ARTICLES

Boost Retirement Savings with a 401(k) Cash Balance Plan Combination (September 2010)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

A 401(k) Cash Balance Plan combination can provide business owners with substantial tax deductions while significantly increasing retirement savings. more >>

Target Date Funds: No Substitute for Plan Advisors
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

With 62% of 401(k)s not offering enough investment choices to build a diversified mix, the industry began to rely on target date funds to satisfy their fiduciary duty of providing adequate investment mixes to the participants. However, not all target date funds are created equal..   more >>

Variable Annuities: The Truth Behind the Selling Points
Joe Paoloni, MS, MBA

There are many compelling reasons that an annuity salesman will give you to sign up for a variable life annuity. Yet in practice, this is at best misleading, and in some cases simply not true.   more >>

Is the Market at a Bottom?
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

With the market losing over 40% of its value since October 17th, 2007, many experts are saying that now is the time to buy. But how cheap is the market on a historical basis?  more >>

The Danger of Reverse Mortgages
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

If, according to Albert Einstein, compound interest is the greatest invention of mankind, then negative compound interest must the worst. Therein lies the problem with reverse mortgages.  more >>

How To Protect Your Investments In Down Markets (July 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

If you wouldn't drive without a seatbelt, why would you invest without one? How to build protection into your portfolio to keep your investments from crashing with the market.  more >>

Should You Stay the Course in this Bear Market? (July 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Historic cycles, accurate to the month, indicate that the Bear Market may be here to stay. Can past market cycles help us with future investment decisions?  more >>

Variable Annuities: Popular but Perilous (June 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Variable Annuities are among the most popular investments sold today, but investors should be skeptical and cautious when considering their purchase. Hidden fees, extreme volatility, and misleading advertising can place investors in harm’s way.  more >>

The Perfect Pension Plan (June 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Are you a 401(k) owner who is maxing out your 401(k)? The Defined Benefit- Defined Contribution Hybrid plan may be the answer to a company’s need for more flexibility and greater retention of key employees without the increased corporate cost of additional employee retirement compensation.  more >>

Do Deficits Matter? (June 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

In his book with Ron Suskind, The Price of Loyalty, former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill gives readers valuable insight into the Bush administration's spending philosophies. When O'Neill raised concerns about a carte-blanche tax break that continued as we launched two wars, Vice President Dick Cheney informed O'Neill, "Reagan proved deficits don't matter." O'Neill relayed his astonishment at hearing this—it took over a decade to recover from the excesses of the Reagan era. Given that lengthy recovery time, is Cheney's statement accurate? Just how did Regan's exorbitant spending hurt the economy? Do deficits really matter?  more >>

Changing the Way You Invest- Managing Risk, Not Predicting Return (June 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

If the average investor is struggling with what to do, and the evidence suggests that the experts don’t know what to do, than maybe it’s time to alter the way you invest. Instead of changing what you invest in, change how you invest. It’s time to stop trying to find the next hot stock or mutual fund and start investing your life savings in a way that is more controllable and more predictable.
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The Insurance Scam (May 2008)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

The insurance world is full of confusing twists and turns...Is your policy giving you the best coverage for the price?  more >>

 

If It Sounds Too Good To Be True... (November 2007)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Variable annuities have exploded onto the market over the last couple of years with marketing and advertising boasting the perfect retirement investment. But are they?  more >>

Common Sense Ways to Save Your Clients Taxes on Their Investments (November 2007)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

If you’re like most advisors, your clients hate paying taxes. As their accountant they rely on your advice to pay as little as possible in taxes each year and to recommend tactics to help them pay less in the future. As you are well aware, a quick phone call or letter from you with periodic recommendations can save them thousands of dollars—gaining you a client for life.  more >>

Why Give It to Uncle Sam When You Can Keep It? (November 2007)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Increase Your Clients’ Qualified Plan Contributions By Double or Triple The Allowed Limits  more >>

Variable Annuities: The Devil's In The Details (May 2007)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Sales of variable annuities have exploded in the last several years, topping over $133 billion dollars in 2005. But do these products live up to the salespeople's promises?  more >>

Annuities: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (May 2005)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Annuities are one of the most popular investment tools sold to seniors today. There are three main types—fixed, variable, and equity indexed. Understand the defining points of each type of annuity and assess which might be best for you. Also read on to discover the “smoke and mirror” pitfalls that can beset contracts.  more >>

The Conspiracy of Mutual Funds (May 2005)
Heather Larrabee

Were you aware that mutual fund companies often promote the funds themselves and not the managers responsible for the performance of the funds? Learn how this could impact your holdings.  more >>

Understanding The Risk Of Your Portfolio (January 2005)
Joe Paoloni, MS, MBA

The risk of your portfolio can be quantifiably measured, thanks to the advent of cutting edge software now available to advisors. More important than knowing the return on your portfolio is identifying the mathematical risk that your managers are taking to get there.  more >>

Mutual Funds Aren't Companies — They're People (October 2004)
Dominick Paoloni, CIMA

Did you know that buying a mutual fund is essentially about "buying" the man or woman who manages that fund, day in and day out? Are all managers created equal? We believe some individuals are better suited for the job than others. Instead of "buying and holding" that mutual fund that keeps going down, perhaps you should trade it in for one managed by a stronger player.  more >>