What is Under the Hood?
Sara Faitelson • June 1, 2020
Have you ever asked yourself: what is under the hood?
Hello blog readers. I hope everyone had a great weekend. I do not know about you, but I love my car mechanic. He has the same name as my brother which is easy to remember, and he is always honest. As a woman I really appreciate a mechanic that says “you do not need that,” “it’s a waste of money,” or “come back in 1000 miles and then you will need to get to get that done.” It is hard to find good, honest people nowadays. At least I have an honest mechanic.
What does this have to do with finance? Well, I love to tell people let’s talk about the “f” word. After I say that people always have this very confused look on their faces. What do I mean by the “f” word? I mean fees. I met with a gentleman last year that sent me his over 200-page investment quarterly report. Talk about a nightmare! It took me days to figure out how much he was paying in fees. Not everyone has the patience to take apart an over 200-page report. It still made me wonder: how many people out there actually know how much they are paying for their investment accounts?
I love when people say they pay nothing. Let me tell you something: there is no Mother Theresa fund. We all pay. The question is: how much? In this particular market, how even more important it is to look under the hood. Some analysis I have done has helped people save 1% per year in internal costs. It does not sound like a lot, but if your account is over a certain threshold, it may be time to do a financial check-up.
What do you have to loose?
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Hello blog readers. I hope everyone is safe and healthy. It has been quite a year. Who would have thought we would still be in a pandemic a year and a half later, but here we are. Lately, we have been laughing about what people are calling Covid 15 – gaining 15lbs during this pandemic. I do not know about you, but I am a big fan of pizza, which is why it is easy to become a victim of Covid 15. Most of us cut the pizza pie into 8 -10 slices. Would you ever buy a whole pizza, cut off one slice, and then throw away the rest of the pizza? I doubt it, but that is what many people do when assessing their financial goals. Last week, my business partner and I were sitting with a couple who is in this situation. They have one piece of their financial business with one person and then other pieces with other people. When I asked how their pension works with their retirement plan, they looked at me like I was speaking a different language. No one has ever looked at this piece of the pie and tried to fit it in the rest of the retirement plan. I asked about reviewing the pension booklet and creating a game plan where they can start planning for their retirement date. They said “oh, that’s how you figure out when to retire.” This is a situation that happens more than I can count. Clients have different people doing different things for them, but no one has an end game. Retirement because reactionary rather than proactively assessed. What is the point of this story? The lesson is: “don’t eat one piece of the pizza and throw the rest of the pie in the trash.” If you want to have success, all pieces of the pie must be analyzed, and they must work together to compliment each other. Registered Representative of, and Securities and Investment Advisory services are offered through Hornor, Townsend & Kent, LLC, (HTK), Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC. (215) 957-7300. Stiletto Financial and other listed entities are unaffiliated with HTK does not provide legal and tax advice. 7585271RG_Jan28
Hello blog readers. I know it has been a few weeks since I have been able to post. It is tax season and it gets crazy here. This time of the year I am usually on the phone or clients reach out every day non-stop. One week we had a waiting list because we received so many calls in a week. Things are finally calming down and I wanted to write about two types of clients I have. Let me start by saying it is not great to go extremes. I want clients to open their statements and ask questions when we do our quarterly reviews. However, I do not want to receive a call if a client looses 17 cents. Having balance will help you be realistic, and you will not make knee jerk reactions. Balance is the key. It is good for people to want to know how their account is doing, what kind of trends advisors, and the tax consequences associated with their decisions. However, a financial advisor is not focused on day trading. We look at money from a long-term perspective and take the emotion out of investing. What do I mean by that? Have you ever gone food shopping on an empty stomach? It is the biggest mistake I have ever made in my life. I ended up buying way too much food that I could never eat by myself. I was hungry and everything looked appetizing and I started to fill up that shopping cart. We can make the same mistake when it comes to investing in the market: buying investments because everyone tells you to and you are always looking for a good tip. What is the moral of the story? Keep track of your accounts, maintain a balanced view, and don’t go food shopping on an empty stomach when it comes to investing. 3473555RH_MAR23