People ask me all the time how I can run a successful wealth management
practice, an up and coming public speaking business, and play on the
weekends for fun in my combo rock band Bullseye.
Here is my secret. Every night I plan for the next day, listing the six
most important things I need to accomplish. I prioritize the list from
most to least important.
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While speaking to a stock market class at the Forest Lake High School a few years ago, a student eagerly asked me what was the biggest loss experienced by any of my clients during my entire career. That was an easy question, and I answered without hesitation.
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Weber and Mikki are expensive family members. I was tallying up some
figures in my mind the other day....doctor bills, grocery bills,
haircuts, schooling and training, not to mention the occasional “treat”
at DQ on hot summer nights. It just keeps racking up. I wondered if I
really wanted to know the final number, or if it would just stagger me.
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After rising almost 9 percent in the first 66 days of 2010, the market
abruptly changed direction on April 24. The reasons for pullbacks are
never singularly focused, but are instead a combination of things. In
this case, it was the market priced for perfection running into the
emerging fiscal concerns of several European countries, which was
enough to reverse the market’s sentiment and thus its direction.
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Things are afoot in the land of the free economy. Big things.
For the first time in several years, the threat — or perceived threat —
of inflation is beginning to loom, and there are whispers in the
corridors of power asking what can be done about it. The reason for
this sudden interest is more about the “when” than the “what.”
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On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the stock market, as measured by the S&P
500, expanded its recent pullback with a vengeance as it dropped over 3
percent for the day after rallying from midday declines of almost 10
percent. While fear was certainly the undertone for the day, the big
declines and subsequent rally happened all within an hour.
Although the point damage was largely mitigated, uncertainty and concern remain entrenched in the market.
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If you were one of the millions of TV viewers who watched the Vancouver
Winter Olympics in February, I have a question to ask you. Didn’t you
think the athlete’s personal stories of achievement were inspiring?
Many enjoy the “back-story” of the athlete; how they got their start,
how long they’ve been training, their stories of persistence, and their
stories of struggles.
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The recession of 2008 has not yet been relegated to a page in the
history books. Throughout 2009 and into 2010, the economy and markets
have been in their recovery phase, which has led to greatly improved
conditions. However, there is still more progress to be made before we
— as consumers — feel like the return to growth is assured.
In order for us to reach that point, we need to go through the next
phase of the market’s road to recovery: what we call the transition to
sustainable growth.
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As history turned the page on another decade a few weeks ago, I’m still
sitting in my office on the third floor of the Town Square building
managing money where I have spent the last 22 years. Looking back from
my vantage point, the word that may best describe the last 10 years is
survival.
After all, a huge percentage of “dot com” companies did not make it
through the technology bust early in the decade, 2002 saw corporate
accounting scandals drive WorldCom and Enron to the brink, and the
recession of 2008-2009 resulted in some of the most storied companies
falling victim to the financial crisis.
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The classic song “Time is on my side” by the Rolling Stones doesn’t
necessarily ring true for baby boomers. Nearly 80 million baby boomers
are rapidly approaching retirement age and many of them have a problem,
a very BIG problem.
The problem stares them in the face every month when they look at their
retirement plans, savings accounts, brokerage statements, and equity
in their home. That problem is money, or more precisely, the lack of it.
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It’s that time of year when we pause to give thanks. This year, Thanksgiving has an extra special meaning for me as it was recently confirmed including all documentation that I am a direct bloodline eleventh generation descendent of William Bradford and a member of the Society of Mayflower Descendants. William Bradford was a passenger on the Mayflower voyage which landed at Plymouth, New England, December, 1620.
The legacy of Thanksgiving goes back to the bountiful harvest in the fall of 1623 that prompted the governor of Plymouth Bay Colony, William Bradford, to “sett aparte a day of thanksgiving.”
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With the improving economic backdrop, equity markets have continued their strong rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which bottomed intra-day at 6,440 on March 9, 2009 has risen above the mystical 10,000 level.
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