Loan Officer Stereotypes

HT: Rob Chrisman via Seth Trimble

Click the link below to see a funny video about loan officers.

Loan Officer Stereotypes

 

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The Next Downturn by Paul Winkler

Are you afraid of investing and fearful of markets?  Here are some reasurring facts on investing for the long term.  Please click on this link which is a 2 minute video explaination. 

http://www.paulwinkler.net/w/videos/id/the-next-downturn

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Dinesh D`Souza on Free Market Capitalism

This was a presentation at a recent Mark Matson Investor Conference.  It basically summarizes the differences between capitalism and socialism.  He describes the power of capitalism and why it is an important piece toward reclaiming your American Dream!

Watch Dinesh on YouTube

D`Souza is a conservative author, writer and speaker.  Most recently, he authored a book entitled:  The Roots of Obama`s Rage. 

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Detroit Bankruptcy and Free Market Funds

We have been fielding questions from clients who are invested in Free Market Funds and concerned about their possible exposure to the recent Bankruptcy filing by the City of Detroit. 

First:   The Fixed Income Free Market Fund does not invest in Municipal Bonds.  These bonds have longer maturities and historically are not a good tool for diversification.  Consequently you have no exposure there.  Good news.   

Second:  US and International Free Market Funds are diversified into nearly 13,000 holdings in 42 countries.  Any corporation that is negatively impacted by the bankruptcy filing in Detroit will not significantly impact your investments as a whole.  True Diversification reduces your risk. Again, good news.   

Third:  There is a lesson to be learned here!  If you are participating in a pension or defined benefit plan that is promising payouts beyond what the free market can deliver, they will eventually have to reduce benefits!  No entity, private or public, large or small, can promise more than what the funded contributions and the free market returns can support over the long term.  There are fewer and fewer pensions offered to employees today.  Pension savings have been abused and underfunded with such regularity over the past 30 years, and it is difficult to count on them. If you have one, treat it as extra income for retirement.  Make plans to save for yourself as a primary source of income replacement. 

This is a sad story for a great city like Detroit.  Their debt problems were not a secret, but it did not need to play out like this.  There is a lot of uncertainty and there will be good people who will be negatively impacted by this bankruptcy filing.  However, I believe that Detroit will find their way through this and the City will once again be a strong and vibrant contributor to the long term success of Michigan. 

 

Let me know if you have specific concerns regarding this bankruptcy filing by the city of Detroit. Stay in touch!  

              

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July 31 event at the Calvin College Prince Conference Center

The word risk is frequently used in the investing world but not well understood. Most investors FEEL the risk in their portfolio but don’t understand how risk applies to them.  

Risk is not all bad though. There are at least 8 forms of risk that need to be managed as part of an investment/retirement planning strategy. These can be understood and then harnessed by the informed and well-coached investor. It need not be complicated and knowing simple truth about how markets work can give amazing peace of mind relative to risk.

Consider the following:

-During the early 2000 Tech bubble, the average investor lost money in the markets that they never recovered. Losses were primarily due to investor behavior, not market behavior!

-Over the past decade an average of 85% of mutual fund managers did not beat their market benchmarks.  

-Many investors have not returned to the stock markets due to the losses that they experienced in 2008 and 2009.  

However, the reality is:

-The markets are at or above their record highs from 2007.

-From 1999 until today, a well diversified growth mutual fund has returned to the informed, disciplined and prudent investor a total return that would have more than doubled money invested for that time period.   

A lack of good coaching and understanding of RISK is the reason that the average investor’s experience is so disappointing relative to the returns of the market. Every decade during the past century has seen similar story play out. Greed and fear drive activity, not the sound principles based on how free markets work for investors.

Learn how to stop this from happening to you.

Join us for one of the best risk/return deals available.  

Your risk:an evening out at Calvin Prince Conference Center with an excellent dinner.

Your return: valuable understanding for how to grow your invested savings! 

 

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