Every year we trek to the Schwab IMPACT conference to learn the latest developments in financial planning and investment management so we can better serve you.
Day 1&2: The Election PLUS Tips For Your Kids 18+
The Market & The 2016 Presidential Election
Greg Valliere, Schwab’s Chief Political Strategist had this to say:
- If Trump wins the markets may not respond favorably
- On the flipside, if Hillary wins there may not be much in the way of volatility
- Valliere anticipates Hillary winning by a 5-7 point lead spread
- However, if Hillary wins by a wider margin we could see strong volatility along with potential changes to the house (not good historically for the markets)
Tips for Your Kids Heading To College
- Consider having them sign Power of Attorney form (POA) before going off to school since you may not have access to their accounts.
- Fill out the HIPAA release form at the college your child is attending. If something were to happen to your child the college could then release the information to you.
Day 3: Malcolm Gladwell PLUS Balancing Retirement & College Saving
Insights from Malcolm Gladwell
This year was packed with thought provoking commentaries from the likes of Malcolm Gladwell and political insight from Greg Valliere, Ian Bremmer, Alan Simpson and Robert Reich, plus MUCH more.
For those of you that don’t know, Malcolm Gladwell is the author of the Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers.
He coined the phrase “Tipping Point” which is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.
The Internet of Things
In his session he predicted that the internet of things is going to be as big as the industrial revolution. That’s a bold statement, but one to take notice of. We are beginning to see products like Amazon Dash, which is a Wi-Fi connected device that reorders your favorite product with the press of a button.The growth of internet connected “things” is expect to accelerated.
Playing Basketball vs. Playing Soccer
Gladwell also discussed how our country and economy has traditionally focused on making the best people even better. He illustrated that we operate like a basketball team. For a basketball team to be great, you really only need a few amazing players. It doesn’t matter how weak the rest of the team is so long as you have a few great players. And, if you work on making your best players even better, the team as a whole usually improves.
Soccer on the other hand requires that ALL players work together. Studies have shown that soccer scores can increase dramatically when time and energy is invested in coaching the weakest players on the team not the strongest players like in basketball.
Malcolm’s Advice: Improve The Weak Links
In the new world order, Gladwell suggests we invest in what he calls the weak links. He went on to explain that the best way to improve our economy is to invest in the weakest links.
College Planning vs. Retirement Planning
The balance between saving for college AND saving for retirement is difficult for most families. A study by JP Morgan reveals some useful guidance:
- Only 0.3% of college student receive enough grants and scholarships to cover ALL costs
- You need to to start saving now and seriously consider a 529 savings plan
- The most important thing is to be saving for retirement
- Saving for retirement should come BEFORE saving for college
- The JP Morgan study says that saving 15% of what you make is the optimal number
Saving 15% is a great rule of thumb, however your situation could be different. What you need will depend on things like how much you have already saved, if are you planning on moving during retirement, if you will you work, or if you will receive an inheritance. So, there are lots of factors to consider which is where we can assist. At Weiss Financial Group we help figure out how much you NEED to save, how much you CAN save, and WHERE to invest the money.
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