It's hard enough to get retirement planning right with all the challenges your clients face—market volatility, living longer than they imagined—that could take their savings, but have you considered some of the other challenges they face that could take their lives? According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the proportion of older people treated for a combination of cocaine and alcohol abuse tripled between 1992 and 2008, and suicide rates are highest among people over the age of 65, according to the American Association of Suicidology. In our January 2012 issue, Olivia Mellan broaches this topic with actionable tips on how to prepare your clients for a retirement that more accurately reflects reality.
The recession and its aftermath have hurt everyone, but the past 10 years have been no picnic. Savita Iyer-Ahrestani talks to industry veterans to get their thoughts on where we've been, where we're going and what we can expect.
So many of the supposedly "non-correlated" asset classes sure were correlated during the economic crisis in 2008 and 2009, but the managed futures class wasn't one of them. Ben Warwick, CEO of Quantitative Equity Strategies and frequent contributor to AdvisorOne, explains why managed futures are such an effective hedge in this month's Overlooked Managers.
Get RealHe's silver-haired and distinguished. She's cute and toned. They're sitting in beach chairs watching the sunset, or maybe walking hand in hand along the water's edge. They're relaxed, contented, affectionate. They're retired.
We've all seen this stereotype in retirement planning ads and brochures. But with the baby-boom juggernaut now beginning to roll past 65, the authors of two perceptive new books say that advisors need to help clients prepare more realistically for what retirement will be like. Olivia Mellan talks to Robert Laura, author of "Naked Retirement," for his perspective on the often unaccounted for dangers in retirement.
Roberta Taylor and Dorian Mintzer, "The Couple's Retirement Puzzle: 10 Must-Have Conversations for Transitioning to the Second Half of Life," outline ways advisors can make sure their clients are communicating to ensure their retirement dreams aren't derailed by each other.
Decade HorribilisEven veteran investment professionals, those who have been in the business for decades, are not shy to say that the 2001–2011 period was probably the worst time they have ever been through.
At the outset of a new decade, both the financial markets and the global economy still look tenuous. The European sovereign crisis is not resolved, the U.S. economy is fragile and inflation is on everyone's cards as a top concern in the years to come.
Managing Volatility with Managed Futures
Sounding the Alarm
