Salient to Investors: Stocks are most useful for long-term goals so it does not make sense to change your investment strategy based on a blip (sic) of market activity. There is absolutely nothing abnormal going on in the market. Research shows that long-term portfolio performance suffers badly by missing just a few days
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: If you ask your adviser to whom he or she owes their first legal duty of care, and you don’t get an immediate answer “you, as my client” then the chances are that they are not acting as a fiduciary. You can’t be a part-time fiduciary. The first
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Sean Williams writes: FRB of St. Louis reports the US personal savings rate averaged 4.8% in June, 2015, no change from a year ago. The OECD reports the rate in 2011 for Germany was 11.4% and for France 16%. Hearts & Wallets reports that in 2014, 45% of
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Fareed Zakaria said: Britain, which created the world we live in, has become parochial and has essentially resigned as a global power: a tragedy for us all. The Royal United Services Institute predicts that the British army could shrink to 50,000, smaller than at any point since the 1770s
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Fareed Zakaria said: Kenneth Pollock says Iran’s foreign policy has been rational and prudent over the years. China has less than 5% of the vote in the World Bank and less than 4% of the vote at the IMF. Larry Summers said: The US has lost its role
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Fareed Zakaria said: Russia is a great power in decline accounting for only 3.4% of global GDP versus China’s near 16% and almost 4 x Japan’s and 5 x Germany’s. China’s very different approach to foreign policy constitutes the most significant and dangerous shift in international politics
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: William Emmons at FRB St. Louis said: Americans born between 1928 and 1945 have become the richest old generation ever by benefiting from improved health, a more generous social safety net, an exit from the job market ahead of the past recession, rebounding stock and home values, and
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Computers are learning to pick investments, rebalance portfolios, adjust risk levels and minimize taxes more quickly, more reliably, at a quarter of the cost and with flashier graphics than financial advisors. Many new “robo-advisers” are relying on flesh-and-blood advisers becuase they find that a human with a
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: HelpAge International said: Norway is the best of 96 countries to grow old in, followed by Sweden, Switzerland, Canada and Germany. Afghanistan is the worst. Australia, Western Europe and North America rank highly. By 2050, 21% of the global population will be over 60, when 40 of the 96
READ MORE... →Salient to Investors: Moody’s Investors Service said: The 25 largest US public pensions – 40% of the $5.3 trillion in US public pensions – face $2 trillion in unfunded liabilities, showing that investment returns cannot keep up with ballooning obligations and inadequate pension contributions – from 2004 to 2013 an average
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