It is often surprising what passes for “financial planning.” I met a woman at a Christmas Day party who told me about the strategy that her financial planner recommended for saving money for her child’s college education. The planner told her that his “rule of thumb” is that parents should save one year of college… Read more

It will be interesting to see if institutional investors respond to pressure to unload their stakes in gun manufacturers. Cerberus Capital Management LP reacted immediately in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., school shooting tragedy by announcing it would sell its stake in the company whose AR-15 type Bushmaster rifle was used in the massacre. Who will… Read more

If you receive a lump sum offer for your pension think twice! My wife recently received a pension buyout offer from her former employer, a publishing company.  I ran the numbers and discovered that if she took the lump sum, she would have to earn approximately 6.5% every year on that sum for it to… Read more