Category Archives: Retirement Plan Participants

Throwing 404(c) Participants (And Sponsors) Under the Bus: ERISA Section 404(c) False Promise of “Sufficient Information”

The Supreme Court’s decision in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates(1) in 2008 started a trend recognizing the need for greater protection of participants in defined contribution pension plans. The LaRue decision signaled the long overdue recognition by the judicial … Continue reading

Posted in ERISA, Investment Advice, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, pension plans, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Wealth Preservation and Those Pesky 401(k)/403(b)/IRA Beneficiary Forms

Everybody hates paperwork. So when employees and investors are asked to fill out all the paperwork associated with 401(k) plans and individual retirement plans (IRAs), most people just enter something without giving it  much thought. When I was a compliance … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Common Sense, ERISA, Investment Advice, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, IRA, Life Advice, pension plans, Retirement, Retirement Distribution Planning, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Distribution, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Avoiding Costly “Closet” Index Funds

I am a member of the Paladin Registry, a select group of attorneys and investment advisers dedicated to educate investors so that they can better protect themselves against investment fraud and other questionable activity by the investment industry. You can … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investment Fraud, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Uncategorized, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pimento Cheese Sandwiches and Investor Protection

Yesterday I was in North Georgia in connection with a possible case. I took the opportunity to have lunch with a high school classmate who now lives in the area. Both the company and the food were excellent, but both … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investment Fraud, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, IRA, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Retirement Distribution Planning, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Variable Annuities, Variable Annuity Abuse, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Special Investor Alert-Questions About New “Barron’s Advisors”

In February, 2012 I wrote a post regarding the value of Barron’s “Top 1000 Advisers List,” citing the questionable criteria used and lack of transparency on the calculation process used in preparing the list. Barron’s has just published a new … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Investment Advice, Investment Advisors, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, Uncategorized, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Wealth Preservation Saboteurs

“Get what you can and keep what you have; that’s the way to get rich.” Scottish Proverb In a series of earlier posts, I discussed the three planning areas that I believe constitute real wealth management – wealth accumulation, wealth … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Investment Fraud, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement, Retirement Distribution Planning, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Three Numbers Every Investor and Fiduciary Should Remember

The abundance of investment products and investment information available today can be intimidating and confusing to many investors, both novice and professional.  Over my twenty-plus years as an attorney and investment adviser, I have tried to help others focus on … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Investment Fraud, Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Retirement, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dividend Investing vs. Variable Annuities

Excellent analysis of problems with variable annuities from the “Seeking Alpha” web site . Only thing missing is discussion of the use of inverse pricing on VA’s annual fees, producing windfall for VA issuer at expense of VA owner. “Seeking … Continue reading

Posted in Investment Portfolios, Investor Protection, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Portfolio Planning, Retirement Plan Participants, Wealth Accumulation, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

CommonSense InvestSense: REAL Wealth Management 2019

I originally ran this series back in 2013. The series has proven to be among the blog’s most popular posts. So we are going to update the original posts and re-run the entire series. Today we address the ongoing “wealth … Continue reading

Posted in Investor Protection, Portfolio Construction, portfolio planning, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

3 (and a half) Common IRA Mistakes to Avoid

Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) have proven to be a very popular investment option.  When set-up properly, IRAs can provide investors with greater flexibility and overall wealth management opportunities than traditional retirement accounts such as 401(k) and 403(b) accounts. That said, … Continue reading

Posted in Asset Protection, Investor Protection, IRA, Retirement Plan Participants, Retirement Planning, Wealth Management, Wealth Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment