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By Neil Plein From: Invest N’Retire, July 22, 2011 For the complete article, visit Invest n’Retire Having a retirement calculator should be a good thing. It helps to perform computations and projections that would otherwise be out of reach to the common 401k participant. The intent of calculators are primarily twofold; to help a participant understand what their retirement savings goal is and to present the necessary contribution rate needed…

From about 1991 to 2001, Japan suffered what is called its “Lost Decade,” as a result of steep declines in housing prices and the stock market. During this period, commercial real estate prices fell by about 87%, accompanied by economic stagnation and deflation.  This period saw the stock market decline by 60% between late-1989 and August 1992.  By 2001, Japan had entered its “lost decade.”

Millions of American investors lost many billions of dollars or more as a result of the 2008 mass housing and financial frauds. But very few people have taken the time to investigate why they lost money and what the U.S. financial services industry did to help create the crisis in the first place or prevent it from happening.

One of the darker themes of the current recession and its erratic, mismanaged recovery, is that the U.S. is headed for a lower standard of living. That is not officially articulated, of course, but implied in the many reports about long-term unemployment, proposed cuts to retirement benefits, 401k contributions, unpaid internships, and the rise in long-term unemployment. But it is certainly an unarticulated theme among the majority of Americans. More…

Millions of people in the first wave of Baby Boomers entering retirement face more stress than they did in their working lives. Their home equity has shrunk, along with their portfolios.  Partisans in Congress threaten to cut Social Security, a key component in retirement income, along with the new health care program. And for those retirees who want to work, they face rampant age discrimination in an increasingly competitive workplace….

Most of the discussions about the need for greater transparency in financial transactions has centered on the need to adopt greater fiduciary responsibilities. But there is also another reason: economic. Mutual funds benefit financially from the lack of transparency.  When fund companies make it difficult for investors to choose between the 8,029 mutual funds and 21,631 different share classes*, the fund companies stand to profit. That’s why fund companies intentionally…

A new study examining the income sources for Americans over age 65 shows more people are relying on Social Security for their retirement income, while income from jobs has remained consistent since 1962, according to a new study by the Social Security Administration. The study found that 38% of Americans over age 65 in 2009 claimed Social Security as their largest income source.  This was an increase from 30% in…

Most mutual fund shareholders don’t know what they are being charged for their mutual funds and more importantly, why these expenses are critically important. In normal economic times, when the the economy is healthy, fund fees erode your investment returns, but they are offset by the investment gains. The fees are still significant, and in many cases too expensive compared to what the shareholder gets in return, but the emotional…

The current (August 27, 2011) issue of Barron’s has published my op-ed,”Why the Fund Industry Needs Shareholder Advocates” in its “Other Voices” section, page 45. The op-ed cites the need for fund companies to more aggressivly demonstrate they are acting in their own customers’ best interests.  While this may seem an obvious thing to do, the fund industry in general is governed by a sales mentality, which puts the needs…

The current gatherings of anti-Wall Street protestors seem like amorphous groups, but the protests center around a variety of issues related to financial insecurity.  According to the protestors, every class strata, with the obvious exception, is financially stressed and their losses in home equity and market portfolios will take years to recover. Consider that the Republican Party is openly advancing the cause of the top 1% of the U.S. population…