Like most people, I habitually whine about taxes. In my case it’s because I have been “randomly” audited for nine years in a row. (not feeling so random) For this reason, I think I have special rights to whine.
My main problem with the tax code is its complexity. I can remember many years ago when Ross Perot had his little speech where he put his hand upon the tax code which was nearly as tall as he was. It’s just too complex.
TD Ameritrade is one of the most interesting things to happen in our industry in the last few years. I was amazed that an Internet discount broker could also make big inroads in institutional wealth management. I didn’t think they would be successful until I heard about their acquisition of TD Waterhouse, who was the third largest custodian for independent wealth managers.
The recent acquisition of the First Trust DATALynx division looks like yet another great move, and should cement their #3 position behind Schwab and Fidelity. Everything seems to be going so well for them that I was surprised to read that there’s a growing push at the board level to sell the company.
Enterprising Orange County wealth management shop IFF Advisors teamed up with the University of California to create a wealth management summer camp for the offspring of the uber-wealthy. Young heirs and heiresses now have an education option just for them.
From the article:
The aim of the camp, officially called the Financial Skills Retreat, was to teach the children of today’s richest families how to manage the money they were about to inherit.
They learned, for instance, the mechanics of how to buy and sell stocks, as well as how to save taxes on municipal bonds, how to invest in emerging markets and how to pay their own credit card bills (a first, for many). They also learned “life skills,” like how to persuade prospective spouses to sign a prenup. (The main lesson: Call it a “marital agreement” and blame it on your parents.) They learned how to draw money from their trust. And how to interview for a job (also a first for many).
What a great idea.
To distract myself from my rapidly shrinking net worth, I’ve been reading about the credit markets. For me, running what was (from a certain point of view) a dot com company, the tech bubble in 2001 was easy to understand. But I don’t have much experience with the fixed income market and, outside of a general knowledge that sub-prime ARMs are imploding, I’m not familiar with the details.
The problems have been building up for a while. I thought the 5% downturn two weeks ago was a temporary bump but American Home Mortgage’s Thursday announcement caused a new wave of panic, resulting in a new sell-off. Longer-term, there are two main problems that concern me.