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IN THIS ISSUE: 

Personal Money Planning's Newsletter
January 25, 2014
Gary Silverman, CFP 

Is anybody else counting down the days to the Winter Olympics? I am (and you can too, here)! When it comes to curling, I'm rooting for the U.S., of course, but I expect the Canadian men and the Great Britain women to pose the greatest challenges. When it comes to pants, however, nobody beats Norway

Special to our clients in the Wichita Falls area: The Home & Garden show is February 22-23 at the MPEC. If you would like free tickets, please contact us by February 7 so we have time to mail them to you. Call us at 940-692-6885 or respond to this email. 
  
Have a great week!

Gary Silverman, CFP®

Soapbox
Gary's Soapbox
Money Back Guarantee
Gary Silverman caricature

How would you like a guarantee from your investment advisor? Well, Schwab has just started doing so-sort of. They're not going to give you back any money your investments may have lost. Rather, if you use their advisory services, the kind you have to pay for, they'll refund the previous quarter's fees.

 

Initially I, and other advisors like me, questioned how they'd get along doing this. After all, the markets have their normal (and sometimes abnormal) ups and downs. When the ups are happening, folks are usually pretty happy with us. Quite the opposite when the markets go down (like in 2008). Even someone as wonderful as me lost a small percentage of my clients due to the effects of 2008.

 

And that's really the point. This is more of a marketing exercise than an offer they think they'll have to pay up for. Reports are that they are putting very little aside to handle the onslaught of disgruntled clients. (Ever wonder if happy clients are considered to be "gruntled"?) Just like most companies that offer some sort of money-back guarantee on their products, Schwab knows that very few will ever take them up on the offer. Plus, even before this new program, it was already common for upset clients to get a refund.

 

So, is this the next trend? Will all advisory firms trying to keep up with the Joneses (or in this case the Schwabses) have to offer money-back guarantees? No, not really. After talking to myself (I do that) and other advisors, it looks like  we'll continue to do things pretty much the same way we always have.  
 
--Gary
Articles
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From the Times Record News
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The first step to saving for retirement: Get in the habit of saving, period. Gary explains how using a Roth IRA to begin this process can help young people prepare for retirement. Read More...

But First...
Before you jump into a Roth IRA, there are a few things you should be aware of. Read More...

Credit Card Troubles
As the recent Target breach has reminded us, credit card fraud can be a hassle (learn more about what to do about that in the next section). For Gary, his own credit card fraud alert acted as a lesson about preparing for such events. Read More...
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Money 101:
Sharpen your financial focus with the NFCC
laptop-glasses-girl.jpg The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) has a new initiative to help Americans focus on their financial well-being. It includes tools that help you see your current financial situation, as well as ways to work on any financial problems that could be holding you back.  Learn More
Final
You may have already noticed, if you clicked on the links to the articles , that our website has a new look. In the desktop version, for our clients, there is a Client Login button on the top right where you can access your TD Ameritrade accounts. The site now comes with a mobile version as well, in case you would like to keep up with us while you are waiting in the grocery store line. There are also links to various financial calculators as well as our Facebook and LinkedIn pages. This is still a work-in-progress, so let us know if there's something you would like to see there, and we'll see if we can make a few changes. Enjoy! 
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