| Remembering Buddy
As a nation, - too quickly and too easily - we sometimes forget our victims. Perhaps it's that damned eternal optimism - we like to believe it's always "morning in America." Maybe it's because we are already on to the next victims, most recently those veterans at Walter Reed, or, before that, the folks of New Orleans savaged by Katrina. .
The Advisory Group of San Francisco Launches Service Suite That ...
SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- March 28, 2007 -- The Advisory Group of San Francisco, LLC (www.advisorygroupsf.com), a preeminent and fully independent wealth strategy firm, announced it is launching a suite of special services that helps employers who sponsor 401(k) plans optimize their plan results and costs to determine whether fiduciaries and their plan participants are making sound decisions and paying fair fees. The suite of services, available now, is called "401(k) Effectiveness Analysis,"™ and is a win for both employers and employees because it provides insight into investment design and participant behavior to determine the degree to which a plan is helping or hurting participants. It also includes a "total cost" study, devised specifically for 401(k) plans by Advisory Group experts, that makes plan costs transparent to employers, giving them the power to decide whether they and their participants are paying fair fees in relation to their plan size.
Triple Your Money
John Buckingham, co-manager of the Al Frank fund, believes that you can more than triple your money in Bank of America (BAC) over the next decade. Earnings are growing 10% a year, and the stock, at $51, trades at just ten times estimated 2007 earnings and yields 4.4%. Plus, the company has raised its dividend 29 straight years. Buckingham thinks the stock can return 14% per year. Finally, consider Aflac (AFL), which generates 70% of its insurance revenues in Japan. Richard Helm, manager of Cohen & Steers Dividend Value, notes that Aflac has boosted its dividend by nearly 30% annually over the past five years, a sure sign of management confidence in the business. In Japan, Aflac benefits from high renewal rates for its supplemental health-insurance policies, creating a recurring stream of revenues that he reckons could help Aflac return 14% a year to its shareholders.
Inquiring minds want to know
Southeast: "News is about what's new. Zillow is new. Good or bad. It's true that in our paper there's an inherent bias against tradition because our news is only about what's new. Traditional anything isn't new. It's therefore going to be judged as what it is: old." Midwest: "Here, there's only one discount company. You pay for only those services you need. Most Realtors pay little attention to it. Homes are not priced here like they are in California so selling real estate at a discount is just plain stupid. I published a piece once on the subject and received a few calls and told the agents to go complain to someone who gives a ****. That wouldn't be me. Shall I have them call you next time?" East Coast: "Real estate people are portrayed exactly as they are.
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