This area includes forms and other material directly related to financial
planning- though the entire site is really financial planning that covers
all aspects for an individual or family. The most "critical" form is the
budget. Make sure you make a copy and complete in detail since it controls
your risk scenario for your investments.
(Wealth Management is the new buzz word in the 2000s. It's just good financial
planning that should have always been practiced- but rarely was/is.)
"Finance is the art of passing money from hand to hand until it finally
disappears."
Robert W. Sarnoff
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The list below includes all articles and specific links in alphabetical
order with accompanying description. The listings in the column to the right
are separate sections for articles and links
403(b) LINK: Some good background
and articles on tax deferral plans for teachers
403(b) LINK: A site
by the California State Teachers' Retirement System. The 403bCompare Web
site is a bank of objective information about various 403(b) vendors and
the products they offer.
403(B) CALCULATOR- See TSA Maximum Exclusion Allowance below
412(i
) LINK Section 412(i) of the Internal Revenue Code.
457
LINK: Covers new rules
ABUSIVE
TRUST LINK: Coverage by the IRS including, Basic Trust Taxation,
Abusive Domestic Trust Schemes, Abusive Foreign Trust Schemes, CI’s
Efforts in Combating Abusive Trusts, Statistical Data, Significant Cases,
Civil and Criminal Penalties
ACCOUNTING GLOSSARY LINK:
ALTERNATIVE MINIMUM TAX: While most people
think that it is applicable only to the rich, it is becoming a concern to
the middle class.
AMT ASSISTANCE LINK: The
alternative minimum tax is confusing and expensive. The IRS has provided
a simple(?) sheet to try and see where you stand.
AMERICAN
HEALTH QUALITY ASSOCIATION LINK: A charitable, educational,
not-for-profit national membership association dedicated to health care quality
through community-based, independent quality evaluation and improvement
programs.
AHQA represents Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) and
professionals working to improve health care quality and patient safety.
AHQA members:
APPLICABLE FEDERAL
RATES LINK: You must use an interest rate in the calculation of annuities,
reversionary interests, life estates, etc.- but you can't use just anything.
You are subject to the movement of rates in the economy and as stated by
an AFR- Applicable Federal Rate for the month of use (slight
variations.)
ASSET PROTECTION: See Offshore Trusts below
ASSET ALLOCATION HOAX LINK: Bill Jahnke.
Ground breaking article on why buy and hold does not work. I used this "theory"
well before his article was published. It's called reading and research and
making adjustments for economic "blips" (2000- 2002).
ASSET PROTECTION
ASSET PROTECTION
LINK: A compilation of a number of newsletters that
provide a good insight tho this market.
BAD ALLOCATION: This commentary
from Bill Jahnke parallels my statements about the inconsistency and incompetency
of current allocations by almost all planners
BANKRUPTCY LINK: This
is the site for the American Bankruptcy Institute and provides information
about bankruptcy, its terminology, the filing process, where to find local
assistance and referrals to attorneys, pamphlets, reference material, statistics,
articles, transcripts, forms for filing and more.
BANKRUPTCY LINK:
Definitions and access to attorneys
BANKRUPTCY LAWYER
LINK: Directory for a (duh) bankruptcy lawyer
BEHAVIORAL FINANCE LINK:
"Behavioral finance is the study of how psychology affects financial
decision making and financial markets."
"The field of modern financial economics assumes that people behave
with extreme rationality, but they do not. Furthermore, people's deviations
from rationality are often systematic. Behavioral finance relaxes the traditional
assumptions of financial economics by incorporating these observable, systematic,
and very human departures from rationality into standard models of financial
markets. We highlight two common mistakes investors make: excessive trading
and the tendency to disproportionately hold on to losing investments while
selling winners. We argue that these systematic biases have their origins
in human psychology. The tendency for human beings to be overconfident causes
the first bias in investors, and the human desire to avoid regret prompts
the second."
BEHAVORIAL
FINANCE LINK : ( Boston FED professional article only pdf) While economists
usually assume that agents are well informed, that their preferences are
well ordered and stable, and that their behavior is controlled, selfish,
and calculating, psychological research indicates that people’s judgments
are biased and their preferences malleable and unstable. Further, people
can be impulsive, shortsighted, trusting, and vengeful; they often have mistaken
intuitions about their behavior; and they frequently effect outcomes they
themselves view as bad.
BEHAVIORAL
FINANCE LINK: Robert J. Shiller and Richard Thaler
BEHAVORIAL
INVESTING LINK: Good article by Robert Shiller (PDF)
BEHAVORIAL RISK FACTOR
SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM LINK:, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention
and Health Promotion- Unbelievable amount of information. BRFSS Maps is an
Internet-based Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) mapping
application that allows users to map BRFSS data interactively for state and
metropolitan/micropolitan statistical areas (MMSAs). Beginning with 2002
BRFSS data, visitors to the BRFSS website can create, save, and print state-
and MMSA-level maps for health-related risk factors.
BEIGE
BOOK LINK: Each Federal Reserve Bank gathers anecdotal information on
current economic conditions in its District through reports from Bank and
Branch directors and interviews with key business contacts, economists, market
experts, and other sources. The Beige Book summarizes this information by
District and sector.
BUDGET: In my mind, a budget is the absolute
critical item to determine how much money you will need to retire on. I do
NOT like the comments about using 70% of your existing spending since a
simplistic figure often means insufficient sums for retirement. Review this
carefully- it's your key to financial independence.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATSTICS
LINK: Has ton of data. Impress your dog.
BUSINESS ECONOMIC
CENSUS LINK: Compiled every five years by the Census Bureau with
detailed information on business activity.
BUSINESS FORMS
LINK: CCH provides a multitude of downloadable forms from IRS tax forms,
spreadsheets, equipment lease, etc.
BUSINESS OWNERSHIP LINK:
Overview of the basic legal forms of business ownership in the United States:
by the SBA
BUSINESS
OWNERSHIP LINK 2: From NOLO press, this chapter of The Legal Guide
for Starting Running a Small Business, covers sole proprietorships, corporations,
LLP's and more.
BUSINESS
OVERHEAD INSURANCE LINK: How much might you need to run your business
if you became disabled?
BUSINESS PLANNING FORMS LINK:
A CCH site that has step-by-step checklists, model business plans, forms,
and other business documents that you can download for free
BUSINESS STARTUP LINK:
A Free Internet Course On How To Start A Business This online, eleven-session
course provides the basic do's and don'ts for entrepreneurs. The course is
intended for both start-up and already operating entrepreneurs. You'll find
business procedures and practical examples, easily presented for users with
different levels of expertise, interests, and time availability. And with
audio sound bytes, quizzes, feedback, and a tool to create your own business
plan, the site is fully interactive.
BUSINESS STATISTICS LINK: Free
instant access to useful financial ratios, business statistics & benchmarks,
effective and understandable online analysis of businesses & industries.
Huge amount of info.
BUSINESS
VALUE CALCULATOR LINK: You need a formal valuation for a buyout but this
should help you get an idea what your current value is (Mass Mutual)
CALCULATOR ON THE WEB : With
the inclusion of this plus my other calculator site, you should be able to
calculate most of the basic requirements. Please note however that many will
not provide the exact answer really needed. For example, I haven't found
one that does insurance needs properly. Even Quicken's retirement planner
makes some major mistakes. But these might put you in the right direction.
CAVEAT EMPTOR.
CALCULATOR LINK:
Maybe the largest assortment of free calculators of every
type.
CALCULATOR
LINK 2: From California Lutheran University. Boy,
those Lutherans know how to add.
CALIFORNIA HOSPITALS LINK:
"Choice Outcomes" allows an individual to review hospital rankings
for over 160 high-risk procedures, based on a number of important criteria.
These include number of patients treated, degree of favorable outcomes, average
number of days spent in the hospital and mortality rate as compared to the
average of area hospitals.
CALIFORNIA STATUTE
LINK: Generally just for my work.
CD RATE LINK: CD's
are (normally) NOT investments- just holding periods till something better
comes along. That said, the Internet has opened up possibilities by providing
access to some very high yields that all consumers can utilize. Also, some
analyses indicate that it is better to use cash than bonds due to bonds
reflecting a high correlation. The maturities are up to 10 years and you
can stagger them like treasuries. Treasuries do have a benefit in that they
are exempt from STATE tax.
CENTRAL BANKS OF
THE WORLD LINK: Comprehensive list of links to central bank homepages
and links to information about the central banks.
CITY TOWN INFORMATION LINK:
Statistics on thousands of towns in the U.S.
CLIENT QUESTIONNAIRE: I developed
this client questionnaire in the same way as the budget- lengthy and to
incorporate most areas of someone's life so that everything is included.
You ought to print it out and try your luck. Once you have this and the budget
done, you are well on your way to formulating a good plan that makes
sense.
COBRA
BENEFIT LINK: The Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act
(COBRA) gives workers and their families who lose their health benefits the
right to choose to continue group health benefits provided by their group
health plan for limited periods of time under certain circumstances such
as voluntary or involuntary job loss, reduction in the hours worked, transition
between jobs, death, divorce, and other life events. Qualified individuals
may be required to pay the entire premium for coverage up to 102 percent
of the cost to the plan.
CODE OF FEDERAL
REGULATIONS LINK: The Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) is the codification
of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the
executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government.
COGNITIVE DISSONANCE/BEHAVORIAL FINANCE: People
act emotionally to investing and commit many acts that make no sense
whatsoever
COGNITIVE
DISSONANCE LINK: - the psychology of investing. A great part of
the emotional reason why so many people screw up with investing.
COGNITIVE
DISSONANCE AND CHOICE LINK: (Professional article) There is considerable
evidence in psychology that people like to view themselves as being smart,
and in particular, as having made correct decisions in the past. Thus they
may change beliefs after taking an action and become more optimistic about
its possible consequences, in order to feel better about having chosen
it.
COMPUTERIZED
FINANCIAL PLANNING SOFTWARE LINK: (Bill Sharpe) "I have been studying
software provided by major mutual fund and software companies and have found
that it reflects remarkably few of the lessons learned after decades of the
development of financial theory and its implementation by and for large
institutional investors."
CONCEPTION LINK:
When were you born, conceived, what are the equivalent dog years,
astrological signs and much, much more. Info is fascinating, irrelevant,
useful and fun.
CONSERVATION PLANNING LINKS:
Land Trust Alliance Resources Leadership
and training
Planned Giving Design Center Includes
a number of letter rulings and legal opinions regarding easements.
American Farmland Trust
Stephen Small Esquire
CONSUMER ACTION HANDBOOK
LINK: The free 174 page Consumer Action Handbook is one of the most
informative and popular consumer resources produced by the federal government.
The Handbook offers tips on topics such as buying and leasing cars, protecting
your privacy, avoiding fraud and shopping from home. It also includes a sample
complaint form that consumers can use as a guide for writing letters, faxes
and e-mails. The Handbook lists thousands of names, addresses, phone numbers
and e-mail addresses for Better Business Bureaus, corporate consumer contacts,
federal agencies, and state and local consumer protection offices.
CONSUMER AND BUSINESS
CONFIDENCE LINK: How consumers and businesses view the current and future
economics directly affects the market. Here is a direct resource for analysis.
(Conference Board)
CONSUMER EXPENDITURE SURVEY LINK:
consists of two surveys collected for the Bureau
of Labor Statistics by the Census Bureau — the quarterly Interview survey
and the Diary survey — that provide information on the buying habits
of American consumers, including data on their expenditures, income, and
consumer unit (families and single consumers) characteristics.
CONSUMER PRICE INDEX LINK:
Information on new data, past history. You need this to recognize the
past and potential impact on investments, social security payments, retirement
planning, etc.
CONSUMER
PRICE INDEX 1913- LINK: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
CORPORATE FILINGS- See FREE EDGAR below
COST OF LIVING LINK: This is not
just the CPI. You can put in a new area you are moving to and it will give
you all sorts of info.
CREDIT LINK:
All about every aspect of consumer credit from the FTC
CREDIT CARD ADVICE LINK:
Advice from the state PIRGs about credit cards.
CREDIT RISK LINK: The
model provides a tool for investors to understand how the equity and credit
markets are pricing credit risk. It can serve as an indicative price for
an illiquid credit, or as a monitoring device to identify significant credit
spread moves. It can be used as a relative value/hedging tool to take advantage
of relationships between the credit and equity markets, and analyze how the
credit and equity markets will respond to major changes in a company's capital
structure.
CREDIT
SCORING LINK: Credit scoring has been widely used outside of credit card
applications. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have also decreed that all mortgages
with federal connections in the United States must use credit scoring
DAILY
LIVING SOLUTIONS LINK: As we grow older, it often becomes difficult
to use many everyday products because of arthritis and other conditions.
If you or a loved one needs a little help ... or a lot ... here are practical
and affordable solutions to help overcome those limitations.
DICTIONARY
OF MANAGEMENT JARGON LINK: "Management jargon is a combination of words,
phrases, and sentence constructs which can be used to obscure a statement.
Jargon is less specific and thus less clear than ordinary English. When
management uses jargon to clarify a point it frequently obscures the truth.
Occasionally, management may use jargon to hide their own lack of knowledge
when answering employee's questions."
DIVORCE LINK : Over 100,000
documents of all types to help you through a difficult
period
DOLLAR COST AVERAGING: This gets a
lot of press, but it doesn't work. Surprise!
ECONOMICS BOOK ONLINE
LINK Formal text- don't go there unless you are going to use your
brain.
ECONOMIC
DATA LINKS New York Fed
Economic Data
and Research Sources
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Census Bureau
Economic
Indicators
NY Data
Center
Social Security Administration
Survey of Current
Business
WebEc
The White House
Economic Data
Releases
Advance
Durable Goods
Business
Inventories
Chicago
Fed National Activity Index
Chicago Purchasing Managers'
Index
Composite Indexes
Construction
Consumer Confidence
Consumer
Credit
Consumer Price
Index
E-Commerce Retail
Sales
Empire State Manufacturing
Survey
Employee
Hours
Employment Cost
Employment
Situation
Existing
Home Sales
Gross Domestic Product
Help Wanted Index
Industrial
Production
Initial Claims
ISM
JEC
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing
Survey
Manufacturing
(M3)
Cleveland Fed Median
CPI
New Residential
Construction
New Residential
Sales
Personal Income
Philadelphia Fed Survey
Producer Price
Index
Productivity and
Costs
Retail Sales
Richmond Fed
Survey
Wholesale
Trade
Economic Dictionaries and Glossaries galore.
ECONOMIC INDICATORS:
Leading indicators supposedly show the direction the economy will
move to- coincident confirms the current condition- and lagging supports
the prior indicators. They are not prefect but are absolutely mandatory analysis
for anything to do with investments.
ECONOMIC
INDICATORS LINK: New York Fed
ECONOMICS
& FINANCIAL GLOSSARY LINK:
ECONOMIC
FORECAST LINK: Retail Sales, Housing starts, Leading Indicators,
GDP and on and on.
ECONOMIC
MAP LINK: A map of the U.S. colored to show which areas should
surpass/lag the overall job and economic growth. Very interesting and
illuminating. Click Wylie's map
ECONOMIC MODELING SITE LINK:
This free site brings the power of large scale macroeconometric analysis
to anyone with access to the internet. It is a resource for business forecasters,
government policy analysts, macroeconomic researchers, teachers, and
students.
ECONOMIC STATISTICS LINKS:
Production
Employment
Income
International
Money
Output
Prices
Transportation
ECONOMIST RESOURCES LINK:
Over 1,000 resources
ELDER CARE CALCULATOR
LINK: (The MetLife Caregiving Costs Study: Productivity
Losses to U.S. Business; National Alliance for Caregiving) the average caregiver
costs an employer $2,110 per year. For those caregivers providing the most
intense levels of care, the cost per employee is $2,441, totaling $17.1 billion.
The total annual cost for all caregivers is $33.6 billion.
EMPLOYEE BENEFITS SURVEY LINK:
Extensive data by the Bureau of Labor Statistics
FAMILY
BUSINESS LINK: The Northeastern University's Center for Family Business
has an extensive list of articles about all the intricacies of a family business-
sibling rivalry, when Dad doesn't want to let go, charitable strategies and
much more. This is a tough planning area and the insight might be very valuable
to both parents, children, financial planners, etc.
FAMILY HEALTH
BUDGET LINK: A progressive budget where you are required to fill out
various costs to determine how much health care is costing you- then with
their recommendations.
FAMILY
LEAVE AND MEDICAL ACT LINK: A comprehensive article by the National
Partnership for Women and Families that covers literally all the questions
one might have- taking care of a baby or seriously ill family member, using
vacation or sick days, employer notification, etc. Very extensive
FAMILY
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP LINK: An extensive CPA Journal article covering the
basics including tax savings.
FAMILY
LIMITED PARTNERSHIP LINK 2: Good explanation from George
Chamberlain
FARM LINK: From American
Farmland Trust
FEDERAL INFORMATION:
BACKGROUND
•Structure
of the Fed
•Central
Bank Information Center
•Facts about U.S. Money
BOARD OF GOVERNORS
•Alan
Greenspan, Chairman
•Alice
M. Rivlin, Vice Chair
•Edward
W. Kelley, Jr.
•Laurence
H. Meyer
•Roger
W. Ferguson, Jr.
•Edward
M. Gramlich
FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS
•Federal
Reserve Bank of Atlanta
•Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
•Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
•Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
•Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas
•Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
•Federal Reserve Bank of
Minneapolis
•Federal Reserve Bank of New York
•Federal Reserve Bank of
Philadelphia
•Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
•Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
•Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
SPEECHES, REPORTS AND
TESTIMONY
•Speeches
of Fed Board Members
•Testimony
of Fed Officials
DATA AND RESEARCH
•FRED: Federal
Reserve Economic Data
•Surveys
and Reports
•Working
Papers
•Federal
Reserve Bulletin Articles
MONETARY POLICY
•Federal
Open Market Committee
•Beige
Book
•Humphrey-Hawkins
Reports
FDIC INSTITUTION DIRECTORY
LINK: Obtain demographic data and financial profiles of each FDIC-insured
depository institution derived from quarterly reports filed with Federal
regulators.
FEDERAL BOARD OF GOVERNORS
LINK: They now have specific statistical downloads available. Very
detailed.
FED FUNDS
RATE LINK: Historical data and other info.
FEDERAL FUNDS
AND DAILY OPEN MARKET OPERATIONS LINK: Fed Funds are updated daily and
the details of the open market operations are added as needed.
FEDERAL RESERVE
EDUCATION LINK: The Federal Reserve System is committed to economic
and personal financial education. Here you can find links to instructional
materials and tools that can increase your understanding of the Federal Reserve,
economics and financial education.
FEDERAL RESERVE
MONEY EDUCATION LINK: Features Internet links to instructional
material and tools to increase understanding of economics and financial
education.
FIDUCIARY: What responsibility, if any,
does a broker, trust officer, planner, etc. owe to you? It's always an issue
in arbitrations, so you should look at the definitions and generalized comments.
Also see ethics.
FINAL: This is the take home final I used
in my last Financial Planning course at UC Berkeley. It's probably too hard
for you to get a passing grade- it may even be too hard for your planner.
But if they can't answer all this and more, then why are you using
them?
FINANCE GLOSSARY LINK:
Very Extensive That said, here is the problem with most.
Look at diversification- says 'just spreading your assets around'. Those
are fully sophomoric words that have no statistical value and provide consumers
little to nothing relevant.
FINANCE INSTRUCTION LINK:
The site teaches the math value of annuities, CAPM, IRR, probability
distribution and much more. Good basic primer
FINANCIAL
ADVISER QUESTIONNAIRE: There are a number of questions you might
ask an adviser in the initial investigation. I put my answers directly thereafter
so you can see how I work.
FINANCIAL ASSETS: This chart shows the changes
in assets- like real estate, insurance, etc.- between 1986 and 1995. Also
who they use to pick them
FINANCIAL CALCULATOR LINK:
All sorts with graphs.
FINANCIAL
CHARTS LINK: NY Fed Current stuff that is excellent
FINANCIAL DESIGNATIONS
LINK: The following designations below are listed with the organization
that sponsors it and the abbreviation of the designation. Unfortunately,
there are over 100 of these puppies- and still counting. Bottom line, if
someone can't get a CFP or ChFC as a minimum, why bother? Actually, if you
just use the minimum, don't expect much.
FINANCIAL DICTIONARY
LINK: Huge listing of just about everything
FINANCIAL FACT
BOOK 2006 LINK - solid info on all areas
FINANCIAL
GLOSSARY LINK: From Bloomberg. 6,000 entries. Comprehensive overview
but not very deep.
FINANCIAL
ILLITERACY LINK: William R. Emmons, Senior Economist and Manager,
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
FINANCIAL PLANNER QUIZ: Here is a "simple" test to
give to your comprehensive financial planner to see how competent and current
they are. If they have the answer to this, you probably got a good planner.
If they have no idea of what I am talking about, then......, well, what do
you think? .
FINANCIAL
PLANNERS LINK: Do you need one and who might you consider? This goes
to a government site and I think they did a pretty good job. However, if
you do recognize that a planner might help you, my material on
WHO CAN YOU TRUST is far better, more inclusive
and definitive, etc.
FINANCIAL TOOLS
LINK: Java Based financial tools by Campbell Harvey of Duke University.
For use in professional analysis covering bond valuation, efficient frontier,
2-assets means variance graph and more. Exceptional.
FINE ART
INDEX LINK: Auction prices for paintings going back to the 1700's.
FLOOD LINK:
FLOOD ZONE LINK: Find out your
risk and get a quote.
FRANCHISE LINK: I don't
get involved with these at all. But I want to include the link as reference
in case I ever need to do some research. Anyway, it lists tons of franchises
that you can review.
FRED LINK: Federal
Reserve Economic Data) , a database of over 3000 U.S. economic time series.
FREE EDGAR LINK: Edgar is a government
site that allows info on corporate filings- for a cost. FREE Edgar is an
independent site that has free real time access to SEC filings, you can get
Email notifications of information on a corporation, there is software for
the discounted cash flow calculation (that's the way you figure out the value
of a stock) and a whole lot more. Excellent way to stay up on events if you
own individual securities.
FUTURE INFLATION GAUGE
LINK:
GAY FINANCIAL LINK: The site is "the first
fully integrated virtual community devoted to the distinct financial information
and investment needs of the gay and lesbian community." But I still have
the same caveat to this site as I do to the- supposedly- special planning
sites for women. The "caring and trust" of your adviser is unquestionably
an element of concern. But the competency is an entirely different matter.
A woman, gay person or anyone else who reflects your sexual, religious,
political, social, racial, etc. affiliation but who has never been properly
trained in risk and reward is just wasting your time AND YOUR MONEY. Read
Who Can You Trust first. Trust is NOT the answer-
competency is.
GLOBAL
ECONOMY LINK: New York Fed with a huge amount of data
GLOSSARY: Real life- and hopefully understandable-
investment and insurance definitions that I did that will give you more insight
to what goes on. (This is being updated for my new book so not all
facts and figures are absolutely current.) If you really want to beat yourself
up with many esoteric definitions that you may never need, look at the
Dictionary of Financial
Risk Management (Link). And another by
Dr. Campbell
Harvey of Duke University that covered some different elements.
Good stuff though.
GUIDE
TO ECONOMIC TERMS LINK: 213 economic terms most often encountered .
HEALTH LINK Just about
everything
HEALTH ENCYCLOPEDIA LINK:
1,500 health topics, 70 focussed health centers, and more than
11,000 drugs and medications info.
HEALTH INFORMATION LINK: W.S. National
Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health.
HEALTH INSURANCE LINK:
The Georgetown University Health Policy Institute has written A CONSUMER
GUIDE FOR GETTING AND KEEPING HEALTH INSURANCE for each state
HMO SURVEY LINK A professional
survey from California Broker. This goes to their front page where you will
find a direct link.
HOSPITAL
RANKING LINK: An excellent source by U.S. News lets you pick a specialty
and state.
HOW TO FIND A FINANCIAL PLANNER: Is it
simply using a CFP? Not even close. How about a fee only planner? Nope- usually
their background is limited. How about calling up the planning organizations?
Contacting clients of a planner? Sorry- you need to do a lot more homework
to find competency and ethics. This is a lengthy article exposing the myths
of knowledge and responsibility.
HP 12C LINK:
You can buy software for the MAC or PC that will emulate HP calculators
right on your computer.
HSA LINK: The
Treasury Department has issued comprehensive
IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCE CENTER LINK,
PO Box 26833, San Diego, CA 92196 Health Savings Account guidance in
a question and answer format.
INDIVIDUAL VOLUNTARY AGREEMENT LINK:
These are used, apparently, only in England for consumers who want to renegotiate
with creditors. Interesting nonetheless
INFLATION CALCULATOR LINK:
Put in any amount of money from any date starting at 1800 and ending
on any date up to 2000 and it will automatically compute the final number.
"Inflation is when you pay fifteen dollars for the ten-dollar haircut
you used to get for five dollars when you had hair."
Sam Ewing
INFLATION CALCULATOR LINK2 : Go
to "Get Detailed CPI Statistics" and click Inflation Calculator. Put
in beginning year and ending year and, bingo, you will get the impact of
inflation.
INITIAL MEETING: Normally I don't do the
standard client first meeting since anyone wanting to use me pretty much
already knows who I am by my writings. Further, they also know what kind
of clients I work with- intelligent (which in my mind is simply reading and
a willingness to ask questions and be part of the planning process). They
do NOT have to have a lot of money. Just a recognition that they need help.
Anyway, everyone receives a full brochure as a Registered Investment Advisor
BEFORE such meeting, there are usually several telephone conversations, and
THEN we sit down and start work immediately. This is just a basic outline
of what may happen. The first meeting is therefore several hours.
INSTITUTE OF PSYCHOLOGY AND
MARKETS LINK: Founded to study the impact of psychology on investor decision
making. During this century, our understanding of markets is moving beyond
the perception that financial market participants are perfectly rational.
The Institute is founded on the belief that new research will explore important
dynamic processes previously ignored by traditional finance.
INTEREST RATE
GRAPHICAL LINK: From FED Board of St. Louis
INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA LINK: Access definitions from this source plus
the Dictionary of Management and Technology.
INTEREST RATE MOVEMENT: See Stochastic analysis below.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND LINK:
The IMF is "a cooperative institution that 182 countries have voluntarily
joined because they see the advantage of consulting with one another in this
forum to maintain a stable system of buying and selling their currencies
so that payments in foreign money can take place between countries smoothly
and without delay. It is neither a development bank, nor a world central
bank, nor an agency that can or wishes to coerce its members to do very much
of anything. The IMF lends money to members having trouble meeting
financial obligations to other members, but only on condition that they undertake
economic reforms to eliminate these difficulties for their own good and that
of the entire membership." A required review for an understanding of
international economics.
INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY
LINK: The U.S. Social Security Administration has launched a new
publication “International Update: Recent Developments in Foreign Public
and Private Pensions.” The monthly publication provides the latest news
on pension reform in the public and private sectors in nations around the
world.
INTERNATIONAL TAXATION LINK:
International tax resource for professionals and investors. Gives
descriptions of various countries.
INTERNET
BANK CHECK LINK: An independent site that rates various aspects
of Internet Banks
INVESTOR ADVISOR LINK: You can
search for an investment adviser firm on this website and view that firm’s
Form ADV. Investment advisers file Form ADV to register with the SEC and/or
the states. Form ADV contains information about an investment adviser and
its business operations. Form ADV also contains disclosure about certain
disciplinary events involving the adviser and its key personnel
INVESTOR
PSYCHOLOGY LINK: We would all like to think we always behave
rationally while at the same time assuming that others often do not. But
as investment manager Arnold Wood of Martingale says, 'if you sit down at
a poker table and can't spot the sucker who will be taken that night, get
up - it's you'
KEOGH
CALCULATOR LINK: You have to put in the new 2002 limits and you
can get an accurate calculation
LEADING
INDICATORS LINK: This site by the Economic Cycle Research Institute grades
the major market moves and the affect upon economic indicators. A very valuable
tool when trying to "guesstimate" where the economy will be in the next few
months or years. Adobe download
LEADING
INDICATORS CHART LINK: (PDF) From NY FED
LEGAL DOCUMENTS LINK 1: It includes
most of the above plus leases, real estate and partnership agreements for
minimal fees. I'd look at both of the sites and compare against each other.
While a "for fee" site is generally more up to date (if they want to stay
in business) just remember what I said above. If you do this stuff yourself,
you better know what you are doing or you are apt to screw up a lot of unintended
issues.
LEGAL DOCUMENTS LINK 2: Yet another
interesting site that allows you to do all types of documents including limited
liability, living trusts, wills- even restraining orders- for a reduced fee.
Worth reviewing.
LIFE EXPECTANCY: If you are 45,
how long do you have to live? How about age 65 or 75 or even 85. You must
know these numbers in order to do estate, insurance or retirement planning.
LIMITED LIABILITY CORPORATION LINK :
Explains what a Limited Liability Company (LLC) is, how it works, and more.
LOGIC AND EMOTION LINK:
Lots and lots of good stuff on how people think given certain
situations. Perfect analysis for investing.
MAJOR
INDEX RETURNS LINK: All major indexes from the Journal of Indexes.
MATH LINK: The most extenisve
mathematics resource
MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNT
LINK: An extensive review with questions and answers about the viability
of MSA accounts. Essentially, you buy a LOW premium HIGH deductible health
policy PRE tax. If you don't use the premiums that year, they can grow for
retirement.
MIDTERM: Take home midterm for the UC Financial
Planning class. See how you would do.
MONEY LINK: A money
primer offered by the Financial Literacy and Education Commission
MONEY FUND LINK: Money
funds are not investments but there certainly are times when cash is king.
Further, excess monies should at least earn interest. This site provides
listings of the best paying funds in the nation.
MONEY PERSONALITY
LINK: This is a simple test that tells you if you are a balanced
spender/investor, Binge Spender, Micromanager.
MONEY SUPPLY LINK:
Every Thursday the Federal Reserve releases a report on the money supply.
There are 3 money supplies: M1, M2, and M3. M1 consists of currency outside
the U.S. Treasury
MONTE CARLO
SIMULATION LINK:
NASD LINK: This page lets you review
potential changes in the laws, get material about your brokerage firm and
agent, etc.
NASD INVESTOR LITERACY
RESEARCH It is just terrible
NATIONAL CENTER
FOR HEALTH STATISTICS LINK: This is part of the CDC (Center for Disease
Control) but I have separated it out due to the vast amount of numbers that
one can use for lifetime expectancies, what people die from and a host of
other valuable statistics for retirement, estate planning and more.
NATIONAL
ECONOMIC INDICATORS CHARTS LINK: Federal Reserve Bank of New York
NET WORTH: A basic form of assets minus liabilities.
All planners use these in some facet. Just remember, it's the budget that
is the more controlling factor for your lifetime.
OFFSHORE TRUST LINK: A
concise article on the value and use of Offshore trusts to protect assets.
Recognize that income tax is still applicable and you cannot effectively
shelter assets after you have been sued.
OVERCONFIDENCE
LINK: A professional report. Formulas, etc. but enough real life
application so you get the drift.
PARENT CAREGIVING LINK: The
Department of Labor also cites caregiving as a leading cause for extended
leaves of absence, reduced work schedules and even resignations. While large
businesses can absorb the losses, small firms will be hard pressed to do
so. Parent Care, a web resource for caregivers, is previewing a helpful tool
for HR managers. They can log onto the site, click on “employers”
and test drive a unique employee benefit.
PARTNERSHIP
LINK: Includes extensive commentary about all types of partnerships
specifically relating to family limited partnerships by Noel Ice
PAYCHECK LINK: A unique site
that lets you enter your gross pay, marital status, State of residence, etc.
and it helps you determine your net take home pay. There are other calculators
as well - The Bonus Calculator calculates withholding on special wage payments,
stock options- that make it worthwhile.
PENSION PROTECTION ACT OF
2006
POOLED INCOME FUNDS
FPOPULATION
(FUTURE) LINKGives you an idea what to look for.
POPULATION QUICK FACTS
LINK: a wide variety of information about population characteristics
at the state or county level.
PPO SURVEY LINK A professional
survey from California Broker. This goes to their front page where you will
find a direct link.
PRENUPTIAL AGREEMENTS: Yes, many couples don't
like these, but they are excellent planning tools for second marriages and
where one has far more assets than the other.
PRIME INTEREST RATES LINK:
Monthly prime interest rates with back dates
PROSPECT THEORY
LINK: "Prospect theory was developed by Kahneman and Tversky (1979).
In its original form, it is concerned with behavior of decision makers who
face a choice between two alternatives. The definition in the original text
is: “Decision making under risk can be viewed as a choice between prospects
or gambles." Decisions subject to risk are deemed to signify a choice between
alternative actions, which are associated with particular probabilities
(prospects) or gambles.
Psychological studies show that individuals evaluate their satisfaction level
not in terms of an absolute evaluation of reached result, but in relative
terms with respect to desired or expected results. The utility experienced
by an agent from her consumption activity depends on the reference point
she takes into account, for example the level of past consumption or the
future one, estimated on the basis of her expectations. Besides loss aversion,
psychological evidence documents the phenomenon of ”diminishing
sensitivity”, according to which the marginal utility derived from a
gain (net of the reference point) diminishes as the gain increases. This
implies that the utility function of monetary wealth results to be concave
over the region of gains and convex over the region of losses. Therefore,
an agent exhibits an attitude of risk aversion towards gains and a preference
for risk loving with respect to losses.
PSYCHOLOGY OF INVESTING LINK:
People (mostly men) think they have all the answers for investing.
This article, by Gary Karz, provides numerous examples of investor "capabilities"
and clearly identifies many of the actual flaws in the standard investment
process.Couple that with the study by the 1992
National Adult Literacy Survey
and you can easily see what can go wgron.
PUBLIC
DEBT
QIO LOCATOR
LINK: Improving Quality of Medical Care: Quality Improvement
Organizations (QIOs) have extended their services from hospitals and into
doctors offices into additional health care settings under a new three-year
contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the Department
of Health and Human Services.
QUALIFIED
PERSONAL RESIDENCE TRUST LINK: The IRS indicates that a QPRT "involves
the transfer of a personal residence to a trust with the grantor retaining
a qualified term interest. If the grantor dies before the end of the qualified
term interest, the value of the residence is included in the grantor's estate.
If the grantor survives to the end of the qualified term interest, the residence
passes to beneficiaries of the trust. A QPRT is a grantor trust, with special
valuation rules for estate and gift tax purposes, governed under IRC 2702."
QUALITY DIVIDEND
CALCULATOR LINK: : The NCQA its Quality Dividend Calculator (QDC) (patent
pending), a free, interactive, online tool that demonstrates how choosing
a higher-quality health plan can help an employer reduce the sick days and
sick wages associated with various illnesses. The tool also shows employers
how many of their employees are likely to have one or more of eight key health
conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease.
QUALITY OF LIFE LINK:
Various indices for almost every country in the world. Excellent
RETIREMENT NUMBERS: Literally
every magazine puts out numbers to show how long $100,000 (or whatever) would
last during retirement if it was growing at "x" interest rates. Unfortunately,
they do not reflect the real world and can lead retirees to financial disaster.
Look at this analysis and you might understand why you MUST know how to use
an HP12C
RISK CALCULATOR LINK: A most
unique calculator in that it also addresses standard deviation, efficient
frontier, sharpe ratio, a review of how the new capital gains effects investment
returns, cash flow diagram, balance sheets, bond review, summing a geometric
series and much more. Good for both the average practitioner as well as the
professional. I like it!
RISK PROFILE: The absolutely finest risk profile
sheet GUARANTEED to accurately and definitively determine your risk profile
and tell you exactly which investments to use and how to live the rest of
your life.
RISK QUESTIONNAIRE COMMENTARY:
This form was developed by the analyst firm of Ibbotson, but my comments
are essentially the same whether I looked at those developed by Fidelity,
Vanguard or Your Mama.
SAVINGS BONDS LINK: This government
site has info on buying savings bonds with credit cards, auction dates on
Treasuries, articles on frauds and scams and even a calculator for figuring
out the value on savings bonds, etc. Again, the government does a heck of
a job on WEB site information.
SAVINGS RATE LINK: This
site updates weekly various rates on savings, mortgages, credit cards, auto
and jumbo CD's for over 11,000 institutions. Links to numerous other sites.
Even if you did get a "quote:, I'd still suggest you look at other sites
and do your homework before committing.
SCHOOL MATCH LINK: School Match
has organized comparative information to help families a home buyers select
those school districts which most closely match their interests.
SECOND MARRIAGE LINK:
A concise article addressing concerns about what a couple might due to
protect interests in second marriage including Qtip trust, prenuptuals and
even foreign trusts.
SELF
CANCELING INSTALLMENT NOTE LINK
SERIOUS
MONEY BOOK LINK: by Rick Ferri CFA. It's an online edition. Good
stuff
SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
ON LINE COURSES LINK The Business Plan, El plan commercial, How to Start
a Small Business, Self Assessment , Business Mentoring and many more.
SMALL EMPLOYER RETIREMENT 2001 SURVEY
LINK: Small Employers Without Plans, Small Employers With Plans , SERS
Underwriters, 2001 Retirement Confidence Survey and Minority RCS.
STATE AND COUNTY FACTS
LINK:
STATE DATA CENTERS LINK-
Info by Census Bureau with links to individual state
STATE
SMALL BUSINESS NEWS LINK:" CCH provides up-to-date information on the
latest changes in state tax and regulatory law.
STATE
STATUTES AND LAW LINKS: links to the most recent editions of each
state's administrative code collection.
STATISTICS LINK:
The University of Michigan's site provides link to just about any
type of statistics you might desire- including, of course, finance, banking
, health, death, energy and everything else as well.
STATISTICS ONLINE BOOK
LINK: Nice job. Very Extensive
STOCHASTIC LONG BOND LINK: See below
STOCHASTIC ANALYSIS: An
"understanding" of the stomaster by author Jim Grauer. This is difficult
reading of highly technical material regarding the movement of interest
rates. You need to read this before attempting to view his site above
(though the commentary here is offered in more extensive pdf format at this
site). Very interesting and thought provoking
STOCK QUOTES
LINK: Rather than give just send you to one page to get stock quotes
and other information, here is a site that lists most of the services
that do- for free and for a fee.
STOCK OPTIONS AND CAPITAL GAINS: Short commentary
on when to hold and potentially sell Incentive and Non Qualified options
STOCK OPTION LINK
: An extensive site offering info on literally all option questions: value,
should you exercise, estate issues, etc. Highly Recommended
STRUCTURED SETTLEMENT LINK: The National
Structured Settlements Trade Association advances the use of structured
settlements as a means of using periodic payments to resolve personal injury
claims, workers compensation,and other types of claims.
STRUCTURED
SETTLEMENT LINK 2: How they work, what they do........
STUDY GUIDES LINK: All sorts of info
about how to study for an exam, take notes, etc.
SYLLABUS: A short form of the issues I taught
in the UC class.
TREASURY
DIRECT LINK: Info on treasury instruments.
TRUST
LINK: Who is trustworthy?
TSA MANUAL LINK:
This IRS publications explains the rules and regulations for
distribution and rollovers of Tax Sheltered Annuities. These are far
more involved than standard annuities.
TSA MAXIMUM EXCLUSION ALLOWANCE
LINK: Teachers and other non profit organizations under Section 403(b)
and 501(c)3 are allowed to use pretax money and invest in tax sheltered annuities
(fixed or variable). There is a special formula to determine how much they
can put away. Unfortunately all the annuity companies seemed to come up with
different numbers. Anyway, this is an online computerized form that "might"
be correct.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFIT CALCULATOR LINK:
Click on the "UI Calculator" on the front page
U.S. DOLLAR CHART LINK:
The movement of the dollar over the last few years. Remember, what goes
up must come down. The issue, however, is always WHEN?????
U.S. ECONOMY
AND FINANCIAL MARKETS LINK: New York Fed with a huge amount of
data
U.S. and GLOBAL ECONOMIES
CHARTS LINK
U.S.
MONETARY POLICY LINK: A great introductory article by the FED Board of
San Francisco. How the FED is structured, who makes policy, how does it affect
the economy and much more. Mandatory reading for investors. If you do not
understand the basics of economics and how it effects what you are doing,
you are not an investor.
U.S. STATISTICAL
DATA LINK: Interest rates, FED Funds rate, consumer confidence
and more from the Minneapolis FED
VALUE
OF MONEY LINK: Go back in time to as far as 1400 and figure out how much
something would be worth today. Puts money into perspective.
VITAL STATISTICS
LINK: The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) provides
a listing of state and U.S. territory vital statistics offices to contact
for copies of birth, death, marriage, and divorce certificates.
WOMEN and SOCIAL SECURITY LINK: Tons
of good info
WORKMAN'S COMPENSATION LINK:
Extensive material and links on a complicate area.
YIELD
CURVE LINK 1: Very good historical data
YIELD CURVE LINK 2: Good
definition and examples |
