The S&P 500 is on the verge of back-to-back annual 20%-plus gains. Many individual 401(k) investors I talk to are concerned. They know. Stock market gains can disappear quickly. In the study which they first described prospect theory, Daniel Kahneman and Amos...
I am an individual 401(k) investment advisor. Advising clients in all industries. In all levels of business and economic education and sophistication. There is one thing that my 401(k) advice clients have in common. They’re always thinking about the growth and safety...
In the past, you could always “buy-and-hold” your 401(k). To grow and preserve your 401(k) account value. Quick question. What other area of your personal or business life can you set on hold forever? Pay no attention. Devote no time. No research. “Set-and-forget.”...
Every once-in-a-while you have to ask yourself this question. Most times when you don’t have time to think about the answer. “How much stock market risk am I willing to take in my 401(k) account?” This question is especially important now. Due to the fact of your Q3...
It is easy to fall into the financial media talking head trap. The post-election stock market rally. Or the year-end stock market rally. There is one more. The Federal Reserve lowering interest rates rally. The financial media will grab on to any reason they can find....
Everyone has blind spots. Areas of their life that includes a set of obvious facts that are not obvious to them. They choose to “don’t care” or “don’t have time.” Sometimes, it is a combination of both. It might be time to decide how much you care about your 401(k)...
I am tired of useless information provided to individual 401(k) participants. There is only so much attention span available. How can a 401(k) investor decide what information is helpful? To improve his or her mutual fund investment management decisions? Here is my...
It is that time of year. Casual financial news readers overwhelmed with articles about the merits of year-end rebalancing. Once a year, a 401(k) rebalance is a promising idea. The U.S. stock markets have closed at all-time highs recently. Your 401(k) has the largest...
You should hold as much of your 401(k) as you can in stocks. Because stocks always provide better investment returns over the long run. Always better than other investments alternatives. Bonds, international stocks, or the money market. Stocks beat them all over the...
I prospect for new 401(k) advice clients about every day. I cannot help it. (Over 41 years of my prospecting habit is hard to break). Individual investors often resist my initial approach. An independent, third-party investment advisor for their 401(k) is not top of...
It would be a cold telephone call. Or an e-mail sent to your work e-mail address. If I were feeling bold, I would send you a video message on your cell phone. I would immediately tell you that I am reaching out to you about your 401(k) account. Here is what you would...
I have been an investment advisor for over 41 years. Providing investment advice to individual 401(k) participants for the past 26 years. I’ have the honor of collaborating with talented clients. Most with several years of knowledge and experience withing their...
Most individual investors have both the economic resources and personal needs. To enlist the help of talented and experienced investment advisor. Nowhere is that more evident. Then in the investment management decisions necessary to navigate a 401(k). Many of the...
Retired or nearing retirement, there is one common 401(k) mistake you need to avoid. Using the same investment management strategy when you retire. As you did when you were working. There are two basic stages of investing. The first and longest stage is where you...
July 1999. The establishment of my first individual 401(k) investment advice relationship. I have learned many things since then. Three universal, time-tested principles for you to consider individual 401(k) investment advice. Individual 401(k) advice is not an...
Since you began your working career. All you had to do was contribute money each year to your 401(k). And gain as much company-matching contribution as possible. You always knew your 401(k) balance would go up. If only by the fact that you and your company added money...
It’s too late for you to worry about the most common 401(k) investment management regret. You know the one I am talking about. “What do I buy?” The good news is that that stock market has “bailed you out” over the last few quarters. Provided you with the gift of a...
The stock and bond market risk levels have changed. You have seen the headlines. Even if you don’t pay attention every day. Take a good look at the mutual funds you own now in your 401(k). The annual fees and expenses first. Are you receiving the investment returns...
Congratulations on your all-time high 401(k) account balance. Oh wait! That was at the end of June. Sorry. As you know … The stock market has other ideas. I focus a good part of my investment advice practice on individual 401(k) investors.Because most of them don’t...
Every few years. You know it can happen. But most 401(k) investors don’t pay attention when it happens. “Buy-and-hold” fails as a successful long-term 401(k) investment management strategy. The reason has nothing to do with investment management. The reason is...
A few weeks ago, I hit a deer with my Jeep. On the way to my cabin in Canada. The last few miles of the trip is remote. Dotted with many of God’s creatures. Each one enjoying the summer weather. Often in the road. I always pay close attention. Even when I have the...
You probably received your June 30, 2024, quarterly 401(k) statement by now. Congratulations on the all-time high account balance. Let’s be honest. You and I both know your 401(k) success has nothing to do with your mutual fund picking abilities. Stop me if you have...
I run headfirst into this issue. It never gets easier. An individual 401(k) investor who follows a risk score. Generated from an online questionnaire from their 401(k) provider. All I have to go on are the following facts. My doctor never determines my risk score. He...
Not to worry. I figured out the investment advice you need for any future 401(k) rollover. You need independent, third-party, fiduciary level investment advice. Provided by an experienced investment advisor. I have told you what you need. Please let me try to convince...
I “jump out of the bushes” in a cold telephone call or an e-mail to a 401(k) participant. Even worse, I ask them right away about how their current 401(k) mutual funds. I have years and years of personal experience to back up the following statement. No stretch of the...
Have you ever noticed that your company 401(k) retirement plan does not provide guidance on how to manage it? That fact leads individual 401(k) participants guessing at “what to buy?” All the mutual funds on your default company 401(k) menu have done well over the...
Let us get right to the end of the story. If you answer “no” to any of these questions means you may need to think about a 401(k) advice relationship. I prospect individual 401(k) participants every day. I gage their interest in a new 401(k) investment...
Each day, I get out of bed with the same thought. No matter the day or time. Every individual 401(k) participant I contact. Via telephone, e-mail, or a reader of my blog posts. They will realize one or more of the following conditions. “I have a clear 401(k) mutual...
Every day we realize how technology has changed every part of our business and personal life. Technology has also improved investment management decisions. Especially in company 401(k) retirement plan accounts. Most 401(k) participants do not have the time or the...
Not long ago, I was chatting with an individual 401(k) investor who told me about a specific mutual fund he’d invested in. Since the mutual fund price had gone up recently, he had made a little money. Enough to get his 401(k) account to “all-time highs.” Around the...
