Pam Martens, the Editor of Wall Street On Parade, managed the life savings of average Americans for 21 years on Wall Street. Her personal finance columns seek to help the public better understand the jargon, complexities, and conflicts of Wall Street. The information that appears on this site cannot, and does not, take into account your particular investment goals, your unique financial situation or income needs and is not intended to be recommendations appropriate for you. When it comes to making your own investment decisions, you should always consult in advance with your financial advisor and accountant.
At times, Wall Street On Parade links to news or opinion on other sites which we believe to be in the public interest. These web sites may also contain investment advice or investment advertising. We receive no remuneration for these links, provide them purely in the public interest, and are not endorsing or recommending any investment information that may appear on the site.
Can You Trust Your Money Market Fund: November 9, 2012
Millions of Americans have no idea that there is a world of difference between money market accounts and money market funds. Two extremely critical words define the difference: FDIC insurance.
The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) wants to teach the public financial literacy. It says “Our Financial Literacy Center serves as a credible resource for basic financial education to help people better understand and manage their personal finances.” Is the NYSE a credible source?
How Are We Going to Create Jobs In America With Stock Offerings Like These: November 26, 2012
America doesn’t have a jobs problem; it has an IPO problem. The lack of jobs can be directly correlated to the misallocation of capital by Wall Street to financial wagers instead of directing the flow of capital into job producing growth industries.
A review of the 201 initial public offerings (IPOs) at the New York Stock Exchange so far this year, shows that 99 were financial wagers on old debt and/or equity instead of new listings of real companies making real products to create real jobs. The 99 IPOs were closed end mutual funds or ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). Another 11 listings were banks or financial firms.
Congress and the President should rightfully be concerned about the dramatic decline in young, small businesses coming to market as initial public offerings. These are, hopefully, the innovative small businesses that will fuel the jobs of tomorrow. But as investments to stockholders, they lack a key element.
Consumers Have Powerful Weapons Against Wall Street’s Bad Practices: December 6, 2012
I offer ten ideas to get started on the first course of taming the Wall Street beast. And, just to be clear to those perched on the edge of their seats preparing to scream “Socialist!,” I’m not suggesting “redistributing” wealth; I’m suggesting putting the wealth back into the hands from which it was taken in a rigged wealth transfer scheme.
Who Is Ken Fisher and How Can He Afford All Those Investment Advertisements: December 7, 2012
It seems like a day doesn’t go by that an advertisement from Ken Fisher doesn’t pop up on my laptop when I’m visiting a business news web site. It’s been going on for months. The ads suggest that I’ll be doomed if I don’t read the latest report from Ken Fisher; it’s a “must read” with research and analysis “you can’t find anyplace else.” And, by the way, if you don’t have $500,000 or more to invest, just fuhgeddaboutit. Yesterday, I decided to check out this fellow and find out how he can afford all these ads.
Investing Angst: Sell Down to Your Sleep Level: December 14, 2012
Under law, investments are supposed to be “suitable” for the client. That implies things like: don’t buy a risky growth stock for a 90 year old; don’t invest in non-dividend paying stocks for a couple who have stated their major need is income; don’t buy start-up companies if the client tells you his most important objective is preservation of principal.
But all too often, financial advisors fail what I think should be a core mission of personal money management: build the client a prudent, effective financial portfolio that also allows the client to sleep at night. A portfolio that is creating stress, upset stomachs, and insomnia is a failure in my opinion, no matter what the rate of return. It may be legally “suitable,” but it fails on the basis of giving the client comfort and peace of mind. In other words, it is depriving the client of the very quality of life for which he saved that money his whole life.
How Much Money Do You Need For a Rainy Day Fund: December 21, 2012
A backup savings account that will last for three months is more like a brief shower fund than a rainy day fund. It’s certainly not adequate for the kind of Perfect Storm the economy is currently witnessing.
There’s a Retirement Planning Crisis in America: January 4, 2013
According to a Gallup poll conducted in April 2011, the number of Americans who say they will not have enough money to live comfortably in retirement reached a new high of 53 percent in 2011. And the angst is not limited to those nearing retirement. According to a Pew Research survey conducted in 2012, 53 percent of adults between the ages of 36 and 40 said they are either “not too” or “not at all” confident that their income and assets will last through retirement.
Downton Abbey’s Earl of Grantham Made Five Age-Old Investment Mistakes: January 11, 2013
The Earl made not one, but five critical investment mistakes which have been regularly repeated since time immemorial. The gravest mistake was to invest in a concentrated position – one company, one industry (and a cyclical one no less). Next, he was swayed by the preposterous assurances of acquaintances that he couldn’t lose. (If it is of this world, you can lose it.) Then, it appears, the Earl and his financial advisor failed to properly monitor the stock. Companies with visible hard assets like railroad lines (as opposed to companies like Madoff with imaginary paper assets) rarely go from thriving to bankruptcy overnight. There would typically have been warning signs and intermediate price declines when the position should have been scaled back.
Americans Are Making a Grave Mistake With 401(k) Plans: January 18, 2013
A tax-deferred account such as the 401(k) allows interest and dividends to compound without a bite from taxes. Only when funds are withdrawn from the 401(k) is the money taxed. Since it is quite likely that a retiree’s tax bracket will be lower than that of his or her working years, focusing on the tax-deferred benefit of the 401(k) and maximizing that benefit is about the last hope for making this system work for retirees.
Do You Really Need Stocks In Your Portfolio: January 25, 2013
If you are an investor who is not emotionally prepared to lose 22 percent of your money in one day (October 19, 1987, Dow Jones Industrial Average loss) or 38.5 percent in one year (2008 S&P 500 loss), just stay completely away from stocks or invest only an amount you can afford to lose. Many people do just that and live happy ever after.
Retirement Becomes Distant Dream For Growing Number of Americans: February 1, 2013
The reality is that while the stock market indices like the Standard and Poor’s 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average have made up lost ground in the past two years, many widely held stocks lost all or almost all of their shareholders’ equity when they filed bankruptcy, merged or were put into receivership. And, as is human nature, many pre-retirees could only take so much pain and angst and sold at close or near to the bottom of the market’s plunge, locking in their losses.
GAO Report: Cost of the Financial Crisis — Your Retirement: February 19, 2013
The General Accountability Office (GAO) has released a devastating appraisal of the financial toll the 2007 to 2009 Wall Street financial crisis has had on the U.S. economy and workers.
If you are thinking of hiring a personal financial advisor for the first time or replacing the one you have, do the opposite of what transpired in the Senate.
Is the Stock Market Setting New Highs? Not Exactly: March 6, 2013
Were one to adjust the Dow for inflation, there has not only been a lost decade for investors, there’s been a lost 13 years. Adjusted for inflation, the Dow is not even back to its level set in the year 2000. Equally noteworthy, the general public would likely take pause to learn that stocks are nimbly plucked out of the Dow Jones Industrial Average when things go sour for the company. Who are the deciders making these closed door decisions? A big, independent accounting or consulting firm you might be thinking; like the folks who hand over the sealed envelope at the Oscars. No, the stocks are picked by editors at the Wall Street Journal, whose revenue stream comes significantly from corporate advertising.
