Late Bloomer Wealth

Late Bloomer Wealth

Dedicated to Helping K12 Teachers with their 403(b) & 457(b) plans.

Month: June 2018

Michelangelo’s Famous Quote

Leave a Comment / Beginning Investing, Do it yourself investors (DIY), LAUSD Employees, PreK-12 Educators / By

One of the most famous artists in the history of art Michelangelo Buonarroti’s offers a metaphor for discovering the basics of investing. Because we live in the 21st Century, Wall Street, Vanguard Group and TIAA (Teacher’s Insurance Annuity Association) have already created the pieces we need. All we have to do is “chip away” the material that doesn’t belong in our “David”–a very simple and easy to understand portfolio of stocks and bonds. I know this may seem like a stretch of my imagination, but please read on. This post is short and to the point!

4 Straightforward Ideas to Help Locate a Trustworthy Financial Adviser

Leave a Comment / Fee Only Fiduciary Financial Advisors / By

If you think learning to self-manage your 403(b) 401(k) or your 457(b) retirement plan investments is WAY over your head, you are kidding yourself. Locating a professional financial adviser with fiduciary standards, hourly fee-only with tiny management fee is not all that much different than finding a romantic relationship. Your relationship with a financial adviser is so much different than many other professionals which we hire. A financial adviser looks over your money for years involving trust. Trust makes this professional relationship MUCH MORE COMPLICATED!
In all areas of personal finance, investing and retirement planning, the most important professional person is a competent financial adviser. In this blog post, I will discuss what is already been written, spoken and discussed endlessly on the money related talk and radio shows, television, podcasts, websites, and financial blogs by smarter and more informed people than me. There is information EVERWHERE on the powerful decision of whether to hire a financial adviser. But all this information can be found on one of these four sources of information, one booklet, one blog post and one book, and 403bwise.com who already vetted financial advisers for you. ALL are FREE!
So, why am I contributing that has already been done by thousands of other folks smarter than me?
PLENTY! I AM A Role Model for Do It Yourselfers (DIYers). I have four ideas on how you can be so confident that you will want to be your own money manager.

The Taming of an Annuity Hater

Leave a Comment / Financial Education/Literacy, LAUSD Employees, PreK-12 Educators / By

At first glance, I may sound hypocritical because I tell everybody I know to avoid annuities at the same time I own one. If you have read my blog and my two books, you discovered there exists one great annuity, which I now own. TIAA Traditional Annuity has 11 distinctive features I demand. Unfortunately, most people outside of the educational establishment do not have access to this one honorable, low-cost and appropriate annuity.

For years, I had despised all annuities because my naivete was taken advantage of when I was a young teacher. While getting sold two annuities was bad enough, the sales force never stops. They have no ethical standards what so ever! I blew a head gasket when I found out that I had a surrender fee on the second annuity after I specifically directed my agent to put me in an annuity which did not have a surrender fee. Wow! She just ignored my request because to do so she would not get a commission. What horrible ethics these agents live with and can sleep at night. That cost me $2000 in surrender fees.

For years annuities have been controversial for a good reason. They get bad press because annuities are costly, complicated and offer deplorable low returns. I am not the only one saying bad things about annuities. Legendary money manager Ken Fisher says on his TV ads that he “would rather die and go to hell than to sell an annuity.” That’s strong language against annuities.
This low-cost (and simple) annuity is rare. You do not have to search long and hard because I will tell you the company and the specific annuity I own. It is available to both higher education and many PreK-12 employers 403(b) plans. Los Angeles Unified has this one appropriate annuity available in the 403(b). It’s the same one I own now. Check it out.
My message to annuity insurance agents, are you up for a challenge?

Scroll to Top