Author Archives: David John Marotta

What is a better starting place than advertisements and phone directories?

Now there is absolutely no charge for a costly set of test and procedures on the all-you-can-spend preventive care buffet.

There is a tax benefit to leaving some assets to your favorite charity rather than leaving it to your heirs.

Leaving a legacy can be a great benefit for the charity receiving the gift.

After the birth of my (David’s) first child, my wife and I noticed we were being billed for a very expensive bedpan and box of tissues that we had never used.

Anytime a third-party-payer system exists market forces will not hold down costs as much as they would otherwise.

How much do the political parties agree that the government should be nudging people in as many ways as possible? What is the social cost of such nudging? Does it do more harm than good?

Not aiming for where the money is should boost returns.

Many investors don’t appreciate asset allocation or understand intuitively how a diversified portfolio can exceed the sum of its parts.

Why shouldn’t we just institute price controls in America?

It is difficult to reason with people who lie and mislead in their statistics because they believe that they have the moral high ground.

Listen to David Marotta discuss the dangers of government regulation, especially when invited by an industry to suppress competition in the name of “safety.”

We believe that NAPFA advisors are a well sought minority of financial advisors.

Do you want to trust your advisor is acting in your best interests or do you want them to have the legal obligation and be free of commission-based conflicts of interest?

These quotes are provocative for what they say about us as Americans.

There is no reason why charities should not be thankful.

You can get copies of Form ADV by accessing the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website.

Recently we did an analysis of the returns of the MSCI Country Specific Indexes

“When institutions protect the liberty of individuals, greater prosperity results for all.” – Adam Smith

Over the past decade the economically free countries have an annualized return of 11.34%. The S&P 500’s annualized return was 7.78%.

How your advisor is compensated matters. Make sure you can follow the money and know how they are getting paid.

If your advisor is on one of these lists you should be aware of how they are paid.

If you are not paying for the product, you are the product.

In truth, the best way to mollify negative feelings might be to give up your Facebook account entirely.

Here is a list of seven things which are important to ensure during these years

Perhaps they should make this into a mini-series.

Here are our answers and comments to the SEC’s eight suggested questions.

Government has never been known for customer service. But today it is known primarily for being against the very people it is supposed to serve.

You learn a lot by the discipline of reading old news.

Michael Kirsch, a practicing physician and newspaper columnist, laments that there are questions he can never answer satisfactorily for his patients. His questions are central to the public policy debate increasingly being decided by voters and politicians rather than physicians and economists.

I am the trustee for my mother’s living trust and I am trying to help her open an investment account at Vanguard. How do I go about opening a Trust account at Vanguard? Most regular brokerage accounts can be opened … Read More

No. I thought we’d decided not to give them a first look.

Beware of government regulation, especially when a portion of the industry thinks it’ll be good for business.

These are the wolves of Wall Street pretending to be the helpful sheep of investment advisors.

This is why we call ourselves comprehensive wealth managers.

Schwab Charitable Donor Advised Funds make the gifting process easier.

We are all embarrassingly honest with search engines.

Even half of what they collect in Social Security could provide a better private benefit.

The short answer is, “No.”

Those who stand by and do nothing are complicit in aiding the loss of freedoms for others.

Don’t let the noise of random returns ruin a brilliant investment strategy.

“Estimates range from $5,000 to $20,000; sharp opposition to Finra getting involved.”

The capital gains tax traps wealth in an investment vehicle requiring special techniques to free the capital without penalty.

Roth accounts have several advantages over traditional retirement accounts.

Now you may pay one of at least four different capital gains rates. The strategies to deal with capital gains differ for each level.

Low risk firms should be visited less frequently by the SEC.

Having sufficient assets in a taxable account can allow for tax planning.

Two different people can end up with very different amounts of tax owed, simply because of their marital status. You cannot argue this increased tax is their “fair share” simply because they are married.

Learn how a family of four can qualify for a full subsidy with an income of $140,000 a year.

ObamaCare Is the Worst Legislation in 75 Years.