperformance by actively managed mutual funds across almost all asset classes in both stocks and bonds.

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An Empathetic Misunderstanding

A recent study described my flawed process as “perspective mistaking.”  Through an elaborate series of experiments, the authors concluded our assumptions about the perspectives of others – including people we presumably know really well – are often incorrect.

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A Hidden Investing Pro

The financial media loves to reference the wisdom of “investing pros.”  This article is representative.  Here’s the headline:  Opinion:  ‘No disrespect’ to Warren Buffett—but some investing pros says he’s dead wrong about this stock.  The “pros” quoted are editors of “top performing newsletters”.

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You May be on the 8th of your 9 Lives

If you’re like most of your competitors, you’re still charging a fee based on assets under management.  Here’s where I see trouble on the horizon.

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Cracks in the Robo-Advisor Facade

I’ve been a fan of robo advisors, almost since their inception.  Most of them recommend portfolios of low management fee index funds in globally diversified portfolios.  Their advisory fees are low. Recently, I’ve seen some cracks in the robo advisor façade.

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Advice That Could Kill Your Clients

Almost 50% of Americans don’t have sufficient savings to maintain their quality of life in retirement.

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