It's About More Than the Money Investment Wisdom for Building a Better Life

by Glassman, Saly A.

• ISBN13: 9780137050321
• ISBN10: 0137050321
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-04-30
• Publisher: Ft Pr

Summary

The Best Financial Advice Yours"ll Ever Get, From the Nationrs"s #1 Female Financial Advisor* Common-sense financial solutions Practical lessons you can use Learn how to: Take control of your financial life. Apply simple investing rules that work. Set realistic goalsandreachthem. Let go of "what might have been." Get therighthelp (ifyou need it). Put money in its rightful place. *Named #1 for 2008 byBarronrs"sWinnerrs"s Circle, Glassman currently invests over $2 billion for her clients.

Author Biography

Saly A. Glassman is Managing Director of Investments at Merrill Lynch in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

Saly graduated from Cheltenham High in 1976 and is one of the few women recognized in the high school’s “Hall of Fame.” She joined Merrill Lynch in 1980 after graduating from Cornell University, where she studied Psychology. As a Managing Director, supported by a team of nine women and more than 150 years of collective experience, she invests more than $3 billion for high net worth individuals, families, and corporations.

Saly has been listed consistently in the top rankings of the Barron’s 100 Top Financial Advisors since the initiation of The Barron’s Winner’s Circle. She has been named as one of America’s Top Female Financial Advisors, holding the number one position in 2006 and 2008.

Saly recently authored the book, It’s About More Than The Money (FT Press, June 2010), to help restore investors’ confidence and motivate them to take responsibility for their financial futures. She has recently published four eBook Shorts, a collection of fairy tales retrofitted for timeless financial and investment lessons.

A dedicated athlete and equestrian, Saly has been competing nationally for 40 years. Her passion for the outdoors is reflected in her longstanding commitment to land conservation and the protection of the environment.  She has successfully patented and developed various “green” inventions designed to positively influence consumer behavior and protect the planet. Saly and her husband Allan also own a fitness center and retail wellness store, Kindle Hill LLC in Gwynedd Valley, Pennsylvania. They have two daughters, Janice and Lauren.

Over the last 31 years, Saly has been a prominent innovator, speaker, author, instructor and facilitator for Merrill Lynch, the financial services industry, and the community at large.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. xv
About the Author	p. xvii
Introduction	p. 1
Rules Are Essential, but They Do Not Guarantee a Win	p. 5
Evaluate the Investment Rules you Followed	p. 8
Examine How Well You Followed the Rules	p. 9
Get Back in the Game	p. 9
Focus Your Predictions on What You Can Control: Your Priorities	p. 13
Let Go of What Might Have Been	p. 21
Learn to Recognize the "What Might Have Been" in Your Language	p. 22
See It for What It Really Is	p. 23
Eliminate the "What Might Have Been" from Your Language	p. 25
Notice What Factors Are and Are Not in Your Control	p. 25
Learn from Your Mistakes and Change for the Next Time	p. 26
Take Full Responsibility	p. 28
Take Responsibility	p. 31
Blame Others	p. 31
Take Responsibility	p. 33
A Master Plan for Your Life	p. 35
Get the Bigger Picture for Your Life	p. 36
Look at the Path from Where You Are Now to Where You Want to Be	p. 36
Map Out a Strategy	p. 37
Take Responsibility for the Master Plan	p. 38
Do What You Know and Recognize What You Don't Know	p. 39
Have Investment Rules That Work for You	p. 45
As the Investor, I must Understand what I own	p. 46
Rule #2	p. 46
My Investments Should Be Completely Transparent	p. 47
My Investments Must Be Audited by Federal Regulators and/or an Independent Third Party	p. 48
I Must Understand How I Am Paying for Investment Advice, Services, and Products	p. 48
I Have Personally Investigated the Character of the People with Whom I Associate and Do Business. I Did Not Delegate This Critical Responsibility to a Third Party	p. 49
The Time to Have the Fire Drill Is Not in the Middle of the Fire	p. 55
Communication with Advisors	p. 56
Wills and Estate Planning	p. 58
Tax Planning	p. 59
Protection of Spouses and Gifting to Children and Charitable Interests	p. 59
Asset Allocation and Investment Strategy	p. 60
The Best Advice Is Sometimes About What Not to Do	p. 67
Investing with Friends	p. 69
Overextending Your Borrowing	p. 70
Living the Consequences of Someone Else's Choices	p. 73
Getting Attached to Things and Not Wanting to Sell	p. 74
Appreciate the Value of Holding on to What You Have	p. 79
You Could Misplace It	p. 79
You Could Waste It	p. 80
You Could Lose It in the Financial Markets	p. 80
You Could Have It Stolen from You	p. 80
You Could Gamble It Away	p. 80
You Could Give It Away	p. 81
You Could Lend It and Not Get Repaid	p. 81
Holding on While Getting Ahead	p. 81
Know What You Want to Accomplish	p. 87
Capital Preservation	p. 88
Income	p. 89
Income with Growth	p. 90
Growth	p. 91
Aggressive Growth	p. 91
Be Clear About What You Have and What You Don't Have	p. 97
Expect to Pay a Price-Either Now or Later-for the Choices You Make About Handling Your Money	p. 103
Estimate Your Desired Income in Today's Dollars	p. 104
Determine Your Time Frame for Financial Independence	p. 104
Adjust the Income Figure for Future Inflation	p. 105
Calculate the Ending Balance You Need to Support the Inflated Income Figure	p. 108
Estimate Your Starting Balance Using Liquid Assets and Possibly Adding Other Assets That Are Soon to Become Liquid	p. 109
Estimate the Future Value of Your Current Assets, Using a Rate of Return That Is Realistic Based on Your Investment Portfolio and Asset Allocation	p. 109
Subtract the Difference Between What You Need for Your Ending Balance and What You Have Now	p. 110
Calculate the Amount You Need to Save Each Year-for Your Designated Time Frame-to Close the Gap and Potentially Achieve Financial Independence	p. 111
Develop an Asset Allocation Plan	p. 113
Paying Now	p. 115
Paying Later	p. 116
Making the Choice	p. 119
Know the Essence of Your Advisor's Brand	p. 121
Ask the Advisor Directly About the Brand	p. 124
Ask Other People About the Advisor's Brand	p. 125
Meet Several Advisors to Compare Their Brands	p. 125
Recognize and Respect Your Gut Reaction	p. 126
Know the Brand You Want	p. 127
Live It	p. 128
Does your Advisor Care Deeply About You?	p. 129
Expect to Be Taken Care Of	p. 141
Recognize What Is Important to You	p. 145
Ask for It	p. 145
Know If You Are Getting It	p. 147
The Investor's Perception Is the True Reality	p. 151
Crises are Like Little Gifts	p. 159
Crises Force You to Examine Your Behavior	p. 160
It's Foolish to Waste a Good Crisis	p. 161
Crises Give You a Chance to Gain Objectivity	p. 162
Crises Give You an Opportunity to Enhance Communication with the Important Players	p. 164
Crises Force You to Reevaluate Your Priorities	p. 165
The Most Valuable Things in Life Do Not Involve Currency	p. 169
Paula and Maureen	p. 170
Elliott	p. 171
Tom	p. 174
Find the Courage You Need to Have Integrity	p. 179
There's an Entire Economy in What We Consume and Waste	p. 189
Make It Happen	p. 199
Respect Rules, but Appreciate Them for What They Are	p. 200
Choose Your Financial Advisor Deliberately and Carefully	p. 200
Take Responsibility	p. 201
Plan	p. 202
Be Strong	p. 202
Keep Your Eye on the Big Picture	p. 203
Make It Happen	p. 204
Appendix: Formulas Used for Chapter 12 Calculations	p. 205
Review of Step 3: Adjusting Your Monthly Financial Needs for 3% Inflation over 25 Years	p. 205
Review of Step 4: Calculating the Capital Investment Value Needed to Generate the $15,700 Monthly Draw ($188,000 Annually) Needed 25 Years from Now	p. 206
Review of Step 6: Calculating the Future Value of $250,000 Today After 25 Years of Returns at a Rate of 7%	p. 206
Review of Step 7: Calculating the Asset Gap Needing to Be Filled by Savings and Investment Returns over the Next 25 Years	p. 207
Review of Step 8: Calculating the Amount You Will Need to Save Annually for 25 Years to Close the Retirement Investment Gap	p. 207
Index	p. 209
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

Excerpts

Introduction Introduction HelloIn this introduction I'd like to talk with you briefly about your investments, your financial future, and your quality of life. That will prepare you to get the most out of this book.In 29 years as a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch, I've seen enormous changes in the markets, the financial services industry, and even my own firm. A key objective of my professional career during those years has been to guide and educate clients. The downturn that began in mid-2007 has made me even more determined to use my experience to help simplify the investment process and offer practical advice that anyone would find valuable.In the past you may have come to rely on what you considered conventional wisdom in your pursuit of successful investing. Perhaps as a result of this most recent crisis you have reconsidered what you thought it would take to achieve your goals. That would certainly be understandable. This particular market downturn has dealt such a devastating blow that everyone has been struck by it or knows someone who has. No one could blame you if you now wonder where this experience has left you and whose advice is safe to follow.In my role as a financial advisor, I have talked at length with clients about their investment experiences. Like most people, you probably have lost money in one or more economic downturns. You may also have lost faith in the investment process. In this book, my primary goal is to help you get your investments back on track and restore the confidence you need to be a successful investor. Along the way, the insights I share will not only help you emerge victorious from the current financial crisis, but also prepare you to be a more successful investor in whatever markets lie ahead.You may not think of yourself as an investor; however, if you have money that you want to protect and grow, you are an investor. You may have money in the bank, in bonds, in the stock market, in real estate, or in complex derivatives. That makes you more than just someone who has put aside a little money. You are not just a bank customer or a client of an investment brokerage firm. As long as you have saved money, you are making investments. You are an investor, and you need to take that role seriously.How can you regain control of your financial life? First, you have to focus honestly and objectively on your past investment decisions and the consequences of your actions. Let's face it: For most investors, this is too great a responsibility to go it alone. For that reason, an important message throughout this book is that there may be distinct advantages in working with a financial advisor who is reliable and well suited to your circumstances.Most likely you have at least one person functioning as an advisor already. Maybe your advisor is the account manager at your local bank or the person assigned to you when you walked into an investment firm. Maybe you obtained outside advice as to where to put your money. From whom did you accept advice? Was it your spouse? Your parents? Your friends? Any of these may be your advisor. Or you may have a financial advisor in the most traditional sensea formal relationship with a qualified investment advisor at a bank, trust company, or investment brokerage firm.You might be asking yourself, "Do I need to establish a formal relationship with a professional financial advisor to be considered the kind of "investor" fo