Father Shoot’s Daughter’s Laptop

Written by Ray Mignone | 21 February 2012

You may have seen the Youtube video of a North Carolina father who emptied 9 rounds from his Colt 45 pistol into his daughter’s laptop to teach her a lesson. If you watch the video, you will see that the father is upset with his 15 year old daughter because she posted a lengthy critique of her parents on Facebook.

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Bridge Builder

Written by Ray Mignone | 16 February 2012

Bridging the communications gap between generations has always been a challenge in business and for business professionals. How do the 50+ year olds effectively communicate with their 25 year old co-workers?

Recently I participated in the cover story for Investment Advisor Magazine titled, Bridge Builder. It was a round table discussion held at the Museum of American Finance in lower Manhattan (located in the original building of the Bank of N.Y. founded by Alexander Hamilton). We discussed the communication challenges between younger and us older (excuse me, more experienced) financial advisors, but we could have been talking about any professional business, law firms, accountants, etc.

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The 4% Withdrawal Rule In Retirement?

Written by Ray Mignone | 10 February 2012

The amount that can safely be withdrawn from your retirement portfolio each year has been a much debated subject in financial planning circles for years. The rule of thumb you typically hear is that 4% a year is a safe withdrawal amount, but where did this come from, and is it right for everyone?

The 4% rule became popular from a research study done in the mid 1990s by California financial advisor Bill Bengen. I know Bill personally as a fellow NAPFA member, and I attended some of his earliest presentations on this topic but what most retirees don’t realize is that his work was based on a very aggressive 70% stock portfolio at a time of fairly high stock returns. Most retirees I know would not have held this aggressive of a portfolio during the last 10 years and in fact Bill lowered his own client’s allocation to stocks during this time.

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Worry Free Retirement

Written by Ray Mignone | 07 February 2011

Worry Free Retirement 

Why Not!!! Being independent and worry free in your golden years is a goal most people would like to achieve. When I speak to retirees or retiree wannabes the number one concern they have is staying healthy. If you have your health you truly are wealthy. The second most important concern is ensuring that they have enough income to maintain their quality of life. Lastly most people would like to be able to pass on as much of an estate to their heirs as possible. 

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Doctors need financial planning help, too...

Written by Ray Mignone | 09 November 2010

 Doctors need financial planning help, too...

 
In our area we are fortunate to be surrounded by many fine health care facilities staffed by well-trained, dedicated medical practitioners who provide us excellent medical treatment, keeping us healthy and greatly enhancing the quality of our lives.  But how is the physicians’ financial health?
 
Unfortunately many individuals erroneously believe that all physicians are very affluent with a financially secure retirement, this is often not the case. In my family and in our firm we work with many retired and practicing physicians and I would like to explain some ways physicians and others can better prepare for a more secure financial future.  First let’s understand the situation physicians currently face.

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