Thursday, July 26, 2012

Russell Investments versus Index Funds

By Candy J. Lee

I have the privilege of working with individuals who occasionally ask the “why” and “why not” questions.  When they do it helps me realize that it is important to constantly reiterate the reasons we have selected Russell Investments over the other 10,000+ investment options we have available to us.  

One particular individual had an IRA which she invested in a small selection of indexed funds.  The funds had outperformed her Russell Investments over the last four years, which begged her to ask the question: “Why am I paying Russell to underperform my own selection?”  I understand this performance lure.  These occasional successful market calls are sirens of the worst order as they make us believe we are smarter than the advisors and that we will outperform them over the long run.  

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Tesla Model S Debut

While we may not have flying cars quite yet, Tesla Motors is doing its fair share to revolutionize the auto industry as we know it.  On June 22nd the limited-edition Tesla “Signature” series finally made its way into the hands of a few first-in-line customers on Tesla’s long waiting list.  Capable of driving 300 mph on a single charge, you could almost drive from Seattle to Portland and back without plugging in.  Why are we so excited?  Candy will be number 1,089 to receive her very own Model S.

Click here to view full article from the Seattle Times

Social Security Statements and More: Now Available Online

The Social Security Administration is making it even easier for you to access information online.  You can now download your current social security statement, generate a list of your lifetime earnings, apply for benefits, and more!  They even have a special “Information for Financial Planners” section which is open to the public and provides answers to a number of common, and not-so-common questions.  Click the links below for more information:

Information for Financial Planners: 
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/financialplanners/
Get your Social Security Statement online:  
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/mystatement/