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As I wrote this blog, the stock market posted its worst loss since 2011. Yet, the money our clients manage for themselves suffered no loss, nor did any of my money which I manage for myself! Axel Merk, chief investment officer at San Francisco base Merk Investments had this to say about the market crash; …

Continue reading “Is Your Money Dead or Alive?”

And Is “Laddering” and “Stacking” Policies Really Cost Effective? There are those who insist that purchasing multiple life insurance policies, even a couple at a time, is better than purchasing or owning just one.  But our research has proven otherwise. Purchasing multiple policies increases the fee(s) you will pay the insurance company annually as there …

Continue reading “Are Multiple Life Insurance Policies Better Than One?”

…And How The Boom On Wall Street Affects Your Whole Life Insurance Dividend The stock market has reached historic heights and the Shiller price-to-earnings for the S & P 500 is “currently 34 times compared to the median level of around 16 times.”[i]  Meanwhile, the “US market cyclically adjusted price-to-earnings ratio is the highest among …

Continue reading “The Boom on Wall Street”

A couple recent articles reveal that, distressingly there are still arrogant, narrow-minded people who pass judgement on others conceiving that they really do know what’s best for others regardless of whether they even know what’s best for themselves. This primes such self-appointed experts to push their ideas, products and services which don’t definitively benefit or …

Continue reading “What is the Best Life Insurance Policy for You?”

Whole Life Insurance is the original permanent life insurance product that builds cash value.  Before whole life insurance existed, life insurance was something that was leased on a yearly basis and every year the lease payment, or premium, increased because the risk that the insurance company would have to pay out a death benefit became …

Continue reading “How To Maximize Cash Value in Your Whole Life Policy”

There is a lot of noise being made surrounding what and what isn’t going to happen to your taxes under the GOP Tax Bill.  But one thing is for sure, taxes won’t be going away, because as Benjamin Franklin noted years ago, death and taxes are two things you can always rely on. But concerning …

Continue reading “The GOP Tax Bill”

According to the most recent Marist poll,[i] the most annoying phrase for Americans, for the ninth straight year in a row, is “whatever.”  Evidently “Que Sera, Sera, whatever will be, will be,’ is simply annoying to over one-third of the nation.[ii]  Yet, according to the Economic Policy Institute “Nearly half of American families have a …

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Today I spoke with a clinical scientist who wanted a second opinion concerning an Indexed Universal Life (IUL) insurance policy that had been suggested for him as something that would perform better than if he contributed to his employer’s 401k plan.  And with his expressed permission, here is his estimation of the IUL, “This is …

Continue reading “Insurance or Insult?”

Recently an opportunity to review a participating whole life insurance policy which had been in force for 11- years came across our desk for a complimentary review.  The policy had been underwritten by a respected company that is known for good policies that can develop high guaranteed cash values as well as great dividends.  But …

Continue reading “Is A Bigger Life Insurance Policy Better?”

Advocating the ability to leverage your life insurance policy for needed cash flow or investment capital has become a common approach for the life insurance industry to promote and sell higher premium life insurance products.  Whether those products be some form of universal life or high cash value whole life, the novelty that you can …

Continue reading “Ironically, You’d Think They Would Know Better”