Poor Media Investing Suggestions

Financial portfolios you get in the media are amusing in a sense, but, they are not a laughing matter. Because you can get burned if you follow such advice.

The media suggestions come with some advisor mentioned; the one making the recommendations. That advisor has been singled out from among tens of thousands in the business.

Advisers are always seeking publicity; they strive to have pet portfolio ideas published in public view. So why this mention in the media? Is it a friend or relative of the columnist, reporter or interviewer?

Furthermore, the portfolios are usually an attempt to time the market. Also, they never identify objectives by investor age or risk capacity or psychological sensitivity. It makes the reportage useless. And dangerous.(See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Terminating Your Annuity

Annuity sales pitches may overlook start-up costs of annuity contracts that can be in effect for up to seven years.

Salesmen commissions and administrative expenses must be met. Early termination requires faster amortization. These are in addition to management fees that are imposed each year on annuities that involve variable investment.

Furthermore, the annuity may have life insurance provisions that you may not need. You will still be paying for that feature.

So annuities involve costs you may not be aware of, And you simply cannot drop contracts easily. There will be penalties for making corrections or changing your mind. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

The Media's Public Financial Education

Investors get most of their financial and business education from the media, especially brief bytes and headlines.

Schools don’t provide an adequate underpinning of information for students to be able to comprehend economics and finance. As a result, the public cannot evaluate the bombardment of ads, nor headlines that apply to finance and business topics, or meaningful explanations from inept media sources.

They therefore get biased, one-sided opinions without any contrasting arguments or alternatives from headlines or inadequate financial and business articles.

Brokers and advisers cited in the media frequently promote a particular point of view. The media often poorly screens content.

Remember also, the importance of investor age, family status, personal psychology, finances and risk status. These have lots to do with investment choice, Media slants often neglect them.

So stay alert to basics and avoid tips from questionable media sources. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Taking Investment Advice From Ads

Ads advise only advantages, and not the downsides of investments being suggested. Why take such advice? Yet, so many investors learn about what they buy solely from ads and salesmen.

I have now researched over 1,600 investment strategies that are occasionally or frequently used. I have also looked into the pros and cons of each. And I have not found one that has an exclusive advantage, without at least one disadvantage.

An example: Sellers of gold investments may be selling one type without discussing various other forms, or whether everyone ought to be buying gold, despite looming inflation. The public never gets full information.

Furthermore, investor age, family status, personal psychology, finances and risk, have lots to do with investment choice. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Ongoing Government Deficits Are Worse Than You May Think

Most American voters appear to think differently but you can be certain that government deficits will spell disaster. For taxpayers and even for those who don’t pay taxes. In fact, for anyone who worries about the cost of living.

Government spending debts can be borrowed. That debt of today, however, is being financed at very low interest cost. Those costs will easily double and triple. Long term rates can conceivably reach 18% or so from under 3% right now,

So we are looking at astronomical debt, with poor prospects of an economy expanding where it can accommodate that debt.

The public will eventually see that today’s spending is only a down payment on future costs, to be paid by heavy taxes and a more worthless dollar. For if taxes don’t foot the bill, a worthless, inflated dollar will.(See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Investors and Huge Adviser Fees

Even pros are feeling those adviser fees. Huge institutional investors should be able to get better terms as investors than do smaller investors. Mutual funds do reduce expenses to clients who keep larger fund balances. This is perfectly logical and it’s legal.

But the U.S. has not been happy about fee discounts if done in unison by organized major investors. They include; endowments, foundations and pension funds, as part of groups, such as Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA),  The group’s 215 members have more than one trillion dollars at work.

They would all like to negotiate lower terms than they have been getting. But it would be against the “anti-trust” law. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)

Backing The Dollar With Gold

The Treasury Department has reported it has about 261,5 million ounces of gold. There’s been lots of talk about how it can be used, or whether it ought to be kept as it is.

At its present price, the gold’s value totals about $400 billion. One suggestion has been to use it to reduce U.S. debt. I would rather not sell gold for this purpose, I feel it will not reduce or affect government spending habits, which keep increasing.

I believe the gold holding ought to instead be used to back the U.S. dollar. The stability would be an economic boon. That would also have  to accompany  reduction of government spending and debt.(See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole tweets.)