Reverse mortgages

The word on the street has been that reverse mortages are better deals today than they were years ago. I just saw an illustration for a reverse mortgage on a $380,000 home that included upfront fees, including mortgage insurance, of $16,279. A better deal? Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. […]

Hitting bottom

Like a sick alcoholic, Illinois has fallen into an abyss. Unfunded pension liabilities grow by millions every day. The state’s credit rating is the worst in the country. Housing values are stuck somewhere around 30% below their peak. Real unemployment is high. Politicians dither. Every time I read another piece of bad news about Illinois, […]

Timeshare regret

Not a fan at all of timeshares. Although some owners are happy with their purchases, millions of others regret buying theirs: – Long-term maintenance contracts that can run for 99 years – High-pressure sales tactics – Lots of promises but nothing’s ever in writing – Trading yours for one in another part of the world […]

Retirement dream or nightmare?

Successful and happy retirees are the ones who have maximum flexibility in their lives. Pre-retirement, they strike a reasonable balance between spending and saving. They realize that they don’t have to stop working to enjoy retirement-like activities. Post-retirement, they have a lifestyle that allows them to spend less in years when markets drop, more when […]

‘Found’ money

We recently found $3,750 that a client left behind when he moved here from California. We turned up $18 from a checking account a client had 32 years ago. There was another $185 left in a brokerage account. These are just three of thousands of stories about money turned over to state treasurers’ offices after […]

Reframing the income ‘problem’

With yields at rock-bottom levels, some retirees are a.) Crying and cutting back their spending; or b.) Making risky bets in an effort to juice yields. A better option is to see not only dividends and interest as available to spend, but gains in your stock portfolio too. By selectively selling portions of your winning […]

Money for nothing?

The Wall Street Journal reports today (July 3) on a study that finds an inverse relationship between investment results of pension funds paying high fees and those paying low fees. The 10 state pension funds paying the highest fees had a median five-year annualized return of 1.34%. The 10 paying the lowest fees had an […]

What’s New?

Exciting things are happening at Mentor Capital! Our new web site is on – and you’re looking at it now. Although it’s still located at www.mentoradvisers.com, its look and feel are new. We’ve added elements that will allow clients and potential clients to find us more easily. There are links to our Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, […]

Bond perspective

So the bond market is selling off. No one should be surprised. Market value of the Barclay’s U.S. Aggregate Bond Index was down 3.01% year-to-date through June 25. At the same time, the yield on the index rose 0.78 percentage point – because when prices decline, yields rise. Those who hold bonds of any flavor […]

Chasing your tail

How can you get ahead of the market with all this volatility? Down 165, then up 46, then down 110. I couldn’t decide whether to buy BP on crude oil’s rise, or sell Treasuries after Rusty the Red Panda went missing from the National Zoo. So I I’ll just sit tight and keep my eye […]

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