Author Archives: David John Marotta

Here’s how a good advisor should respond when you call about losses in your account.

“Lawsuit lenders do not advertise prices; they advertise convenience.”

A computer algorithm cannot help you with these things.

See our review of the two pros and nine cons of how Schwab monitors and rebalances portfolios.

It is better to do tax planning all throughout the year, but here are 12 things to do (or plan to do in the coming year) before April 15.

It is a great marketing campaign, and the service is a wonderful idea, but the asset allocations of SIPs aren’t actually that intelligent.

“What do you think of the idea of Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) implemented simply by investing in something like the Domini Social Equity Fund (DSEFX)?”

You cannot help a company by buying its stock.

“Advisers need to sell their value as keeping their clients from doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.”

From the blind eye of the law, this seems like a violation of SEC regulation.

We expect the Garrett Planning Network to quickly take down these SEC violations from their website in response.

It isn’t too late to print a retraction.

The principles of a fiduciary cannot be condensed into a set of rules.

“We still have plenty of problems, but we’re much better than France, Britain and Germany.”

Most investors are not aware of an important separation in the professionals of the financial services industry.

“They find whatever is different and peck it to death.”

My wife and I are 65 years old and I am newly retired. Is there any advantage in doing a Roth conversion this year?

“The most important thing I learned from my research was never to attempt to forecast the price of oil.”

The domestic spying of the executive branch deserves our outrage. Efforts like “Citizenfour” that keep the issue in the public eye deserve our support.

At first glance, AUNZ did not have great returns in 2014. But is that the whole story?

Q&A: “I don’t understand how to explain what happened to the share price. What was going on in the fund?”

The new holiday cliché is to complain about hyper-materialism, but gifts and gift giving help shape our identities.

Obama evidently believes that politicians are elected to make a difference in the lives of Americans. The problem is that no one can opt out of a federal impact.

An immediate fixed annuity is not an investment; it is an insurance product.

The loudest tend to drown out competitors regardless of whose reasoning is better.

A short documentary film showing how the media thrives on misleading headlines.

David John Marotta and radio host Rob Schilling discuss what did well in the market as well as the online security of investments.

It is often said that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. The IRS takes that truism to heart.

It is a simple thought experiment. Would you rather invest in South Korea or in North Korea?

How is the change in the value of the dollar computed?

“We’d be fools to underestimate their tenacity and creativity when it comes to protecting their executive bonus pools.”

Freedom investing beat the EAFE Foreign index by 7.92% in 2014.

When asset classes are not correlated that means they often move in different directions.

Regardless of income level, overspending causes poverty.

Is there a correlation which would justify talking about “the momentum of the markets”?

“Take a version of this fiduciary oath to the brokers down the street and ask them to sign it. If they refuse, ask why.”

Here is one of the most brilliant breakthroughs in all of food science and how it relates to almost every aspect of life.

The best antidote to the stress of market volatility is to understand that the markets are inherently volatile.

I love that Bob Veres thinks that labeling someone as a broker or advisor would help bring clarity. It shows his optimism.

David Leinweber calls this technique, “torturing the data until it screams.”

A gone-fishing portfolio keeps investing simple.

A review of last year’s 2014 gone fishing portfolio returns.

A gone-fishing portfolio has a limited number of investments with a balanced asset allocation that should do well with dampened volatility.

Their attorney, New York-based Barry Lax, says the two ballplayers are the latest professional athletes abused by predatory financial advisors.

A mob boss exercises absolute control over his many followers and profits from the often criminal activities of his organization.

David John Marotta and Rob Schilling discussed the ways current policy makes college more unaffordable, and what students and parents can do about it.

Congress cannot protect you from the financial sharks who contribute to their campaigns, but they may protect the sharks.

Kenneth G. Elzinga. Ken is both a nationally renowned economist as well as a locally celebrated professor here in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia.

It is illegal to sell contacts in the United States without requiring a prescription. A Federal Trade Commission regulation provides penalties of up to $11,000 per violation.

The United States is the only country that imposes a tax on all income the company makes whether it is earned within or outside the country.