It’s your money, and as an intelligent enterprising person you could manage your investments on your own: There is no doubt about this. However, whether you actually do or want to is another matter.
Either way, flying solo or using the services of some type of investment professional, (or both) you should be able to answer the following questions in a clear and unambiguous manner:
- What is your strategy in specific terms?
- How, specifically, is it being implemented? How do the items in the portfolio contribute to the strategy, specifically?
- How are performance outcomes being monitored, reported, and acted on?
- How are you paying for the services? Are costs and compensation clear, obvious, transparent, and specifically reported/disclosed?
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We all have a relationship with debt in some way, shape, or manner. Also, like other relationships in our lives, it can be complicated. So let’s examine this creature and look at some basics for “safe handling”.
First, why would I say we all a have relationship with debt? Well, the neighborhood school was financed with bonds, a form of debt, which determines in part how much taxes you pay. In the past decade there have been two major economic upheavals due in large part to debt; the 2000 tech bust which had been fueled by reckless financing of internet and technology start-ups, and now the housing & real estate bust following a unsustainable bubble also fueled by debt. These debt-fueled booms and busts in turn influence inflation, interest rates, unemployment, investment performance of your retirement accounts, property values, taxes, and more. Clearly even if you are debt free and use only cash for purchases, the use of debt by others pervades your life.
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