I read Morningstar Advisor last month, and have come to the conclusion that this is indeed the era for ETFs. For the 15 years that I’ve been in the investment business, Morningstar has focused most of their attention on the mutual fund industry. They developed, and have modified, a mutual fund star ranking system, and they have an extensive fund research platform. But this month, they turned their attention to ETFs; and for good reason.
With some bit of fanfare, 2010 began a new era in regard to Roth IRAs for high income earners. While those single income tax filers earning more than $122,000 and couples earning more than $179,000 are still not eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA, anyone is eligible to convert existing Traditional IRA dollars into a Roth IRA.
I was thinking the other day about how the federal government and the Federal Reserve Bank continue to discuss stimulating our ailing economy with plans such as QE3 and another round of fiscal stimulus. Why is it that some central body (government) thinks they can “create jobs” with policy? The reality is that businesses create jobs; government can only assist with regulation and tax policy. Fiscal stimulus and the printing of money are two temporary ways to “create jobs”. Once the stimulus is spent, the jobs created don’t have 100% sticking power. With quantitative easing, the money supply must be contracted at some point to avoid hyper-inflation, meaning quantitative easing is simply—by design—a temporary creator of jobs as well. Keynesian governments assume that a temporary lift is all we businesses need to get the ball rolling.
At the recent “Get Motivated” seminar in Portland, a “Get Rich” salesmen was questioning why you would pay a financial advisor 1-2% when you could do it yourself. But as my husband was quick to point out, you could pull your own teeth instead of going to a dentist, too. What a scary proposition! We pay experts because they have tools, resources and knowledge to get what we need done. The same goes with a financial advisor.
Ever since the merger between Ameritrade and TD Waterhouse in early 2007, I have considered making a change with regard to your custodian. I wrote of my displeasure back in the July 2007 newsletter, and requested feedback. While most clients were annoyed by the over-exuberant mailings and poor technology interface, you don’t seem to require a change. My yearn for a change has most likely been because my biggest complaint against the new TD Ameritrade is related to their customer service and technology offering —both of which Joyce and I here in the office firewall for you.