If some of my clients insist on responding to the current recession by getting completely out of the markets, buying gold, or stuffing their mattresses with cash, what is my responsibility as their financial planner?

I recently participated in an online discussion of that issue with some professional peers. One of them raised an important question. How far should planners go to try to keep people from making what the planner views as a serious mistake? It’s important to respect someone’s competence and ability to make their own life decisions. On the other hand, should a planner stand idly by and watch someone walk off what the planner perceives as the edge of a financial cliff? (more…)

A new client recently asked me, “Rick, you’re one of four financial planners we interviewed. Why are you the only one who didn’t tell us we needed an annuity?”  Actually, this couple had really interviewed only one financial planner and three annuity salespeople.

Annuities are the hottest financial product in the market place these days. I rarely use them. There are some good things about annuities, Continue Reading at Financial Awakenings.com »

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was … like the present period.”

This is how A Tale of Two Cities begins, and it is how I began yesterday’s inaugural session of Open Mic.

(Please go to www.edwardjacobson.com for more on Open Mic, and a Jan-Feb schedule)

Yesterday’s launch was wonderful! About 25 people called in, from as far away as South Africa and Italy. We shared perspectives on what’s working to help us regain our balance so we may better serve our clients, and the pain of serving retirees who have seen their assets plummet and who may not be able to “get a job as a greeter at Wal-Mart.”

The next Open Mic: Tuesday, January 20 @ 11:00 eastern (8:00 am pacific). The call-in info: 1 219 509 8322, pass code is 202779#.

Feel free to email me with questions and comments, and to pass along this invitation to others.
Thanks!

Ed

By Rick Kahler, CFP®

With all the chaos and uncertainty in the economy, this year is a perfect time to celebrate Christmas in the manner of Ebenezer Scrooge.

If you’re superficially familiar with Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, you might first assume that I’m suggesting you celebrate Christmas like a cold-hearted skinflint. After all, Ebenezer Scrooge is probably the most famous miser in literary history. With the current economic uncertainty, following his example of spending little or nothing might seem like a wise move in uncertain financial times.

What I’d like to recommend, however, is to celebrate Christmas in the way Scrooge did after the visits of the three Spirits transformed him. Continue Reading on FinancialAwakenings.com»