January 2017 | FIGuide

Why I Became a Financial Planner

Jan 30 2017

As my financial planning practice grows, I’ve noticed that people are asking me how to become a financial planner. The other day, I answered an email from someone asking how to become a financial planner. It was at that point that two things occurred to me:

At the time of this writing, I’ll have written about 150 articles on this website. None of them talks about why I became a financial planner.
Military in Transition contains an “About Me” page, but it doesn’t really explain my journey from the military to becoming a financial planner.

This article is a first …

Planning Without Assets

Jan 27 2017

Many individuals, especially after graduating college have an enormous amount of human capital but very little when it comes to financial capital and investable assets. A common question or concern may be that they are of little interest to financial planners because they don’t have any investable assets or wealth. Let me say that this is both correct and incorrect thinking – depending on the financial planner – and just as important; how the financial planner is paid.

Let’s start with the correct version first. Financial planners are paid in a number of different ways from commission, fee-only and fee …

Credit Cards for Kids?

Jan 26 2017

It might be hard to imagine, but anyone under the age of 20 grew up in a largely cashless society. Cash is still around of course, but the youngest generation rarely uses it. Their parents paid for groceries with plastic, and many of the services in their lives are provided on an auto-billed subscription basis—everything from Netflix to Birchbox. This generation may never need to write a physical check or mail a bill. Even standing in line at the checkout counter may soon be a thing of the past if Amazon Go is any indication—more stores may adopt a completely …

The 3 Main Investment Styles: Pros and Cons

Jan 26 2017

By Eve Kaplan, CFP®

There are pros and cons to investing in the three main investment styles: active, passive and “evidence-based investing.” The benefits of “evidence-based investing” will be clearer after reviewing “active” vs. “passive” investing styles.

1. Active Investing through Mutual Funds: “Active” investors aim to “beat the market” (or a portion of a market) by investing in a large number of holdings through mutual funds and some Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The theory of doing better than the market sounds great but does it work well in practice? As a former active mutual fund manager, I can say: …

Archive - January 2017