AUTHOR: Howard Schwartz on 8/21/2025 FIRST: Mark Crothers on 8/21/2025 | RECENT: Mark Crothers on 8/21/2025
Comments
I had a 401(k) plan customer about 25 years ago who called me with an unusual question. It was a company in NJ that hired immigrants from Haiti and Puerto Rico. They provided burlap products to the landscaping industry. It was backbreaking work. She told me that a long-time employee approached her to say he had become an American citizen after being here over 20 years. When he gave her his paperwork and SS number she realized he had been using someone else's name and number for all that time. She asked what to do. I referred her question and ultimately all they told her to do was sign him up as a new employee with the correct name and SS number and ignore the past 20 years. She complied and never heard from any government agency while I was involved. Crazy, right?
I spent part of my career in financial services selling investments to institutions, mostly pension plans and endowments. I sold investments like the ones mentioned here which mostly performed very well. There are significant differences in the products I was selling and the products available to individual investors. Mainly, the minimums were in the millions of dollars, and the customers were not going to retire or die, so liquidity was not a primary concern. Finally, most of them hired consultants who knew as much as I did and provided a layer of protection that is not available to retail investors. I would not invest my own money in the products I was selling even if I qualified. Liquidity is too important.
Doug, thanks for the comment. I looked around the internet and found a wide variety of opinions on the total percentage of global equity percentages by country. I will go with VT as you suggest but I guess it's a moving target.
Great article. I have been investing in non-US equities for decades. Today more than half the worldwide market capitalization is outside the US. Why limit yourself when there are so many great companies around the world?
My Rx for Zanubrutinib costs $14,500 monthly. My Part D plan covers it. If the formulary changes and my provider refuses to pay for it, I would appeal and they would have to pay for it because I would die without it. I suggest you file an appeal. They are required to respond within 72 hours. If they deny it, you can try again. I agree with your analysis that all FDA approved drugs should be covered for their intended use.
86 million eligible voters did not vote in the 2024 election. I assume they do not care about their own self-interest or are so fed up that they don't think it matters who wins elections. They don't care that a convicted felon became president or that our legislature seems unable to help Americans who need help. Why does anyone think they will care more about Social Security than the myriad other issues that directly affect their desperate lives?
Comments
I had a 401(k) plan customer about 25 years ago who called me with an unusual question. It was a company in NJ that hired immigrants from Haiti and Puerto Rico. They provided burlap products to the landscaping industry. It was backbreaking work. She told me that a long-time employee approached her to say he had become an American citizen after being here over 20 years. When he gave her his paperwork and SS number she realized he had been using someone else's name and number for all that time. She asked what to do. I referred her question and ultimately all they told her to do was sign him up as a new employee with the correct name and SS number and ignore the past 20 years. She complied and never heard from any government agency while I was involved. Crazy, right?
Post: What could save Social Security and Medicare or bring it closer to insolvency
Link to comment from February 25, 2026
I spent part of my career in financial services selling investments to institutions, mostly pension plans and endowments. I sold investments like the ones mentioned here which mostly performed very well. There are significant differences in the products I was selling and the products available to individual investors. Mainly, the minimums were in the millions of dollars, and the customers were not going to retire or die, so liquidity was not a primary concern. Finally, most of them hired consultants who knew as much as I did and provided a layer of protection that is not available to retail investors. I would not invest my own money in the products I was selling even if I qualified. Liquidity is too important.
Post: Keep it Simpler
Link to comment from February 23, 2026
Mr. Flack, please do not use the word "gyped"(also spelled gypped). It is a racial slur. Swindled would be better.
Post: Ambulatory Ambivalence
Link to comment from February 23, 2026
"Don't confuse brains with a bull market" Humphrey B. Neill
Post: If you have done well, be proud.
Link to comment from February 18, 2026
Doug, thanks for the comment. I looked around the internet and found a wide variety of opinions on the total percentage of global equity percentages by country. I will go with VT as you suggest but I guess it's a moving target.
Post: Sell America
Link to comment from February 15, 2026
Great article. I have been investing in non-US equities for decades. Today more than half the worldwide market capitalization is outside the US. Why limit yourself when there are so many great companies around the world?
Post: Sell America
Link to comment from February 14, 2026
Rick, thanks for this.
Post: Many Words Later
Link to comment from February 6, 2026
My Rx for Zanubrutinib costs $14,500 monthly. My Part D plan covers it. If the formulary changes and my provider refuses to pay for it, I would appeal and they would have to pay for it because I would die without it. I suggest you file an appeal. They are required to respond within 72 hours. If they deny it, you can try again. I agree with your analysis that all FDA approved drugs should be covered for their intended use.
Post: When $2100 is not what it appears. The Medicare Part D trap
Link to comment from February 6, 2026
86 million eligible voters did not vote in the 2024 election. I assume they do not care about their own self-interest or are so fed up that they don't think it matters who wins elections. They don't care that a convicted felon became president or that our legislature seems unable to help Americans who need help. Why does anyone think they will care more about Social Security than the myriad other issues that directly affect their desperate lives?
Post: Social Security is not going bankrupt, but that is not the full story
Link to comment from January 25, 2026
The Intelligent Asset Allocator by William Bernstein is a must read. The best quote is "If you have won the game, stop playing".
Post: Your two best investing books—and do you also keep an End-of-Life “family binder”?
Link to comment from January 21, 2026