Details Are Part of Our Difference
Embracing the Evidence at Anheuser-Busch – Mid 1980s
529 Best Practices
David Booth on How to Choose an Advisor
The One Minute Audio Clip You Need to Hear
Category: Education
Fiduciary or Broker? The Glaring (and costly) Difference.
Sometimes you can’t shake a story because it keeps getting replayed in different forms. You might remember a piece in the NYT written a couple of years ago about a woman who stumbled upon gross misuse of her parent’s retirement money. Her parents’ brokers were mishandling the money for years, to their benefit – one stock had even been sold eight times in the same day, racking up enormous trading fees. It sounds shocking, but unfortunately, it’s an old story that bears repeating. Why? Sometimes we need reminding – employing a fiduciary advisor matters. “Fiduciary” means your advisor is legally bound to work in your best interest. Ask if your broker, or your parent’s broker, is held to this standard. Do you have a fiduciary advisor like Hill Investment Group?
Who Outperforms?
Still stuck trying to outguess the market? Deciding what to buy, when to get in, and when to get out can get expensive quickly. It’s also a losing game for the regular investor. But, what about the pros? Are they consistently outperforming?
Every year, Dimensional compares the long-term performance of US-based mutual funds. This 2-min video breaks down the results. It turns out fewer professional fund managers outperform their benchmark than would be expected through luck alone. The takeaway: Being a better market guru than the gal next to you is not a way to reliably, repeatably win.
It’s 9am – Do You Know Where Your Money Is?
One of our team members recently received a check from a past employer. Why? A class-action suit. His former employer was found misbehaving – managing their employees’ retirement plans for their gain rather than for their employees’. As a result, the firm paid up, returning a small portion of inappropriate fees and lost returns. What a joke! This kind of dirty dealing is way too common, and at HIG, we invite you to rage against this machine. Vote with your wallet, choosing ONLY independent, fiduciary advice. Check out this list of the 10 Most-Fined Financial Services Firms. What you see may surprise you!
