Resources
From the February 2020 issue
When I graduated from high school—and John F. Kennedy was a president, not an airport—60% of the world's population lived in extreme poverty. In the decade just ended, that number fell below 10% for the first time, and is continuing to decline. Yet in poll after poll, Americans say that the share of the world's population living in extreme poverty is rising. This declinist worldview colors the way people approach their investments, to their ultimate sorrow.
In our own interest as well as the client's, we must continually remind him that optimism is the only realism, and the only outlook that squares with the facts. Two brilliant documentations of this truth appeared in January. One is Matt Ridley's “We've just had the best decade in human history. Seriously.” The other is Nicholas Kristof's annual “This Has Been the Best Year Ever (Again),” a squib from which appears nearby. See which you prefer, or just send both, but make sure every client and prospect you have hears this from you.
In several editions since it was first published 10 years ago, I've often recommended Deborah Jacobs's Estate Planning Smarts. One of its great strengths is Ms. Jacobs's commitment to providing free updates when changing law and regulation dictate. You can download the very latest update, reflecting in particular the SECURE Act, from the book's website.
From the January 2020 issue
Without question the most important item of financial journalism last month was Michael Wursthorn's December 8 WSJ piece, “Investors Bail on Stock Market Rally, Fleeing Funds at Record Pace.” It documents that, through the date of the article, $135.5 billion had been pulled from U.S. stock-focused funds and ETFs. These are the biggest withdrawals on record, according to Refinitiv Lipper, which tracked the data back to 1992. Mr. Wursthorn delivers himself of perhaps the understatement of the year: “This is potentially a good sign for the long-running bull market.”
Just when you thought the career outlook for holistic financial planners couldn't possibly get any better—in a country that's minting 1,700 new financial millionaires every day—comes a new study from United Income, suggesting that the Baby Boomers (born 1946–1964) are becoming the greatest legatees in history, to the tune of something like $9 trillion. Financial Advisor's online edition picked up this piece from Bloomberg News on November 19.