This is my occasional — sometimes weekly, sometimes monthly — posting of articles from around the internet that I found interesting and hope that you do, too.
Why You Might Want to Leave a 401(k) With a Former Employer
It looks like the preferred choice by the Department of Labor (DOL) is for 401(k) participants to leave their 401(k) accounts with their former employers, although heretofore financial advisors seem quick to recommend they roll the accounts over to an IRA for more flexibility…and likely higher fees. This article cites a number of reasons to take the DOL preferred choice and to not rollover the account. The article cites a few reasons, including lower-cost funds might be available in the plan and that the plan offers protection against creditors. With respect to the first reason, we do try to design fund lineups for plans that include the least expensive fund choices and funds that cover the investment spectrum. The DOL is wrong, though, to assume that the rollover choice will always be the more expensive option, as smaller plan can have plan fees—not necessarily fund fees—that are quite high.
Melinda Gates: I spent my career in technology. I wasn’t prepared for its effect on my kids
Count me as a bit surprised to see the angle taken in this article by Melinda Gates, who probably has gotten over being referred to as Bill’s wife, on the subject of technology in the family. This article offers some helpful steps to help manage family technology issues. One of her favorite things is to have a “device-free dinner,” which is already a policy at our home, so it’s one of mine, too, but she has other good suggestions, too, along with a bunch of rabbit-trail website links for more discovery. If you have children, read this now.
How to Avoid Focus-Stealing Traps
This blog from Evernote—I’m a big user of it—is a couple of weeks old, but I only just got around to reading it—look, a SQUIRREL! I think it’s worth your time to read it. My first takeaway was that, “a failure to focus inward leaves you rudderless, a failure to focus on others renders you clueless, and a failure to focus outward may leave you blindsided,” which is an excerpt from a new book by Daniel Goleman, well known for his emotional intelligence books. The blog highlights three ways to regain focus: 1) voluntarily disengage our focus from what’s distracting us; 2) work toward resisting distraction so that we don’t gravitate back to it; and 3) concentrate on what we’re supposed to be doing and imagine how good we will feel when we achieve it. It also includes some very practical ways to focus, like leaving your phone in another room. I particularly identified with one‘s vulnerability to distraction when I’m fatigued from too much focusing. Even as I type this, I can see that there’s a bold “3” next to the word “Inbox” that I can see on the portion of my Microsoft Outlook application that’s showing. Even though I have all notifications turned off, the number three is beckoning me…be right back.
Hurricane Harvey’s Impact — And How It Compares To Other Storms
Give me a topic of interest and combine it with clever ways of displaying the data, and I’m hooked. Check out this look at hurricane rainfall totals.
This article is what seems to me to be a pretty thorough look at the economic impacts of hurricanes and other weather-related events. Hurricanes have been the most devastating of natural disasters, and it’s looking like Harvey’s costs could dwarf Katrina’s 2005 $160 billion price tag, and that’s with Irma and Jose on his heels—and then there’re hurricanes K-Z.
Phillips Curve Doesn’t Help Forecast Inflation, Fed Study Finds
Something that every Economics 101 student learns is the Phillips Curve. That concepts asserts a connection between unemployment and inflation, saying that as unemployment falls, inflation rises, as employers are forced to raise wages to attract employees. That hasn’t happened in the current cycle, however, as some have fretted, and the Federal Reserve’s latest research into the concept has produced the headline, above. Not that anyone has asked me, but I think this is another anomaly that has resulted from the financial crisis and ultra-low-forever interest rates. I’m not a fan of shifting paradigms, but I think they might have moved around a bit as a result of these two things.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. Historical performance is no guarantee of future results. Investing in mutual funds and ETF’s involves risk, including possible loss of principal.