Sa For Fas

Presidential election years tend to be strong for markets, the incumbent has shown great interest in the stock market’s progress and the Fed seems supportive. This podcast (6:33), suggests that the biggest apparent risk right now is the coronavirus, which will surely adversely affect one if not two quarters of global GDP. And yet that delay in the resumption of economic growth could lead to a big pop in consumer spending, bolstering the economy in 2020, barring unexpected exogenous shocks.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A new survey by AgeUp finds that people don’t know much about their parents’ finances and are worried they may have to kick in their own funds to sustain them during retirement. This podcast (6:33) takes a look at the MassMutual unit’s re-packaging of deferred income annuities as a solution for this very contemporary worry, noting that DIAs can be a more cost-effective way to guarantee income because of the long lead time for saving and fewer years to cover.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mike Hennessy of Harbor Crest Wealth Advisors argues that, of the many risks faced by fixed-income investors, three in particular are not adequately understood. In this podcast (9:58), Hennessy shows how investment-grade bonds could quickly turn into junk in a downturn, why liquidity in the ETF market may be overpromised and how a return of inflation could force the Fed to hike rates, adversely impacting borrowers, corporations and governments.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The World Economic Forum posted a video about what it calls “the global pensions time bomb,” noting that the already large gap between resources and retirement is rapidly accelerating. This podcast (7:48) suggests that the approach taken by Denmark is right for our times, more so than the Chilean model, and discusses other U.S. retirement-system vulnerabilities.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A recent Barron’s analysis makes a compelling case that The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) might be ready to exit the bargain basement, especially if it can obtain decent prices for assets it sells. This podcast (7:03) argues that of greater importance than the assets it sells is the investment it makes in the assets it keeps. A new marketing-oriented CEO and favorable timing in the macro-economy may aid in this effort.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Which cognitive bias most speaks to today’s retirement challenges? Visual Capitalist offers 50 for you. This podcast (5:06) suggests that the multiplying list of cognitive behavioral biases fail to capture the essential problems as well as Benjamin Franklin’s aphorisms, which are rooted in character issues and poetically expressed.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Independent analyst Ian Bezek of Ian’s Insider Corner explains his quality-first approach to stock selection, with Hormel being a shining example. In this podcast (19:19), the Latin America-based analyst explains why oil and natural gas aren’t going away; discusses the appeal of consumer staples stocks; and offers his perspective on the Chilean market, Latin America investing and expat retirement.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a video interview with Les Brown, the motivational speaker make three relevant points for advisors: that negativity keeps people from progressing; that people need to step out of their comfort zones; and that people need guidance. This podcast (6:11) suggests that it is useful for advisors to adopt a professional self-image as people who see the potential of their clients, and who help them to realize that potential.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amidst so much market commentary offering just a nano-second of value, I was more impressed with a silly video from a California-based pizza parlor titled “What Happens When A Cordon Bleu Trained Chef Tries Shakey’s Pepperoni Pizza?” This podcast (5:31) suggests that the distance between Cordon Blue and Shakey’s really isn’t that far when less money is sloshing around, as will eventually be the case, and argues that now is the time to look to accumulate shares of the slow, steady earners that people cling to in meaner times.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A 58-year-old man with no retirement savings asks a USA Today financial-advice columnist for help, noting he was embarrassed to consult with a financial planner. This podcast (6:32) suggests that many of the people advisors meet with, specifically prospective clients, are not receiving the peace-of-mind benefits enjoyed by clients who have a relationship with an advisor and a framework within which to tackle what may be the No. 1 stressor, financial stress.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two Seeking Alpha analyses of the shale-oil industry, one from Kevin Wilson and the other from Andrew Butter, provide much insight and yet, one of them is quite grim and the other sanguine about the opportunities ahead. This podcast (7:19) suggests why it is that commodities investments that tend to long-term returns of zero are so tempting; why the success of such speculation is determined by timing, which is next to impossible to figure out; and what criteria investors should look for in a small, speculative play.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ElderIndex.org allows users to compare the retirement cost of living among up to four different places at a time. This podcast (6:57) suggests that a change in location is an important tool in the advisor’s retirement-planning tool kit since housing and health costs vary greatly from place to place, and notes the case of a couple whose move reduced costs by about 25 percent.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As coronavirus fears dissipate, a massive biological calamity taking place right now has gotten next to no attention: the worst locust swarms in 70 years. This podcast (5:00) argues that an extraordinary behavioral quirk in the species known as schistocerca gregaria should be duly noted by investors because of a parallel phenomenon found in “mercator gregaria,” i.e., investors whose behavior changes from harmless to destructive overnight. We saw an example of that this week, and it’s something investors need to proactively defend against.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Seeking Alpha contributor Ronald Surz’s article on the SECURE Act argues that it will encourage savings; it will encourage misuse of financial calculators; and that these calculators will not model risk properly. This podcast (5:23) suggests that asset managers’ robo-retirement-income tools are brilliant – from a marketing point of view – but are woefully inadequate models on which to base a retirement income plan.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Positioning for the new year and decade is worthwhile, but not before taking a step back and establishing a framework for making good decisions. This podcast (4:38) argues that key decisions about asset allocation and whether and from whom to seek advice precede and override the matters investors generally obsess about, such as which stock to buy.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A comprehensive study by the London-based International Longevity Centre found that receivers of financial advice fared substantially better than the unadvised. This podcast (4:37) suggests that the public has a lot of clarity about the cost of advice, but is deficient in its knowledge of the value of advice, something for which comprehensive U.S. research is needed, but also something that advisors can do a better job of communicating.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An article on Prohibition on TheConversation.com, having nothing to do with investments per se, got me thinking about markets and mean reversion. This podcast (6:00) argues that tendencies with a solid human or historical basis reassert themselves, which is why I expect we’ll yet again see oil and gas and agricultural commodities spike, though I think trends of a more fleeting nature will not mean-revert.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Retirement Income Journal, published by Kerry Pechter, includes a report of a sobering presentation by University of Oklahoma law school professor Jon Forman, arguing that near-ideal conditions (including a 9% contribution rate) are needed to reach retirement adequacy for the approximately 10% of the population that will make it to 100. This podcast (5:53) argues that we should target a 15 percent rate of savings, since ideal conditions do not exist, and that home ownership, portfolio wealth and longevity insurance all enhance financial resilience.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jonathan Clements, formerly personal finance columnist for the Wall Street Journal and now founder and editor of HumbleDollar, has long provided a voice of sanity in the money-crazed media. In this podcast (19:08), the legendary columnist addresses how financial advisors can add value to the clients they serve; tells why the paycheck is the central organizing principle of our finances; and explains how investors need to attain a level of excitement to stay on track to achieve their goals. He also shares a riveting tale of the enormous family fortune he didn’t inherit.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NPR’s Weekend Edition recounts the story of retiring Indiana state employee Bob Vollmer at age 102. In contrast, TD Ameritrade commissioned a Harris Poll survey of the American public, finding that 50 percent retired earlier than they would have liked. This podcast (5:38) argues that advisors must take into consideration the high likelihood that clients in their peak savings years may be undercut by involuntary early retirement, and also speculates on the qualities enabling a robust late retirement of the kind exemplified by Vollmer.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices