FJY Resource Library

Facebook IPO (Inside Information)

By FJY Financial | Published: May 16, 2012

By Bob Veres

An IPO to Post Home About

We’re hearing a lot about the Facebook initial public offering, so this might be a good time to experience a moment of laughter about our newest cultural phenomenon. Click this link for your own special guide to good Facebook manners: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iROYzrm5SBM.

Later this week, investors will have the opportunity to pay between $28 to $35 a share to own a piece of the addictive social networking service. People everywhere are clamoring to get at least a few of the 337.5 million shares that will be offered by Morgan Stanley and 30 other underwriters.

LTC’s Perfect Storm (Inside Information)

By FJY Financial | Published: May 14, 2012

By Bob Veres

Synopsis: Once again, you’re hearing about a lot of turmoil in the long-term care marketplace. Here’s some analysis you probably haven’t seen before.

Takeaways: The single-premium hybrid policies are getting a lot of hype, but they seem to be consistently inferior to traditional LTC coverage, even if you plug in very aggressive rate increase assumptions.

Does it seem to you like every few years we experience a new uproar in the long-term care world that creates a lot of uncertainty and confusion? Insurance specialist John Ryan, of Ryan Insurance Strategy Consultants in Denver, is shaking his head at the industry’s latest pricing scandal. “The biggest news was John Hancock coming in with anywhere from an 18% to a 90% rate increase on existing policies, most of them written before 2005,” he says. “They sent out a letter saying, you are paying $2,200 a year right now, and we’re going to increase it to $3,500 a year. Even the insiders,” Ryan adds, “are furious with them for coming out with such a large increase all at once, instead of spreading it out or providing a little more justification on why it was necessary.”

Gifts and Giving (By Daniel D. Joss)

By FJY Financial | Published: May 9, 2012

May 9, 2012 | Last year, Gifts and Giving, Part 1, outlined various ways of gifting to family members. Please review that as you consider transferring wealth to other generations. Gifts to family members are never deductible for tax purposes. This article will focus on tax deductible gifts to qualified charitable organizations. I will define gift and charitable contributions, tell you how you can gift, explain how we facilitate gift transactions, and discuss the tax implications of gifting. American Heritage Dictionary defines a gift as something that is bestowed voluntarily and without compensation. This article focuses more specifically on the transfer of property, money or assets from one person to another while receiving nothing (or less than fair market value) in return

More Colleges Adding Financial Planner Programs (Investment News)

By FJY Financial | Published: April 30, 2012

April 30, 2012 | The growth in the number of colleges that offer financial planning as a major is giving financial advisers who are looking for new hires a lot to cheer about. The number of colleges that have registered with the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. to offer approved planning programs has grown to 130, up 20% from two years ago, and dozens more schools are in the process of registering, said Charles Chaffin, manager of academic programs at the CFP Board.

Closing the Emotional Gap between Investors and Investment Returns (America Funds Newsline)

By FJY Financial | Published: April 25, 2012

April 25, 2012 | Why did many equity mutual fund investors gain only a 3.8% return on their investment portfolios over the past 20 years, while U.S. stocks in general provided an average return of 9.1%? Examining the "emotional gap" between investor returns and investment returns provides significant evidence, financial researchers say.

Don’t Grow Old Without It. (WSJ)

By FJY Financial | Published: April 18, 2012

April 18, 2012 | Long-term-care insurance: It can make the difference between living out your life the way you want and becoming a burden to your family or a ward of the state. But it is becoming significantly more expensive, more complicated and harder to get with each passing year. Average premiums on new policies—which help pay for nursing-home, assisted-living and home care—have risen some 6% to 17% in the past year alone, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a trade group. Some insurers have even doubled their premiums on existing policies. The increases come as the industry grapples with low interest rates and policyholders who are living a lot longer than the actuaries said they would.

Research Supports Withdrawal Rate of 4% or Higher (Investment News)

By FJY Financial | Published: April 4, 2012

April 4, 2012 | Concern that future market performance won't match historical returns has some financial professionals questioning whether the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals still passes muster. But Cornerstone Wealth Advisors founder Jonathan Guyton, who has studied withdrawal rates, argues the 4% rule has been stress-tested under circumstances much worse than the nation is likely to face in the coming years, and that his own research supports a 5.5% withdrawal rate — with a twist. Mr. Guyton starts retirees with that higher withdrawal rate only if they are willing to accept a future reduction, should market conditions decline.

How to Die Like a Doctor

By FJY Financial | Published: March 28, 2012

March 28, 2012 | Here's a painful, and sometimes funny, look at how key legislative decisions are made in Washington, D.C., which you are encouraged to share with your friends: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2012/03/how-lobbyists-run-washington/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter If you want to fix the problem of rising costs in the U.S. healthcare system, or at least reduce the looming Medicare/Medicaid entitlement burden, there's a surprisingly easy solution. In Washington policy circles, it has been estimated that more than 80% of all the dollars spent on healthcare in the U.S. are incurred in the last nine days of a person's life. Many times, the money is spent keeping a person alive in a vegetative state, prolonging an incurable illness or painful conditions where there is little to no chance of recovery. The money is not just wasted; it may actually be used to prolong suffering when recovery is not an option.