By: Ray ShredercloseAuthor: Ray Shreder Name: Ray Shreder
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: ray.sicg@hotmail.com
Site: https://www.paladinregistry.com/external/beaninformedinvestor/advisor_profile.php?advisor_id=564
About: Ray Shreder is the founder and CIO of Shreder Investment Consulting Group L.L.C. (SICG), a low cost, independent investment consulting and retirement planning firm. Mr. Shreder began his professional financial advisory career in 1984, and has held senior financial consulting positions with several of the financial industries most prestigious investment firms prior to founding SICG in 2003. As a true client advocate, Ray has championed the cause for investor rights and for full disclosure of investment products and financial services.See Authors Posts (1) | June 30, 2009 | Investment Performance, Investor Information

There has been a long standing debate whether investors should pay for financial services with fees or commissions. The right answer may not be one or the other, but which one is better for each individual client. After all, it

By: Peter RegancloseAuthor: Peter Regan Name: Peter Regan
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: pete@cepfinancial.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com/external/beaninformedinvestor/advisor_profile.php?advisor_id=990
About: See Authors Posts (2) | June 30, 2009 | Investor Information

Yesterday, Bernie Madoff received a life sentence for cheating his clients in an investment scam. The fact that Mr. Madoff is paying for his crimes is of little solace to those who lost their life savings. The key to avoiding being sucked in to Madoff type investment schemes is to make sure that your investment [...]

By: Rick KahlercloseAuthor: Rick Kahler Name: Rick Kahler
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: rick@kahlerfinancial.com
Site: http://www.kahlerfinancial.com
About: Rick Kahler, MS, CFP®, (www.KahlerFinancial.com) is a fee-only financial planner, speaker, educator, and columnist. Rick is renowned as a pioneer in integrating financial planning and psychology. In 2009, he was recognized by Wealth Manager as the largest financial planning firm in a seven-state region. In 2009, BusinessWeek listed him as one of the 15 most experienced planners in the United States. He is the past chairman of the South Dakota Investment Council, charged with the investment oversight of over six billion dollars. His work and research has been featured or cited in The Wall Street Journal, ABC's 20/20, New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Money, SELF, and Parenting. He is a co-author of four revolutionary books on money, financial planning, and therapy: Wired for Wealth (Health Communications, 2008), Facilitating Financial Health (NUCO, 2008), The Financial Wisdom of Ebenezer Scrooge (Health Communications, 2005, 2008), and Conscious Finance (FoxCraft, 2005, 2007).See Authors Posts (9) | June 29, 2009 | Ponzi Schemes, Who Can I Trust?

Bernard Madoff, former NASDAQ Stock Market chairman and founder of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, has been sentenced to 150 years in jail.  While the lengthy sentence may not offer much comfort to those cheated out of their retirement savings by Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, it does emphasize the magnitude of his fraud.
His clients didn’t [...]

By: Darren Munn, CFAcloseAuthor: Darren Munn, CFA Name: Darren Munn, CFA
Member: Member Paladin
Quality Rating:
Email: darrenmunn@munnwealth.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com/external/beaninformedinvestor/advisor_profile.php?advisor_id=1468
About: See Authors Posts (1) | June 29, 2009 | Annuities, Bad Products & Services, Investment Performance, Investor Information

It doesn’t take a genius to understand that investments with lower fees will produce higher returns for the investor, all else being equal.  So it is natural for us all to be attracted to low-fee investments.  A simple formula to keep in mind is:  Gross Return – Expenses – Taxes = Net Return.
 But what about [...]

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com
About: Jack writes for the InvestorWatchdog website and Worth magazine. He worked in the financial services industry from 1976 to 2004. For twenty of those years he was the president of a Registered Investment Advisory firm and a Broker/Dealer. Jack is the author of Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor and is a co-founder of PaladinRegistry.com.See Authors Posts (87) | June 27, 2009 | Illegal Schemes & Scams

Why did 11,000 affluent investors fall victim to Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme?  There are four primary reasons.
The affluent accumulated assets building companies, managing businesses and providing professional services.  They did not make their fortunes investing their assets in the securities markets.  They hire financial professionals to help them, but they don’t know how to screen and select competent, ethical advisors.  
Many of the biggest [...]

By: Jack WaymirecloseAuthor: Jack Waymire Name: Jack Waymire
Email: jack@paladinregistry.com
Site: http://paladinregistry.com
About: Jack writes for the InvestorWatchdog website and Worth magazine. He worked in the financial services industry from 1976 to 2004. For twenty of those years he was the president of a Registered Investment Advisory firm and a Broker/Dealer. Jack is the author of Who's Watching Your Money? The 17 Paladin Principles for Selecting a Financial Advisor and is a co-founder of PaladinRegistry.com.See Authors Posts (87) | June 25, 2009 | Bad Products & Services

Watch-out for mutual funds that charge 12b-1 fees.   These are legal fees that funds charge investors to recover their marketing expenses.  While the SEC does not limit this fee, FINRA caps it at .75%.
But don’t all companies pass their marketing expenses through to their customers?  Yes, but they aren’t mutual funds that are responsible for producing competitive returns for your [...]