Connect with us

Retirement Planning

Retirement Field Guide Mission & What’s To Come

Published

on

I started the Retirement Field Guide in March 2018. At the time, the only real purpose of the site was to share my views with people in my personal circles. And in all honesty, I started the site with the goal of gaining new clients. While a number of new clients have found me through this site, I have found myself thinking less about just my personal advisory business and started thinking more about the larger mission at hand.

As time has progressed, I am more energized than ever for making a difference in the lives of retirees. As such, I spent the last few weeks thinking about what I really want to accomplish professionally in this life and what I hope we can achieve together.

What I ended up with was a personal mission – both for me personally and for the Retirement Field Guide brand. That is:

Retirement Field Guide Mission Statement:

“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”

That may sound a bit grandiose, but stay with me. Somewhere along the way, I was told that when thinking about mission statements to take what you think you can achieve and multiply it by 10x until it sounds bigger than what you can imagine. As such, I could easily see this site being read by 1 million people. But 10 million, that sounds like a stretch.

Personally, I don’t believe that I write just any blog. I feel like the things that I write are against the tide of most of my industry and at times, what I write is against what most retirees view as conventional wisdom.

It would be much easier for me (and I would probably gain a larger following) if I would just throw the ball right down the middle instead of challenging conventional wisdom.

But that is not my nature. I have always felt comfortable being on the side of the minority. I have always felt comfortable having an unpopular opinion.

Finding reliable information on retirement is difficult, to say the least. There is either advertising revenue to attract, products to sell, or just acceptance of ideas in general. I don’t have to worry about any of that, which makes this site unique. Because of that, I can focus on things that I truly believe can help people make better retirement decisions.

I believe that no products are inherently bad products, there are just products that are sold to the wrong people. Leading with a product is always the wrong strategy anyway. I believe people should make financial decisions based on frameworks rather than a good sales pitch or outdated conventional wisdom.

I believe the primary battle retirees should be fighting is not the avoidance of short-term volatility but to protect their purchasing power over the long-run. As the Fed continues to print money, this may become more important than ever.

I believe that establishing a long-term retirement income plan is much more important than the specific investments that are chosen. But maintaining faith in the markets and a disciplined investment approach are difficult to do alone. I am not saying everyone needs an advisor so much as everyone needs encouragement and a positive voice.

With that in mind, I am in the process of entirely rebuilding my site, and when it’s complete, the subtitle of my blog page will be “Vitamin C for Market Weary Souls.”

Not only do I believe that optimism is the only realism because it’s the only story that squares with the historical record, but I believe optimism is the only antidote to the apocalypse du jour that runs on a continuous loop on TV.

I am not afraid to shout from the rooftops that everything is going to be okay. I am comfortable being one of a willing few who will say what needs to be said instead of what you may want to hear.

People who continuously read “self-help books” – my hand is raised – read them not because they say anything too different from one another, but because we need those constant reminders. At the core of my being, I believe retirees need to hear this message of hope, optimism, and faith over and over again if there is any chance of making through the retirement gauntlet.

This is a major part of the future of the Retirement Field Guide – sharing that hope, optimism and faith.

I believe what will separate successful retirees from those who won’t make it will come down to two primary things.

  1. Making each retirement decision based on a solid decision-making framework, not a sales pitch or relying on outdated conventional wisdom.
  2. Acting on faith, not fear.

If sharing my thoughts here encourages someone to stay the course, or just to wait it out a little bit longer, or to better position their portfolio for the future – whether I have any firsthand knowledge of it or not – I believe that is a goal worth striving for.

What You Can Expect Moving Forward

In order to reach 10 million people, I will need to change my tactics a bit. While I am a writer at heart, I realize not everyone is a reader. So, over the coming months, I am going to explore some additional mediums. I may start including video and webinars, or may even start a podcast. I will be releasing book #2 this fall on Creating a Retirement Paycheck. I will try to meet you where you are.

At the center of everything will be the Retirement Field Guide.

Lastly, when I say I want to help 10 million people make better retirement decisions, it is an abundantly difficult goal to track progress. So, I view this mission as much as a North Star as anything else. It is a state of mind.

I just wanted to give you a glimpse into my personal mission as I am as excited as ever to help as many people as we can. If you would like to help push the mission forward, I hope you will consider sharing the Retirement Field Guide with people you care about. In any case, thank you for being a reader of my work. It means the world to me!

To Your Success,
Ashby

The post Retirement Field Guide Mission & What’s To Come appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.

—————–

By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Retirement Field Guide Mission & What’s To Come
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/retirement-field-guide-mission-whats-to-come/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=retirement-field-guide-mission-whats-to-come
Published Date: Fri, 19 Jun 2020 14:28:14 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://getinvestmentadvise.com/retirement-planning/nationwide-starts-july-as-fully-independent-insurance-agency-carrier/

Continue Reading

Retirement Planning

Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970

Published

on

There always has been and always will be a reason not to invest or not to stay invested. This is all the mainstream media reports to us. Below you will find a list of some of the worst global events each year since 1970. I have some commentary to follow.

1970: War: US troops invade Cambodia.
1971: Civil Unrest: Anti-war militants march on Washington.
1972: Political: Start of Watergate Scandal.
1973: Economic: OPEC raises oil prices in response to US involvement abroad.
1974: Political: Nixon resigns as President of the United States.
1975: Political: Multiple assassination attempts on President Ford.
1976: World: Ebola virus.
1977: Political: Government shutdowns.
1978: Market: U.S. Dollar plunges to record low against many European currencies.
1979: World: Iranian militants seize the U.S. embassy in Teheran and hold hostages.
1980: Economic: Inflation spiked to a high of 14.76%.
1981: Political: President Reagan assassination attempt.
1982: Economic: Recession continues in the U.S. with nationwide unemployment of 10.8%.
1983: Economic: Unemployment in the U.S. reaches 12 million.
1984: Economic: 70 U.S. banks fail during the year.
1985: World: Multiple airplane hijackings around the world.
1986: World: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station explodes.
1987: Market: DOW drops by 22.6% on October 22.
1988: Environment: Awareness of global warming and the greenhouse effect grows.
1989: Environment: Exxon Valdez dumps 11 million gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound.
1990: World: Persian Gulf War starts.
1991: World: Mass shooting in Killeen, TX.
1992: Human Rights: Los Angeles riots following the death of Rodney King.
1993: Terrorism: World Trade Center bombing.
1994: World: Mass genocide in Rwanda.
1995: Terrorism: Oklahoma City bombing.
1996: Terrorism: Olympic Park bombing.
1997: World: Bird flu.
1998: World: Multiple U.S. embassy bombings.
1999: World: Columbine shooting.
2000: Economic: Start of the Dotcom Market Crash.
2001: Terrorism: Terrorist Attacks in NYC, DC & PA.
2002: Economic: Nasdaq bottomed after a 76.81% drop.
2003: World: The U.S. invades Iraq.
2004: World: The U.S. launches an attack on Falluja.
2005: World: Hurricane Katrina
2006: World: Bird flu.
2007: Economic: Start of the Great Recession.
2008: Economic: Great Recession continues.
2009: Economic: S&P bottomed after a 56.8% drop.
2010: Market: Flash crash.
2011: Market: Occupy Wall Street and S&P downgrades U.S. Debt.
2012: Political: Fiscal cliff.
2013: Political: Taper tantrum.
2014: World: Ebola virus.
2015: World: Multiple mass shootings.
2016: Political: Divided U.S. Presidential election.
2017: World: North Korea testing nuclear weapons.
2018: Economic: U.S. & China trade war.
2019: Economic: Student loan debt reaches an all-time high of $1.4 trillion.
2020: World: COVID-19.

While many of these events were undoubtedly terrible (and there are certainly others not named here that were worse), most of these were broadcast as end-of-the-world events for the stock market. Despite that attention, it is worth noting that these were, for the most part, one-time events. In other words, most faded into the newspapers of history. We moved on.

Obviously, some caused monumental shifts in the way the world works. Just think about how much air travel continues to be impacted by the events of 9/11. But, outside of the resulting inconveniences (if we want to call safety protocols inconveniences) associated with air travel, flying is safer than ever before.

Take a look at just about any of the events and you will find there are many that people will hardly remember. My point here isn’t that these events are to be ignored or that they were easy to stomach at the time, but that they have become a distant memory.

I want to also make the point that we should expect these types of negative events. As investors, we know these types of crises, economic catastrophes, and global phenomena are going to happen.

But in almost all cases, here is what we can say in the next breath – this too shall pass.

Will there be legal, humanitarian, economic, or some other aid required as a result of these events? Almost certainly the answer is yes, but that doesn’t mean it they won’t eventually fade into history.

Lastly, what’s worth noting is how the market has performed over these last 50 years despite the continual advertisements of the world crashing down around us. On January 2, 1970, the Dow Jones stood at 809 and the S&P at 90 -> those are not typos. These same indexes have grown (not including dividends) to 26,387 and 3,232 respectively. Amazing, no?

Perhaps what gets overlooked more than anything else is what separates the above one-time negative events from the positive stories that go largely ignored over our lifetimes. And that is a story worth telling. See the companion post below:

Unheralded Positive Events Every Year Since 1970

Stay the Course,
Ashby


Retirement Field Guide Mission:

“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”


If you would like to join us in achieving our mission, I hope you will consider sharing our site if you have found it helpful in your own retirement planning.


This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.

The post Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970 appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.

—————–

By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Ends-of-the-World Every Year Since 1970
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/ends-of-the-world-every-year-since-1970/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ends-of-the-world-every-year-since-1970
Published Date: Tue, 04 Aug 2020 13:26:19 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://getinvestmentadvise.com/retirement-planning/wildfire-prone-property-insurance-bill-in-california-due-for-hearing/

Continue Reading

Retirement Planning

Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing

Published

on

The post Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing appeared first on Live Insurance News.

The bill is expected to be heard in upcoming weeks as opposing sites prepare for major battle.

A new California bill, the outcomes of which will have a lot to say about coverage for wildfire prone property in the state, will soon be headed for hearing. The hearing is expected to be a heated one as strong opposing opinions have the opportunity to be voiced.

Opponents of this bill are calling it a direct attack on consumer protections in insurance.

That said, proponents of the bill claim it is the best method for making coverage available to wildfire prone property in California. The bill in question is Assembly Bill 2167. It was written by Assemblyperson Tom Daly (D-Anaheim). If it passes,it will create the Insurance Market Action Plan (IMAP) program. The IMAP program is meant to protect residential properties.

So far, AB 2167 has progressed quickly, when taking into consideration that a chunk of the legislature has been considerably restricted by pandemic crisis precautions. It was first presented in early June and backers have been saying that it was brought forward in good timing and that it has all the momentum it needs to be passed.

That said, AB 2167 has not been without opposition. In fact, it has faced considerable opposition, having been called an attack on Proposition 103, insurance consumer protection law. California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara lobbed that argument at it, calling it an “insurance industry wish list, with nothing to help consumers,” and Consumer Watchdog, whose founder, Harvey Rosenfeld, was the original author of Proposition 103.

The insurance industry strongly supports the bill, saying it will help wildfire prone property coverage.

Insurance organizations such as the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the Personal Insurance Federation both support AB 2167. The bill also has the support of the California Association of Counties (CSAC), as well as Fire Safe Councils of California, and the CalFIRE union.

The Consumer Federation of America, another watchdog organization, has predicted that if AB 2167 passes, it will cause 40 percent increases in insurance rates. On the other hand, insurance groups claim that the bill offers owners of wildfire prone property a greater opportunity for choice and competition among insurance companies based on coverage and premiums while avoiding the limitations and high costs associated with FAIR Plan coverage.

The post Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing appeared first on Live Insurance News.

—————–

By: Marc
Title: Wildfire prone property insurance bill in California due for hearing
Sourced From: www.liveinsurancenews.com/wildfire-prone-property-insurance-bill-in-california-due-for-hearing/8549884/
Published Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2020 09:00:14 +0000

Did you miss our previous article…
https://getinvestmentadvise.com/retirement-planning/is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds/

Continue Reading

Retirement Planning

Is this the last hurrah for bonds?

Published

on

Recently, I have written quite a bit about the long-term return expectations for investing in bonds. See here, here, here and here.

Spoiler alert: I don’t think it’s good.

But long-term bonds this year have been quite an amazing story as the COVID pandemic has caused the Fed to take historically monumental actions. As a result, we’ve watched long-term Treasuries tear the roof off the market. For instance, a 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (name withheld for compliance purposes) is up more than 31% YTD as of July 31st.

That is insane!

But there is a good reason for this increase shown below.

The red circle shows a decrease in the 30-year Treasury rate of almost 40% over a span of six months. That’s practically unprecedented with only two periods (2008 and 1981-1982) having similar declines over such short periods.

But this begs the question: Is this the last hurrah for bonds as a driver of any meaningful return? Below is the 30-Year Treasury rate over the last 40+ years.

For what it’s worth, people have been forecasting the end of the bond bull market since 2012 (maybe even earlier) and yet it has continued despite those predictions. But at some point, the bond party will come to an end.

The Fed has been clear that they are going to keep rates stable until at least 2022 which means this may not change for a little while longer. Or in the near term, I could even see the high returns continuing if we experience pandemic economic shutdown round two.

But, I can’t see a world where this is the case for much longer than that – most importantly over the span of a 30-year retirement.

The official end of the bond bull market depends on a recovery from the pandemic economy as well as a few other factors causing rates to rise. But when they do, it seems likely to me that this may be the last great hurrah for bonds for quite some time.

The question is when to get off that train and that undoubtedly requires a personal answer.

Stay the Course,
Ashby


Retirement Field Guide Mission:

“To help 10 million people make better retirement decisions.”


If you would like to join us in achieving our mission, I hope you will consider sharing our site if you have found it helpful in your own retirement planning.


This post is not advice. Please see additional disclaimers.

The post Is this the last hurrah for bonds? appeared first on Retirement Field Guide.

—————–

By: Ashby Daniels, CFP®
Title: Is this the last hurrah for bonds?
Sourced From: retirementfieldguide.com/is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=is-this-the-last-hurrah-for-bonds
Published Date: Wed, 12 Aug 2020 13:47:16 +0000

Continue Reading

Trending