Financial Planning
3 Tips for Avoiding Pitfalls in Medicare Enrollment
If you’re approaching the age of 65, you’re probably aware that you may soon be eligible for Medicare. But do you know the enrollment rules and how they might affect you? In this week’s Insight, we’ll try to cover some of the key enrollment rules you need to know. Basic Parts of Medicare It may [...]
Matthews Asia Funds: 3 Qualities We Like and 2 Funds We Find Appealing
Matthews Asia Funds have been investing in Asian companies since Paul Matthews founded the firm in 1991. IAM has held some of these funds in client accounts for over 10 years. What benefits do they offer? We’ll answer that question, as well as highlight two funds we’ve recently been adding to client accounts. Focused [...]
Everybody Knows Costco, Right?
A few facts you may not know Years ago when some family members lived in Alaska, they used to describe their outdoor adventures – fishing for salmon, avoiding the neighborhood moose and treasuring Northern Lights — and their shopping visits at Costco. Costco?! Yes, Costco. Costco consistently provided them with good quality products, reasonable prices [...]
Is CPI a Good Indicator of Your Cost of Living?
Have you ever caught yourself saying or thinking “a dollar doesn’t buy me what it used to”? I imagine you have. You’re directly observing how the purchasing power of money erodes over time, which is also known as inflation. But how can we measure inflation and use it to make better financial planning decisions? To [...]
Forget Groupon – Reap Long Term Savings through Refinancing
Have you heard about the Federal Reserve’s bond buyback program announced last month? This is commonly called quantitative easing. This latest program has earned the name “QE3” since the Fed has done this twice before. In essence, the reason for QE3 is to stimulate the economy and bring down interest rates. How Can You Take [...]
It’s THAT Season Again!
Fall is one of my favorite seasons, since here in Texas the temperature finally starts to cool off and we no longer have to wear summer shorts to Friday night high school football games. Meanwhile in the investment world, we’re currently in the midst of “earnings season.” About now, many large publicly-traded companies release their [...]
Pending Income Shortage? 5 Ideas on How to Cope
I was listening to PIMCO’s Cyclical Outlook webcast recently and the speaker concluded his presentation with something like this- “Grab income now before it gets away. Let’s get it for our clients before others do.” Like many of our clients, IAM’s investment team has been acutely aware of the challenges facing individuals seeking income. Certificates [...]
Giving: 5 strategies that save taxes
Giving is one of the ultimate expressions of humanity. It strengthens the connection we have with others. Whether you’re giving money, possessions, time or simply sending positive thoughts in another’s direction, it is often you as the giver who receives the most. With that said, should you be in a position where you can give [...]
NIKE: “Striving for the Best, Creating Value for the Business and Innovating for a Better World”
Recently I purchased a 2012-2013 Netherlands authentic home soccer jersey for my teenage son as a gift. The brilliant orange fabric is strong, yet soft to the touch. Interestingly enough, NIKE made it from recycled polyester using the equivalent of seven plastic bottles. This jersey is an example of NIKE’s focus: to drive product innovation [...]
What do Caterpillar, McGraw-Hill, and Microsoft Have In Common?
Not much, except they were all elevated to IAM’s SELECT List and SELECT Dividend List in August. We believe all three meet our high-quality, SELECT standards. Few securities analysts or portfolio managers would fail to consider them well-respected, “blue chip” stocks. How about another little test? See if you can rank them in order of [...]
