Just some attachments and thoughts about world events and volatility.

One attachment is from The Hartford and walks through negative media headlines over the past 50 years (PDF) and the second shows headlines and returns from 1970-present.

People have been asking me about the Equifax data breach in which the personal information of 140+ million was stolen.

So, what does it mean for YOUR clients???  

I wanted to share this feature I recently found in Business Insider.  So much has been written about fees, both hidden and disclosed, that I found this article particularly interesting.  It’s about a socially conscious investing firm that allows the investor to determine his fees.  You would think that investors would elect to pay no fees whatsoever, but that is not the case.  A link to the original article as well as the entire article is below:

The question I've been getting most frequently recently is, "Which candidate will be best for the economy?"  

You’ve done everything right as a financial advisor: You’ve stayed in touch; reviewed and discussed short, mid and long-term goals, did a risk tolerance survey, made appropriate adjustments to a balanced portfolio along the way; and then BAM!   2016 rolls and the stock market drops, oil prices plummet, China’s in trouble, European Banks falter and Donald trump and Bernie Sanders lead the polls!!!!

At a recent Extravaganza class in Philadelphia, we had a discussion on “Helicopter Parents” and how more and more parents are taking on the financial debt of their adult children.  While it is admirable that parents want to lend a helping hand to recent college grads, it is quite another thing to take on debt at the expense of retirement savings.

This appeared in yesterday’s (10/5) The Wall Street Journal.  It’s a great example of an adviser being aware of current rules and thinking outside of the box for the best interest of the client.  Staying educated on rules and regs, as well as a good, lasting relationship with your client takes work.  Push yourself to be, as the adviser in this article states, a valuable resource to your client instead of just settling for the easy, traditional means of investment management and

Read this article in The Wall Street Journal yesterday (Sept. 15, 2015) and I agree with its overall assessment – what’s going to happen IF the Fed raises rates this week?  Probably not much.

Investors Look Beyond Fed Meeting, See Low Rates

No matter what happens this week, slow global growth is expected to be key factor for long term

We all are well aware that over the past several weeks the market has taken a wild ride – and it is not over yet.  As an advisor, what are you telling your clients when they look to you to explain the recent market volatility and how it will effect their portfolio?

A number of people have asked me what my take is on what is happening in Greece and China.  They have read articles and heard the media “experts” but don’t fully understand what is going on and how it will affect them and their clients and have asked me for a simplified version.  I’m not sure I can do that, but I’m going to try.  If you subscribe to my Audio Insights, you should have gotten a recording on this.