From the category archives:

Stocks & Mutual Funds

Big Government Will Further Depress the Economy

July 4, 2010

Podcast: Download (22.9MB)

Missed Fortune RadioThis week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, July 6th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “True Asset Optimization: How to Choose the Right Investments.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

Don’t Be Fooled by Government Misdirection

Currently the government is trying to use the oil spill crisis as an excuse to push through a cap-and-trade program that would ultimately hurt American taxpayers.

This would only negatively affect the economy and raise energy prices for businesses and families. Cap-and-trade basically constitutes an enormous hidden tax that would be forced upon Americans and would cause a higher rate of joblessness and make a bad economic situation worse.

Our leaders should be focusing on solving problems today, stopping the oil spill, strengthening our economy and creating an environment where job creators can thrive.

Instead, politicians have chosen to focus on growing government — whether through cap-and-trade, costly stimulus bills, auto company bailouts, job-killing legislation, or a health-care law that imposes higher taxes.

The Federal Reserve, who promoted the housing mania, and Treasury Department, who bailed out willy-nilly institutions without any consistent rules, is being granted more powers to try to boost our economy.

Larry Kudlow, author of Kudlow’s Money Politics states:

“Stop the crazy spending and borrowing and stocks will start to rise again while economies push up recovery speed. In the United States and around the world stocks have fallen about 11 percent this spring. It’s a signal of lost confidence. Out of control deficit spending has swept the world toward the leftist vision of big government. We need a return to free enterprise incentives in order to speed up recovery.”

In short, leaders should be focused on cutting spending and borrowing to hold down tax rates and try to restore confidence in private enterprise.

Who Will Make Money on Your Investments?

The government is not and will not be pushing its efforts towards the private sector any time soon.

Instead of sitting idly by waiting to see what will happen, investors should seriously think about taking some of their investments “off of the table.”

Taxes are going to rise January 1, 2011 and investors can expect a 5 percent increase in the capital gains tax. The health care bill has already shown Americans two new surprising tax increases.

In her article “How the New Wealth Taxes Will Hit You,” Laura Saunders writes:

“The health-care bill that Congress passed in March contained two surprising new taxes to help pay for the changes: an extra 0.9% levy on wages for couples earning more than $250,000 ($200,000 for singles) and a new 3.8% tax on investment income on those same people (technically, people with ‘adjusted gross incomes’ above those amounts).

“Each tax signals a radical change in policy. For workers, the extra 0.9% levy puts a progressive element in what used to be a totally flat tax. The 3.8% tax on investment income also knocks down a longstanding wall by applying a ‘payroll’ tax to unearned income. Until now, FICA taxes for Social Security and Medicare have applied only to wages, not investment income.”

With the increase in taxes coming and Obama’s continued push to grow big government, future stocks values will be damaged. Any strong week in the market should be viewed as a great time to sell.

Meet with a Missed Fortune advisor to learn how to protect yourself against these and other impending taxes.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Congress Versus Wall Street

June 15, 2010

Everyone can agree that America suffered financial ruin due in part to actions on Wall Street. But not everyone can agree on how to repair Wall Street.

As financial reform passes the Senate and makes its way through the House, the debate rages on.

Too much oversight and regulation, and America’s financial institutions will be stymied – which could kill America’s fledgling rebound. Too little, and practices that led to the collapse could repeat themselves.

A New York Times article reported:

“Despite the outcry from lobbyists and warnings from conservative Republicans that the legislation will choke economic growth, bankers and many analysts think that the bill approved by the Senate last week will reduce Wall Street’s profits but leave its size and power largely intact. Industry officials are also hopeful that several of the most punitive provisions can be softened before it is signed into law.”

If you’re heavily invested in the market, you’re likely heavily invested in the outcome of this legislation. You also likely suffered more loss than you could have ever anticipated over the past couple years, and you’d rather not experience that again.

But what if you could have been spared the loss? What if you, like the people who optimized their assets and put their serious money in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged contracts, could have maintained their principal – even gained a rate of return of 12, 13 percent or more over the past couple years?

There are ways to prepare for your retirement, to secure your future with savings vehicles that provide safety, liquidity, rate of return, and tax-advantaged benefits.

Learn how to protect yourself, so regardless of legislation, or ups and downs in the market, you can move forward toward true wealth on a steadier, safer path.

Learn more about Missed Fortune strategies now, so you can be better off tomorrow.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?®

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The Folly of “Long-Haul” Advisors

April 4, 2010

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

Missed Fortune RadioThis week Doug Andrew discussed the following:

Upcoming Complimentary Webinar

Attend our free 90-minute webinar live over the Internet this coming Tuesday, April 6th at 11:00 a.m. pacific (12:00 p.m. mountain, 1:00 p.m. central, 2:00 p.m. eastern), and again at 6:30 p.m. pacific (7:30 mountain, 8:30 central, 9:30 eastern).

The topic is “Asset Optimization.” You’ll learn how to maintain liquidity and guarantee safety of principal while earning a healthy, tax-free rate of return that outpaces inflation.

Register now by calling 1-888-76-Radio (888-767-2346). If operators are busy, please call again.

All attendees receive a bonus hardcover copy of Last Chance Millionaire, Doug Andrew’s New York Times best-selling book.

“You’re In It For The Long Haul”: A Lame Excuse For Poor Performance

Many financial professionals have been saying in various media sources that we’re in a market recovery.

This latest “I told you so” rally is intended to prove that if people would just listen to them and wait out market downturns, everything turns out all right.

They point out that if people would have just “hung in there,” they would have received a 43% return since September 2008.

But let’s analyze this to see what’s really going on. We’ll compare this traditional advice to the Missed Fortune strategies.

Suppose you had $100,000 invested in the market at the beginning of 2007. Most people received an 8 percent return in 2007, which means that you would have ended the year with $108,000.

But in 2008, most Americans lost 31 percent of their investments. Your $108,000 would have dropped $33,480 to a balance of $74,520 by the end of 2008.

Now, following the “You’re in it for the long haul” advice, you keep your money invested in the market.

Assuming the traditional advisors are right and you would have earned a 43 percent return in 2009, you would have gained about $32,000, for a final balance of $106,563.

When you average out that three-year period, it comes to about a 2 percent average rate of return.

Now consider what you would have experienced had you followed the Missed Fortune advice instead.

You start with $100,000. In 2007 you would have earned 8 percent, for the same ending balance of $108,000.

However, in 2008 you would not have lost a dime — you’d still be left with $108,000.

In 2009 you would have made a 16 percent rate of return. This would put your balance up to $125,290.

Bottom line: Following the Missed Fortune strategies instead of traditional strategies would have made you an additional $18,727 in the same three-year period.

What’s more, in these first few months of 2010 our clients have already locked in another 16 percent, so in this example the account balance would now be up to $143,324.

But it gets even better than this. Why? Because you need to factor in taxes to the equation.

Following traditional advice, either this account would have been fully taxable, or at best tax-deferred.

But with Missed Fortune strategies, your accounts grow tax free and provide tax-free withdrawal.

So what’s it going to be for you? Poor and volatile returns with traditional advice, or steady and healthy returns with Missed Fortune?

Set up an appointment with a Missed Fortune advisor now to learn how to get off the traditional roller-coaster and onto the Missed Fortune gravy train.

Bonus Missed Fortune E-Book: Baby Boomer Blunders

The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg.

Download this e-book now at www.babyboomerblunders.com.

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Sorry, Big Banks, But Sorry Doesn’t Help Us

January 26, 2010

What You Can Do To Help Yourself

fatbankereatingpie Sorry, Big Banks, But Sorry Doesnt Help UsWell, they said they were sorry. In a roundabout way.

The big banks whose risky behavior helped usher in the Great Recession recently stepped up to the mic to apologize for their actions, although they justified their conduct as seeming “appropriate at the time.”

These banks received more than $100 billion in assistance from the government. Make that $100 billion from the American taxpayers.

To help make sure that money is not lost, the Obama administration has proposed a “Financial Responsibility Fee,” which will tax the 50 largest financial institutions until the debt is repaid.

Of course, that proposal is already being challenged by the financial industry.

While the fate of that $100 billion may be in question, that’s hardly where the questions end. What about your financial fate?

Where are the best places to entrust your own money so that it will be safe and liquid when you need to access it? How can you position your money so it earns a rate of return? How can you protect yourself from future tax hikes that will surely be necessary to pay for current spending?

Are 401(k)s or IRAs the best place for your money? What about Roths? Annuities? Stocks?

The only retirement savings vehicles that offer liquidity, safety and a rate of return — while still being tax-advantaged — are maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts.

Find your answers. Protect yourself so you never have to lose again.

And take steps that will lead to financial security, so you won’t be hanging on lame apologies from industry — or government — aristocrats in the future.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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Is Your Money in a House of Straw, Sticks, or Bricks?

December 17, 2009

The stock market is a house of straw, real estate is a house of sticks. Doug Andrew and Missed Fortune clients put their serious cash in a house of bricks.

Do you know what that is and why Missed Fortune clients haven’t lost any money in the past two years?

Watch the following video to learn more:

*If you are getting this feed in RSS or email and cannot see the video, please click on the header to view it on the blog.

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Economy Sending Mixed Signals? Make Your Future More Clear

December 1, 2009

onewaytwoarrowssign-copy Economy Sending Mixed Signals? Make Your Future More ClearIf you’ve glanced at financial news lately, you’ve seen the economy is sending a lot of mixed signals.

The federal deficit is soaring. The recession is definitely over. The recession isn’t quite over.

The housing market is improving. Unemployment continues to rise.

Consumer confidence is up. Consumer spending is down. Millions have lost millions from their 401(k)s and IRAs. Americans must invest again for the economy to grow.

While the economy continues to be unpredictable, you can make your own economic situation more predictable by putting your serious money in sound savings vehicles.

And you can protect yourself so you never have to lose again.

Traditional financial planning has pointed to investments like 401(k)s, IRAs, stocks, bonds, etc., and many people who followed that advice have lost significant amounts of critical retirement money over the last couple years.

People who invested in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged insurance contracts, on the other hand, have not lost during the recent economic crisis.

In fact, many of them are set to earn as much as 8 to 15 percent return on their investments this year.

Why? These are the only savings accumulation vehicles where your money:

  1. Accumulates tax-free
  2. Can be withdrawn tax-free (even before age 59 ½ – without penalty)
  3. Transfers to your heirs income tax-free when you pass away.

Begin now to empower yourself, and your financial future.

Isn’t It Time You Became Wealthy?

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“If You Want to Sleep at Night, You Have to Have a Guarantee”

October 22, 2009

On this radio show, Doug Andrew was joined by Missed Fortune advisor Devin Larkins, who shared some poignant advice.

Traditional investors, says Devin, are “product-pickers” and “market-timers.” They get emotionally involved in their investing, operating on greed when the market goes up, and fear when it goes down.

Furthermore, they invest in products that don’t come with guarantees — stocks and mutual funds and other similar products.

We’ve seen the devastating effects of this approach. We live in volatile times, where investors who don’t have guarantees can lose half of their money overnight.

Smart investors will jump off the traditional roller coaster and get guarantees. They must get out of the emotional cycle and into a strategy that works regardless of market performance. This way, you don’t have to have a crystal ball.

If you are getting this feed in RSS or email and cannot see the video, please click on the header to view it on the blog.

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An 8% Return Over the Last Two Years

August 30, 2009

Podcast: Download (23.0MB)

Missed Fortune RadioDid you miss this week’s show? Doug Andrew interviewed guest Devin Larkins:

What is the difference between what a traditional financial planner espouses and what you prescribe for your clients?

The traditional way believes in the markets, securities, and in things that are going to go up and down.  What I believe is that we need a guarantee on our money.

We live in a post 9/11 and a post-financial collapse world, where if we don’t have a guarantee we can wake up and lose half our money.  If you want to sleep well at night you have to have a guarantee.

Why has the traditional investor not been successful during the last decade?

The traditional investor is a product picker and wants to time the market.  That is what I experienced as a professional.

People would call when the Dow was at an all time high and want to buy, and when the Dow was at an all time low they wanted to sell.  They almost always got it wrong.

We want to get clients out of this emotional cycle and go with something that is a strategy, meaning it will work when the market is high and when the market is low.  We have a proven strategy that has worked this last decade!

What is the economy really telling us right now?

There are a lot of real positive signs right now that point to stability and to recovery.  Sometimes we believe that the real economy has to be totally solid before we do anything financially.

But the good news is we can actually put our money in the market and have a guarantee and participate in the upside.

We don’t want to do it the traditional way where we can lose all our money.   We want to do it in a safe way, where we can participate in the growth but at the same time keep our principal safe.

How have your clients fared during the last two years?

This is the good news.  In 2008 our clients didn’t lose any money!  We had the guarantees.

In 2009 our clients are getting 15% or 16% in many cases.  Over a two year period that is 8% a year.  Who else can say that in the last two years?

Attend our one hour event live with Guest Devin Larkins over the internet this coming Tuesday, September 1st at 11:00 am and again at 6:30 pm Pacific: Don’t miss your chance to understand how to protect your money during this economic crisis and get competitive rates of return during the good years. This strategy is called indexing and you need to know all about it. Call 888-76-Radio (888-767-2346) to register.

FREE Missed Fortune E-book: Baby Boomer Blunders. THE PROBLEM? The average Baby Boomer has less than $50,000 accumulated for retirement (which means many have less than that), primarily due to bad habits and having money invested in the wrong places where economic downturns can diminish their nest egg. Download at www.babyboomerblunders.com

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Will the Stock Market Recover?

March 23, 2009

As of end of trading today, the Dow closed almost 500 points higher.  Fueled by news of the Treasury’s plan to buy up billions in bank assets, the markets responded in an unprecedented climb.

Is the market stabilizing?  Are we almost done with this roller coaster?

The reality is that nobody really knows but everyone hopes.  Although those following the Missed Fortune strategies have been mostly untouched in losing vast amounts of money this year, everyone has been effected in one way or another.

Almost everyone knows someone who has lost their job and/or gone through foreclosure and if you don’t, count yourself as one of the lucky ones.

What will it take to bounce back?  How many good years will it take to gain back the retirement and investment monies that were lost during this monumental crisis.

This article from USA Today takes the topic in depth.  Adam Shell writes that the stock market recovery will likely be years in the making.

Why?  Take a look at this chart which shows that to get back to break even by June 2012 you would need a 25% annualized rate of return or at a more realistic rate of return of 10%, were talking June 2017.

What’s the best solution to all of this mess?  Missed Fortune believes in keeping your principal safe.

Clients who have fixed rates are earning around 5% this year and those who have a more aggressive strategy and have their money tied to the market but not in the market have thoroughly enjoyed a 0-1% rate of return this year.

Remember that they locked in their gains from the year before, never having that money at risk.

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Shift your Focus during Troubling Times

October 6, 2008

While observing the recent turmoil in the financial markets, watching the political debates, and seeing unrest around the world, it has been interesting to see how Americans — and the entire world community — react.

I have had several radio interviews during the past few weeks in which the interviewers always wanted to know my advice for dealing with the current troubling state of affairs.

My best and simplest advice applies to life in general, and it might surprise some people. I would urge everyone to stop worrying specific events, losses and difficulties. Rather, focus on being grateful.

Whenever there is “bad news,” I try to focus on the positive. It doesn’t do any good to complain. Complaining attracts negative thoughts and people.

Gratitude allows your confidence, faith and hope to be nurtured and grow. When you exercise faith and hope, you’ll discover that new opportunities will emerge, and you will open yourself to the best possible consequences.

It is impossible for faith and fear to occupy the human heart simultaneously. Whenever I am feeling fearful about anything, I take it as a signal that I need to exercise more faith. Sure enough, when I do so, fear is dispelled.

We are constantly being bombarded with bad news through the media. I have worked to train myself to see bad circumstances differently — when something arises that most of the world would view as a threat, I see it as an opportunity.

Try doing this whenever a crisis happens in your life. Ask yourself, “What do I know from experience that will help me, and others, deal with this crisis?”

You will be energized. You will see yourself focusing on what matters most — on your relationships, on creating value, on new opportunities, on progress, on who you can be, and on what you can do for others. You will forget about what’s missing and begin focusing on what’s available.

As a result, you will find out that the world rewards usefulness, and people will compensate you in some form for your wisdom and advice.

For example, as a result of coming through my own financial crisis in my early years, for more than three decades I have advised people to separate the equity from their home to maintain liquidity, safety of principle, and earn a rate of return.

I have also recommended that people avoid putting put their serious cash — home equity, IRAs, 401(k)s and other retirement funds — into variable investments like the stock market, but rather in maximum-funded, tax-advantaged equity-indexed life insurance contracts with highly-rated insurance companies.

Our clients who have done this have not lost any of the principal on their money during the recent severe downturn in the real estate or stock markets, because their money was not trapped in those places.

They continue to have liquid cash available for emergencies and can readily handle a higher mortgage payment, a temporary job loss or any other curve ball that this economy may throw at them.

Because of this, I continually receive comments and letters of gratitude for the advice given, and clients have been referring their friends and relatives to our firm.

Our business continues to thrive during these otherwise tenuous times.

Why? Because we have been able to create new opportunities to help people overcome their greatest fears, seize their greatest opportunities, and harness their greatest strengths. I am grateful for the trust and confidence that people have placed in us.

As Zig Ziglar has always said, “Help enough other people get what they want, and you will have everything in life that you want.”

I wish you all the best as you look for opportunities in difficult circumstances, dispel fear with faith, and maximize your financial potential through strategic planning.

Doug Andrew

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