June 2013: Deficit Owl turns Heads at Conference
Are we reducing deficits too quickly? At the end of May, Tim and Dave attended the annual meeting of the Northern California Chapter of the Financial Planning Association (FPA). This two day meeting is widely regarded as one of highest quality meetings of its kind and we make a point of attending each year. One of the most surprising takeaways was a keynote presentation by Stephanie Kelton, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Speaking to an audience of 500 professional financial advisors that consider themselves financially literate, she...
Read MoreApril 2013: Should we be Investing at Record Highs?
Recently US stock market indices have reached record highs. The last two times a record was set was in October 2007 and March 2000 and significant downturns followed the “financial crisis” and the “dot com bubble”. We have heard from a handful of clients who are concerned about investing during/at the market “top”. The question is usually along the lines: “Should we really be investing in stocks now that we’re at a record high”? In cases where we are putting new money to work the concern is: “Aren’t we buying high”? The chart below is also the Dow for the same period of time but it...
Read MoreMarch 2013: Of Foxes and Hedgehogs
Predictions are tough, especially when they involve the future. Yogi Berra Philip Tetlock, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, is a rock star to statistics geeks but less well known by the general public. Newly tenured at UC Berkeley in 1984, Tetlock began a twenty-year study in which 284 experts in many fields – government officials, professors, journalists, and others, and with many opinions, from Marxists to free-marketeers, were asked to make 28,000 predictions[1][2] about the future. His major finding: they were only slightly more accurate than chance. ...
Read MoreFebruary 2013: Insights from Liz Ann Sonders of Charles Schwab & Co, Inc.
We wanted to share an article written this week by Liz Ann Sonders, Senior Vice President & Chief Investment Strategist for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. She does a great job of putting the last five years of market performance into perspective. Also read to see why Sonders is not worried as the S&P 500 approaches its record high.
Read MoreJanuary 2013: What’s New at Marin Financial Advisors?
At MFA we subscribe to the adage that “he who stops getting better, ceases being good”. Behind the scenes we are constantly evaluating our processes with the idea of providing an excellent client experience. We remain open to new and better ways of doing things – please provide us with your suggestions for how we might improve. Tim and Dave will mark their tenth anniversary working together in March of 2013. As we have enhanced our service, growth has followed naturally and organically. We are pleased to report that we recently surpassed a milestone: MFA now has over $200 million...
Read MoreDecember 2012: Isn’t it time we talked?
This is the time of year when families have occasions to gather together and enjoy each other’s company. The holidays can provide a good opportunity for parents and their adult children to start a conversation about finances. Many people are uncomfortable talking about money, and avoid discussing the topic. While taking about finances might not be the perfect holiday meal table talk, it is an important topic, and open conversations can bring peace of mind to parents and their children. A recent Intra-Family Generations Finance Study by Fidelity Investments® highlights the fact that...
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