The Latin term panem et circenses (bread and circuses) is a figure of speech for a superficial form of appeasement. It is a diversion or a distraction from core issues. If you’ve seen the movie Gladiator, multiple times they show Roman soldiers throwing bread into the stands of the Colosseum prior to the starting of the games. Both the provisions of bread and the games themselves (hence bread and circus)… Read More
Lifeboat Drills
The last time you were on an airplane, do you remember what the flight attendants did before takeoff? Of course you do. They provided you with a safety demonstration on what to do if there is an emergency. But I’ll bet that virtually nobody paid any attention to them because nobody ever does. (Full disclosure: I also ignore the safety demonstration.) If the plane has an issue though, there is no… Read More
How To Know If You’ve Saved Enough For Retirement
One of the great fears facing many retirees is if they have saved enough to retire. And by extension, once in retirement, it can be stressful to spend the money they’ve spent their entire working lives accumulating. I attribute much of the financial angst retirement to one primary issue. Many investors have never taken the time to write down how much they anticipate spending or what their guaranteed incomes will… Read More
Emotions & Retirement Planning
Last week, I had a conversation with a recently retired reader that I thought might be applicable to what many retirees are likely to experience at some point in retirement and wanted to share some insights with regard to how you might approach the issue. Important points from the conversation: Earlier this year during the market pullback, the investor sold his entire equity position and invested the proceeds into bonds… Read More
Perceived Value vs. Actual Value
There have been studies that show that when people pay more for something, they believe the product is better. For example, people rate wines better if they are told it is expensive. Based on this study, the wine doesn’t actually have to be better, people just have to believe it’s better and their mind takes over from there. In the wine example, when the isolated variable is price, people were forced… Read More
The Role of Bonds in Retirement
Wrote a piece for CNBC on the role of bonds in a retirement portfolio. In the article, I share some thoughts on the topic with the aid of historical perspective and how things have changed over the past few decades. Below is the link. Conventional Wisdom of Bonds Dominating a Portfolio in Retirement is now Outdated Thanks for reading! Ashby Daniels Shorebridge Wealth Management 600 Waterfront Drive, Suite… Read More
Who is going to help your spouse?
Last week I wrote a post titled “Switching Advisors at Retirement - Things to Consider“. It didn’t occur to me until after re-reading it that I realized I omitted one of the most important (and overlooked) things you should be looking for in your search. And that is, “Who is going to help your spouse if something happens to you?” When considering switching advisors, the final decision regarding who to… Read More
Switching Advisors at Retirement - Things to Consider
As investors close in on retirement, it’s relatively common to consider changing advisors. I often inquire when meeting a prospective client for the first time as to why they are considering making a change, and the answer usually falls within one of two categories: (1) They question whether or not their advisor has the expertise necessary to get them through their retirement or (2) Their advisor is roughly their age… Read More
What I’ve Been Reading - “Retirement Digest”
I spend a lot of time reading articles, books, and whitepapers about all things retirement-related. Basically, anything that can benefit a client at or nearing retirement. I was recently asked by a couple of readers where I find all the articles I share on various social channels. The answer is “all over the place.” I subscribe to a ton of newsletters, avidly use google alerts and read articles/books recommended by… Read More
Bubble Predictions - July 2018
There is a perception that if news isn’t worth acting on, then it must be useless or a waste of time. And there are a lot of advisors (I’ve been one of them) that have stated on more than one occasion that retirees might be better off if they turned off the news. While I still generally believe that to be true due to our proclivity to act, it is… Read More
