EXEL

Monday, 8-August-2010

1) Just got told not to eat lunch at my desk any more. NOTE: I've been eating at my desk for 1.5 years now and I even told my boss that. She simply responded, "That was then."

2) Boss has this huge cut on her hand. Apparently, she cut it while preparing food this weekend. NOTE: Since she's basically blind, probably not a good idea to be holding sharp things. I'm surprised she hasn't cut a body part off (yet.)

3) Boss doesnt use email, so what we have to do here is print out the email. We then type her response and send to the client. On an email that went out Friday, she responded to one of the clients, "Hope to see you and M---y soon." Client responds,"M---y passed away a year ago." NOTE: The widow of the deceased has been in here 3-4 times in the last year.

18 Months of Time vs Performance

Friday, 23-July-2010

Just got reamed for not writing down the name of the individual I spoke to at Lincoln. Apparently, someone gave me in depth details about Riders on a particular policy at Lincoln Benefit Planner (not to be confused with Lincoln's American Legacy.) When I relayed the Rider detail to Boss, she relayed it to the client. Client was leaning towards doing the Rider, we called up Lincoln for the paperwork and they said NOPE, these Riders are unavailable. So I get ripped by Boss and she told me to call the client to tell them I focked up.

Thursday, 22-July-10

Last night an accountant left a voice message regarding cost basis on the phone and mentioned BR's note. So Boss asks me if I know anything about it, I do not, and then Boss tells me to call the accountant up. I call and the accountant explains that it's regarding an email that was sent back in May 2010. BR had put her name responding to the accountants email. So I tell Boss and she starts going ballistic (ie. pointing finger at me, saying "NEVER EVER EVER", etc.) Apparently, anything regarding securities, BR is not aloud to respond.

Here's what happened in May. BR relayed the email to Boss. Boss tells me to follow up. I tell BR what to write in the email. We make a copy for the file, end of story. If Boss actually knew how to use her email, this could have been prevented.

Wednesday, 21-July-10

So the Axxxxxxxxxx's came in today and Boss was trying to tell them her eyesight was to be blamed on allergies. And then she proceeded to say that she's never had allergies.

A representative came in today to discuss the iron grates to cover the windows. We're officially about to look like a prison.

So I just got yelled at for not having the detail on the summary (eg. "Transfer To.." & "Transfer From..") grouped together. Boss does not care if the registrations are mixed up, she wants the "Transfer To.." & "Transfer From.." right below each other.

Wednesday, 23-June-2010

So Boss had her office broken in. The only thing that appears to be stolen is a (very old-ancient) dell laptop and a sheet of one-dollar bills from the US Treasury. According to the alarm company, the alarms went off at 6:04am and the cops were here by 6:11am. Boss complained to me while she was waiting for her flight back here, that it was the alarms fault for not notifying the police fast enough and it was also the police's fault for not getting here fast enough. Are you kidding me? REALLY, Boss??

Monday, 21-June-2010

On Friday, client AV had a very odd situation. He had a check mailed to him from DWS. Upon calling DWS, apparently his account number was duplicated and the other individual who had the exact same account number had liquidated the account. Unfortunately, DWS did not do the security protocol, and both parties had their account liquidated. Well, client AV came into the office Friday and said he would come by Monday (ie. today.) Boss called around 445 and wanted a recap of what went on. So I told her what was happening on the board and gave her an update of what happened with DWS. DWS will make the client whole; however, mr AV didn't show up. So I told her he did not show and I was about to call him. So she lectures me on how I should have called the client up to let him know even though he said Friday, he would stop by Monday.

Thursday, 17-June-2010

So I'm overhearing my Boss on a conference call with FTP Transitions, which is a group that she hired to help evaluate what her book of business is worth. The last missing piece of the process is the revenue portion which FTP is waiting on. They are asking for the 12 trailing months and what is recurring versus non-recurring. The guy on the phone had to explain what a 'recurring' revenue transaction was (ie. 12B-1 fee, etc.)

Thursday, 10-June-2010

My Boss is one lady that will not retire. Frustrating day.

Right Shoulder

CTRP

Friday, 4-June-2010

Well, our intern is horrible. He's either text messaging on his iphone or he's on Instant Messenger. It took him 30 minutes to fold less then 50 envelopes today regarding this workshop that Boss is doing in August.

Well, Boss was really happy to land this $80k new client today. They were suppose to come in to sign the papers, but didn't! I found it fairly odd, she was happy to land them, because the wife's a real estate agent and the husband is about to retire from the military. They supplied one of their personal finance Balance Sheet, and they own like 5+ homes totaling 1.3mm in assets; however, they have about 700k in liabilities. If you take out the cash/cash equivalents, they have about 950k in housing and 700k in mortgages. I don't think they're mark to marketing their balance sheet, so who knows what those houses are worth. They're probably worth a lot less then what that balance sheet says.

Wednesday, 2-June-2010

So I was grilled at lunch today, because I (supposedly) failed to update a statement clearly reflecting changes (ie. deceased spouse, etc.) So she said she was embarrassed in talking with the client, because nothing was done. So I found this strange, so I quickly grabbed the statement. To no surprise, I had done the statement correctly and the changes were done 9 months ago. Apparently Boss was looking at a statement dated 07-02-09 and she should have been looking at the 06-01-10 statement. Either she is blind or she thought it was July already.

Tuesday, 1-June-2010

It was nice to enjoy a 3 day weekend. So I'm walking into the office, dropping my lunch off in the refrigerator, and JG (who is walking out of the bathroom) says, "Our intern is here." At first, I had to think for a minute, because it was last Thursday that Boss told me to talk to JG on my thoughts on having an intern. Because I did not have a chance to talk to Boss on Friday, I was going to talk to her today; however, that was no longer the case since he was here. My next thought was that maybe she just made an accelerated decision (which if you've worked here, you'd understand.) Well, turns out, nobody in the office knew and the intern, Gabe said that Boss had said his start date would be today. So we have an intern...woohoo!

Wednesday, 26-May-2010

So I'm back from my DC Trip and things were not a disaster here like I thought they would be. JG was asked to do a task, which consisted of gathering clients ending account values from her RECAP summary. She wanted to pull about 5-10 clients and find out the average gain/loss from prior period (even though it's not a real gain/loss, because it does not factor in deposits/withdrawals). The reason for this exercise is because one of her clients R/J Miller is upset, because they sold everything and moved to cash in 2009. What will be funny is if the Millers rebuy and the market tanks again. Buy High Sell Low never fails.

Friday, 14-May-2010

So I did the unthinkable today. BR told me yesterday that Boss needed a CE (Continuing Education) class with Penn Mutual in order to maintain her appointment with them. Apparently, one of the CE's that was a requirement was Anti-Money Laundering of which FNIC does not require that (it's optional). I had done this last fall when my CE elements were required. So BR said that JL would print out the materials and that I would need to 'help' her with them (eg. do it for her basically.) Talk about being 'just wrong'? So after giving it some thought for a few minutes, I told myself that there is no way I'm going to do this for her. Today JL gave me the packet around lunch since it arrived via e-mail, and I waited till Boss returned from lunch. Boss came back and I walked into her office and I said JL handed this to me. So Boss looks at it and says, yes, this is the CE that BR should have mentioned to you on Thursday. So I told Boss, what do you want me do to do with it? (eg. terrible response, I should i have been more direct and said I am not doing this, etc.) Boss said, it should only take you 15 minutes, you can do it really fast. I said, Boss, I can't do this for you. So Boss (looking desparate and panicky) said, okay, lets do this really quick and you can read me the questions. !%!@#%. It took 30 minutes, but I read her all the questions and gave her no assistance. Unfortunately, the questions were very easy and all but 2 of the questions did not require any research in reading the 20 page packet.

Thursday, 13-May-2010

So I apologize for not updating this. I've been both busy and Boss was on a cruise/vacation from April 24th to May 6th.

The only thing she's complained numerous times about since she was back was how horrible the cruise was. She's probably overstating how bad of a time she had, but the fact she tells all her clients this is just wrong. Going on a cruise is a luxury, I dont know many retired people who can afford to do this as often as she has done (ie. every other year, etc.) I feel like it's a rub in the face, when she tells people about how terrible of a time she had.

1) She is having me assist her in this assignment to gather client asset data together so she can forward it to this company that will help evaluate her book of business. She's paying this company $1k (eg. waste of money) to figure out what her book is worth. Apparently, figuring out what her trailing 12 months is not enough of a clue.

Thursday, 29-April-2010

So we ask Boss prior to her leaving last Friday, what if someone needs a signature (ie. approved OSJ Manager signature)? Her response, "Nobody is going to need a signature and if they do they are just going to have to wait. Well, by her saying that, pretty much put the kiss of death on it. RR TG needed 2 signatures. She needed a signature for approved compliance (ie. telephone ad) and she needed a signature guarantee for an IRA Distribution. I called up our home office to talk to OSJ Supervision thinking I could get a signature for them. Nope. They referred me to another OSJ manager to have them sign it.

I dont mind taking the heat when she gets back for helping her process business. But how in the world could she just discount the fact nobody is going to need anything processed. And if they do, tell them they're going to have to wait?

Thursday, 15-April-2010

1) Boss swears you can change registration of securities (ie. JTWROS --> IRA) and use that as a prior year contribution. She recommended a client to move $6k worth of securities in the JTWROS and move that into the IRA and that would qualify as the contribution.

2) Boss said that if you file an extension on your taxes, you can still make Roth Contributions up until when you file your taxes.

Tuesday, 13-April-2010

1) 5th Client in the last few days shows up saying they had an appointment. BR looks at the appointment book and it happens to be the following week. Looks like Boss has been booking clients on the wrong day.

2) Boss does not understand RMD or MRD rules. She thinks that if the client turns 70.5 and 71 in the same year, the client needs to take 2 distributions. I tried to tell her this was not the case and tried to explain it, but no dice.

Wednesday, 7-April-2010

1) Well, today i was very sad because, I tried to convince Boss to add to an annuity instead of creating a separate annuity. She admitted that she wanted to create a separate annuity in case she wanted to do a 1035 exchange down the road. So today, she made it very obvious how she makes money, which is taking advantage of clients by churning them in doing 1035 exchanges. It saddens me that FNIC does nothing about this to prevent a representative taking advantage of clients like this especially all the 1035's that my Boss does. FNIC is no better then my Boss in my opinion.

2) During a meeting with Boss and JG, I noticed the owners of next doors Plastic Surgery office had their little husky walking around in our parking lot. I quickly ran out of Boss office to see if I could catch the dog. Fortunately, I got ahold of the dog and the dog had a collar (otherwise I would have kept him, he's pretty cute.) So I had BR call the dog tag, but no owner. I walked over next door holding 'Peyton' (no correlation to Peyton Manning) in my arms and I noticed the door was locked. Finally, one of the owners came by and opened the door. He wasn't even coming back for the dog, because he forgot something at work! So we let the dog back in and I went back to work.

Tuesday, 6-April-2010

Boss has been complaining out her schedule has been empty. At around 420pm she asked me for a list of the AAA's and AA's. I gave her the list I write the values of the portfolio each quarter. From my room, I could hear a lot of my boss saying, "I'm terribley(sp) sorry for dialing the wrong number, etc.)

Before I left, I kindly asked her to make sure she didnt lose my list (in a joking matter...not really though.) She looked at me and said, "Oh, I'll put it in your office. I'm calling clients and trying to set up meetings." HK, you like this?

Monday, 5-April-2010

1) So I fear that I'm getting 'branded' for a lot of the shadiness that I do even if I'm just assisting in the process. Today, a client called in response to a letter I had wrote per Boss. The letter was a letter of authorization to change on an existing policy with National American Insurance from one agent to Boss. Now the client had contacted me in January specifically telling me that she was not interested in doing a 1035 exchange. Boss then wanted me to do a letter of authorization for inquiry only. Last week, boss wanted me to write a letter to client to switch from rep to her. I asked her had she talked to the client JI. She said she would call (but she didn't) and then today happened. Client Janet I asked me to explain the letter I had sent to her. I tried to explain to the client what the intentions were, and the client asked why would I sign this letter? She said if I wanted you all to be the agent, I would have done that awhile ago. I did not know how to respond to the client, and I simply just asked that Boss call her back.

When Boss called JI back, all I could hear was boss trying to defend herself saying the process is 2 steps. First, it's for inquiry purposes. Second, we need to be the agent on the policy so that we can get very specifics (WRONG!) I could also tell the conversation was not going in Boss' favor, because she would railroad the conversation and ask how was their Easter or did you have a good weekend. I don't think Boss convinced her to send the letter back, because Boss did come back to my office all happy that she convinced the client to send the letter back.

2) I find it slightly disturbing that two clients called asking for CD rates and Boss tells her that she can get the client 2.25% in the form of Franklin's Federal Tax Free Fund. Boss emphasizes that everything is Tax-Free (WRONG!) I will create a chart of lost accounts versus incoming accounts each month.

Friday, 2-April-2010

1) So JL fills in for BR on Fridays. JL receives an incoming call for a client. She yells it out to Boss. Boss says who? We do not have that client here. JL gets back on the phone and then tells Boss, yes, the client does have an account here. Boss then says I dont recognize that name. I speak up and answer the call. The clients daughter was calling on behalf of the client, because her dad is 98. The client just wanted to know about CD Yields. So I take the message and then hang up. I relay the message to Boss and she just starts bashing me with the fact that I have to give ALL sales calls to her. I told her that you didn't even recognize the clients name, plus it wasn't even the client, it was the clients daughter. Boss then starts giving me the whole history of the client (ie. went to dinners with them, fishing trips, etc.) We tried to call back the number the daughter left and it was a wrong number.

2) So I'm helping out JL's husband, DL, figure out cost basis for some mutual funds that he sold last year. It's been frustrating to get these tax numbers, because DL has transferred them from firm to firm where the cost basis has been lost. In turn, I have to type these letter of authorizations signed by the client to have them mailed to the respective sponsoring firm. I sent an email last night to DL that I needed yet another sponsoring firm to try and capture the cost basis. JL asked me this morning if I could personally just "make up a number so they could use it for their taxes". I didn't know what to say, because that would be horrific if he got audited and they said I gave them that cost basis number. I told JL to just talk to their CPA for ideas.

Thursday, 1-April-2010

1) I had to download all activity (ie. DST, ING, Lincoln, etc.), because Boss did not want Branch Manager JG assist in the process since JG is on vacation. Boss said no other rep can have access to her accounts. Since I had to print everything, I am now 2.5 days behind schedule for the summaries.

Tuesday, 30-March-2010

1) Boss seems to think ALL Roth Accounts have a withdrawal penalty if withdrawn after 5 years. I tried to tell her, that any new contribution Roth accounts you can take out your original contribution penalty free and that only Roth Conversions were applicable to the 5 year rule.

2) Boss asked me today to be more thorough like HK and to make sure JG was keeping in mind.

3) So somehow JG is sending client forms to old addresses. I'm not sure what she's looking at to trigger that.

Monday, 29-March-2010

So I found this earring that Boss lost stuck in between a KOA file. I remember some time ago, she was looking for this costume jewelry earring.

Friday, 26-March-2010

I've failed to write a daily blog for over two weeks now. Nothing new, but here are some observations that I've noticed. It appears that she's losing on average about 1 account per week. I've closed 4 this month so far and I have a couple more just waiting for incoming paperwork to be finalized. She's also have JG do some research on Jackson Life and we've opened a couple policies already. So it appears that Boss will start using Jackson Life as the new annuity sponsoring family to run 1035 exchanges through.

Wednesday, 10-March-2010

So I had to explain to Boss about a problem we're having with a rider on one of her contracts. Apparently, we received a letter from lincoln stating that they are unable to add a rider due to the fact that they already have a rider on it. In order for us to add the rider, we need to cancel the one we currently have and sit out a year. So Boss was upset that I should have caught the fact that there is a rider on there (NOTE: It is a discontinued rider and i've never heard of this rider ever.) What worst is, she's never heard of the rider and she asked me to explain it. I tried to explain it, and she got frustrated. She treatened that we may need to hire someone to specialize in insurance.

Tuesday, 10-March-2010

So Boss asked about the status of this incoming retirement check. I tried to explain to Boss that the 'check is still outstanding'. I would think most people would understand (especially, if you're in finance.) She said what? I was like the check is still outstanding. She was like i dont know what outstanding means. I was like, we have not received the check yet; hence, outstanding. she just shook her head and i finally told her that it's an OPEN ITEM and i will tell you when we receive it. Did I need to get any more elementary?

Monday, 9-March-2010

So client DK came in. Boss calmed him down and looks like we're going to go with the original plan and not cancel anything. I could tell from DK's body movements, he was very uneasy about doing the transaction. oh well!

Friday, 5-March-2010

It took me the better part of today doing 1 cost basis that involved 7 different mutual funds. Pretty ridiculous!

So I told Boss about client DK who is still steaming over why Boss recommended him to move from qualified Annuity to Roth Conversion. She said she would never authorize such a transaction. I didn't want to argue with her, but clearly her notes instructed me to do so. Whats worst is, the client even said she told me. So client confirmed, notes confirm, I confirm from Boss' verbal communication at the time of the transaction, Boss denies. Who is incorrect?

Thursday, 4-March-2010

So today, client DK called to cancel a Roth Conversion if possible. Apparently, he went to J anet Da vis, CPA for some tax advice and she told him NOT to do the conversion. So I told Boss even though she's in New Orleans, all she did was complain that she's had problems with the CPA. The best part about all this is that Boss referred DK to CPA.

Wednesday, 3-March-2010

Well, I've been sending out switch letters separate, because I forgot to do these. Client DK called today asking what this was. I told him it was the fund fees he could expect to pay and I asked if Beverly had discussed this with him? He responded No. He even mentioned since he's had his account there for 10 years he didnt know about 'the fee'. (Note: I guess he didnt look at his statements.) He also said that he was reading somewhere and the Roth IRA Conversion wasn't for everyone. (Note: duh?) I told him, well, I'm not sure what you discussed with Beverly, but like most things in life, one thing isn't for everyone. It's a case by case situation.

I forgot to mention this last week, but Client MJL called asking for cost basis. She's a very nice lady (Note: last Friday she was not) and a motivational speaker. In the last 4 years that she's had an account with Boss, she asked me why are they using the Federal Tax Free Income Account as a Money Market Account? Apparently, they had transferred their ING Direct Accounts to the Federal Tax Free Income Account to take take advantage of the tax free interest per Boss. She was unaware that they could lose money. (Note: doh!) She was a little upset, because they had just sent 18k a few months ago and got tagged for the 4.25% sales charge. What is worst, each time they sell out of the fund to pay for expenses creates a taxable event (ie. 1099-B transaction.) She was not aware of this. Gawd, I wonder what exactly is Boss saying to these people.

good article...depressing though.

The Economy is Not Improving

By Robert Mchugh, Ph.D | march 2, 2010

For those who like to trade stocks based upon fundamentals instead of technical analysis, last week was a very bad week. We learned last week that the housing market is down the john. It is a royal mess. Commerce reported that New Home Sales crashed in January, down 11.2 percent to a record low, an annual sales pace of 309,000, the lowest level since records started a half century ago. This was the third straight monthly drop in spite of targeted Central Planner tax incentives for first time homebuyers and relocating home buyers. Confirming this disaster was the release Friday of January Existing Home Sales which also plunged, down 7.2 percent. Why? What is going on here? Fear of losing jobs, inability to sell current homes (illiquidity) and tight lending standards. In short, a lack of consumer confidence.

Consumer spending is 70 percent of GDP in a capitalist economy. That is a good thing. If consumers are spending, they are doing well, businesses are doing well, and government tax revenues are doing well. If government spending moves to 70 percent of GDP, that is bad. It means households are not doing well. So how is consumer confidence doing? Well a Conference Board survey showed its measure plunging 10 points from 56.6 to 46 in February, the worst level in 10 months. Readings above 90 are necessary for a sense of well being from consumers for a strong economy. Confirming the problem, a Thompson-Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Confidence survey showed sentiment fell to 73.6 in February. This means that unless the government increases its spending as a percent of a growing GDP or gets the consumer back on track, we can expect horrid GDP figures in the future, assuming they are calculated and presented truthfully.

But there is a problem with government spending increasing while non-government spending does not. It means tax revenues will shrink without increasing income tax rates sharply. Shrinking tax revenues coupled with increasing government spending to stimulate the economy is a formula for disaster if those spending programs fail to get households back on their feet. So how are the policies of the Central Planners doing? They are failing miserably. Disaster is occurring. Sovereign survival is at risk. Here are the figures: According to the Treasury Department, the U.S. has a Federal Deficit of $11.46 trillion as of year end September 2009. This deficit is calculated on an accrual accounting basis. In other words, the Federal Government is insolvent, is bankrupt. It owes $11.46 trillion more than it owns. Now, can it work its way out of this mess if it is not forced to mark to market, if it is allowed to continue as a going concern for a period of time in the future? Possibly. But in the business world, corporations and individuals are not normally given such a chance to fix themselves. This is alarming. It would be one thing if this deficit occurred because the $11.46 trillion was rebated to households in the form if income tax rebates and cuts. In that case, we would know that a massive amount of tax revenue at low tax rates would be returning to the Federal Treasury because households would be using the money to clean up their and their bank’s financial positions, that household spending would be increasing dramatically, that small and large business top line revenues would be increasing and ergo, jobs would be added to business payrolls to handle the increase in aggregate demand for their goods and services. We could look forward to a reversal of the government deficit and a return from bankruptcy and insolvency. But that is not what has occurred. This Central Planner group has sent this deficit spending down a black hole with no self-sustaining resultant growth. Cars for clunkers was a complete waste. Targeted home buyers tax credits have failed to turn around the housing market. Municipalities are not turning around, but are close to bankruptcy. Employment is not increasing. It is worsening. Yes, a few large Wall Street firms are prospering, like Goldman Sachs, but that is about it.

On a cash accounting basis, the Federal Deficit rose to $1.46 trillion the year ending September 2009, a tripling of the deficit from a year earlier, which came in at $454.8 billion fiscal year ended September 2008. 2009 is a new record, the worst position ever. The previous record was 2008’s deficit. The propaganda machine is on overdrive to try and make folks believe the economy is improving and we are better off in 2010 than we were in 2009 or 2008. Just not true.

If we look at current entitlement programs, Social Security and Medicare, the Federal Government has unfunded liabilities of $45.88 trillion as of fiscal year end September 2009. Where is that money going to come from? Taxes? Taxes on struggling households in a shrinking economy? Tax and spend. It does not work. Look, this is not about political party affiliation. It is about economics. John Kennedy was a democrat and he used massive income tax cuts to get our economy out of a royal mess in the early ‘60s. Ronald Reagan was a republican. He used massive income tax cuts to get us out of a royal mess in the early ‘80s. Targeted government spending coupled with tax increases on “their definition of” the “rich” is not a formula for economic prosperity. It is socialism, and that experiment failed miserable in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union over the past century. Karl Marx was wrong. Adam Smith was right. As far as the Central Planner definition of rich, $250,000 today, $100,000 tomorrow as the deficit grows worse, and eventually $50,000 as the deficit grows even worse. Look at it like this: If you are over 40 years old, you can remember the days when $25,000 a year was a really good wage. It got you to middle class in the 1960s through the 1970s. But you were not rich, not even close. Well, since then, the Dollar’s inflation adjusted value has dropped by about 80 percent. The Federal Reserve has overprinted so much currency that today you need $250,000 to be middle class. Whatever you earn, drop the last zero. In inflation adjusted terms, your standard of living at $250,000 today is equal to what making $25,000 was back in the 60’s and 70’s. You need $250,000 just to be middle class, to afford a house, send your kids to college, pay for health insurance, own two cars, pay for repairs (which it seems comes now in thousands of dollars every time you make a phone call, not hundreds), etc… If you are making $50,000 a year, you are teetering on the edge of poor. Drop a zero. $50,000 today is like it was making $5,000 back in the 60’s and 70’s. You folks over 40 years old know what I am talking about. Gas was 30 cents a gallon back then, and now it is $3.00 a gallon. $50,000 today gets you by, barely.

This is the damage, this is the danger of spend and tax. It robs folks of their income. It robs folks of a chance to get ahead. Income taxes should be at most 10 percent flat across the board. At most. In a growing economy, that should provide plenty of revenue to run this nation. Government spending needs to be controlled so that a 10 percent income tax is sufficient. Period.

The U.S. finds itself in the unenviable position that it is dependent upon foreign nations to support our deficits and our debt. When you run a $1.5 trillion cash accounting deficit, the difference has to be made up by borrowing money. China now holds $894.8 billion of our U.S. Treasury debt, that we know about. Japan holds $768.8 billion. If they were to dump our Treasury securities, and there is some evidence that China is lightening up now, this will put enormous pressure on long-term interest rates, which would destroy whatever chance is left for the housing market. The only solution to that problem would be for the Federal Reserve to be the buyer of last resort for Treasuries in order to keep interest rates low. But that is called monetization of our debt, meaning the government has financed itself with printed dollars rather than interest bearing securities. Think of it this way. The Federal Reserve is not part of the economy. Their activities are outside the real economy. Transactions with the Fed are artificial. If the Fed were to buy Treasuries in exchange for printed dollars, it would eventually drive the value of the dollar to the floor in terms of gold, and in terms of foreign currencies with either gold backing or a slow expansion of their money supply. Our long term charts of the Dollar suggest this is going to happen.

Even if the Central Planners were to decide to sell the 8,000 tons of gold the U.S. holds, at a market price of $1,100 an ounce, it would not be enough to pay off the Federal Deficit. In fact it wouldn't even put a dent in it. The point to all of this is, we are in trouble. You can add the U.S. to the growing list of nations that have sovereign debt issues. What the U.S has going for it is the dollar remains the world’s reserve currency, which means it can print all the money it wants to finance its spending.

That status is going to change if we continue to run out of control budget deficits. “We are doing poorly but others are doing worse,” is not going to be a reliable argument to hold onto dollars.

We learned this past week that the FDIC was insolvent as of December 31st, 2009. It had a $20.9 billion deficit. This means it will either have to assess special fees against already stressed banking financial institutions, or will have to borrow or receive grants from the Central Planners to refund its reserves. We learned that the FDIC’s problem list of banks grew to 702 at 12/31/09 and if we include the 140 banks it shut down in 2009, one out of every ten federally insured banks were in trouble in 2009.

AIG, a black hole which took $182.5 billion of U.S. taxpayer aid in September 2008, and is owned 80 percent by the government, comrades, just reported an $8.87 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Municipalities are the next contagion domestically, and sovereign debt such as Greece, Dubai, and other “to be announced” nations are the next international contagion. If I was running a bond portfolio today, I would be very careful about holding the municipal bond old maid card. I would be quietly, systematically dumping my previously AAA rated G.O.’s. (General Obligation).

Listen, we are in a ton of trouble, and this Central Planner group is spending our limited arsenal of bullets on failing targeted stimulus programs. Only massive, across the board, tax rebates and tax cuts can fix this mess, but it has to happen soon, before the household sector spirals into economic depression, and before the Central Planners spend our deficit so high that tax cuts become an impossible option.

And that is the picture fundamentally, folks. Now the technical picture:

We remain deep inside a Grand Supercycle degree Bear Market, one that either started back in January 2000, or in October 2007. In either case, a massive catastrophic leg lower has now started here in 2010. If for some bizarre reason stocks rise back above their January 19th top, then it means the start of this catastrophic downleg has been postponed for a few months, but regardless, it is coming. If it has started in January, 2010, it is normal for a slow quiet start to occur. This is what we have seen so far since the January 19th top, and is also how the devastating drop from October 2007’s all-time nominal high in the Industrials started, slow, relatively benign, hard to recognize for many. But the downside will accelerate at some point over the next several years as Supercycle degree wave (C) down gets legs. The fundamentals picture really fits this technical analysis picture quite well.

Robert McHugh

Friday, 19-February-2010

Well, another busy day. Boss is freaking out, because she has not dropped a large ticket in February to be above pace to qualify for the VIP award come year end (eg. 500k in commissions per year.) I'm not sure boss likes the new girl, JG. Boss asked me twice today how is JG working out. I responded, 'okay'. Boss then told me she has two new resumes of people having both their licenses (ie. 7/66). That would insinuate we have contingency plans if I do not want JG working? Just goes to show that Boss made another 'rush' decision to hire JG. I like JG, I think she'll make a good replacement. Based on what she did before, this is downgrade. The real question is will she stay long-term.

Thursday, 18-Feb-2010

Well, I haven't given any updates in awhile, because I've been busy. My new co-worker is working out good. She's picking stuff up very fast. Here are some funny things that happened today:

1) Client Cameron came in today. Boss says her usual "So what can I do for you today?" Client says, "You tell me, you called me." Actually JG called Cameron to set up an appointment.

2) Boss comes into the operations room and sees JG using the typewriter. Boss kindly asks JG for him not to use the typewriter. Her idea was that it would mess up my partners or my workflow. We hardly use the typewriter, so she's just overreacting as usual.

Wednesday, 3-Feb-2010

1) Boss said I misinformed a client on handling cost basis. She basically told the client it was okay to use the 12/31/xx price of the year the heir died when calculating cost basis.

2) Boss wanted me to call up S&P Publication to request a periodical that was produced in 1991!

Monday, 1-Feb-2010

Boss is in Tuscon, AZ today and tomorrow.

Friday, 29-January-2010

1) DS last day was today. We are going to have to find a replacement, but that might be difficult.

2) BR's computer had issues today, needing a phone call to bring someone in. I tried to convince Boss that the cost:benefit was not there to repair it (ie. the computer is probably 5+ years old), but I'm not sure I got anywhere. I will talk to BR Monday, to see what she thinks about replacing it.

3) Boss asked me at least 3 times today if I was going to call back a certain client on the clipboard that is going through a divorce.

4) I was busy as hell. Thankfully, JG helped out a lot and really helped out a lot. I'm still behind, I hope we are able to hire someone soon.

Thursday, 28-January-2010

Boss ate a leftover Costco turkey roll left half of it on a paper towel. She later comes to me and asks if I was going to finish my lunch when I was sitting in the office. NOTE: She basically forgot it was hers.

Boss seemed a little down when our #1 candidate to replace HK declined the 50k offer. Back to the drawing board.

Wednesday, 27-January-2010

She was in a good mood today. She made hubby, Bob, go back home and get some chips since he forgot them.

Tuesday, 26-January-2010

She was in a good mood today.

Monday, 25-January-2010

Well, got swamped as expected. Now that I'm pretty much running the show, I'll have more items to add to this blog. Today was HK's last day. :(

Thursday, 21-January-2010

Have today and tomorrow off.

Tuesday, 19-January-2010

1) So BR asks me if I came in yesterday, because Boss said she drove by and didn't see my car. NOTE: Apparently she trusts nobody. Boss did not see any of my work nor any of the printouts that I put in her inbox! She trusts no one.

2) Boss wanted HK to make changes to 2 variable annuity allocations without telling the client beforehand. She wanted HK to make the changes and then to send the client a note that they did it. HK took the correct course of action and called the clients, because these accounts are not discretionary. Client Jensen wanted an e-mail why a reallocation is being recommended.

3) Boss got paperwork mixed up regarding Client Hacket. Apparently Boss thought there was Pimco paperwork needed, but the securities are held at the Pershing LLC level, so Pershing LLC paperwork is the only thing needed. The Pershing LLC paperwork was already in the client file awaiting signature; however, Boss did not have them sign it. Now the client has to come back in this Friday. HK called the client and the client even said they thought it was weird that there was no paperwork to sign.

Monday, 18-January-2010

Came in today to do some summaries.

2010 Market Predictions:

When you combine the fact that the government remains committed to propping up the economy with stimulus and the Fed determined to maintain its aggressive monetary policy, we believe that there will be upside opportunities into the New Year. As traders we need to follow anticipate potential moves and follow price action. With gold, we saw a measured move developing with an inverted head and shoulders--when our target was hit, we sold. It is important to implement a systematic approach and to have some target zones in mind.

• I think the S&P can reach 1,230-1,250, the Dow can reach 11,800-12,200 and the NASDAQ can see 2,600-2,700. If we break this present range to the upside (it looks like that will happen today), we have little resistance until the 1,200 area. These are all massive resistance levels on the indices, as those areas had provided support leading up to the September 2008 meltdown and as we know, past support becomes future resistance (and past resistance becomes support). These price levels remain fresh in the minds of traders on multiple time frames.
  

• STOCK SELECTION WILL BE KEY—we will not see a year where everything moves in unison. Timing the market and sectors throughout the year will be very important. As we have consolidated in this extended range there has been movement. Sectors are taking turns breaking out and pulling in. Whereas last year the market largely traded in unison, this coming year will be different.
  

• Monitoring sector rotation will be key to OUTPERFORMING the S&P next year. We will try our best to focus on only those sectors in play at any given point in time. Shuffling through the various sectors to find the actual moves will save a lot of time, money and opportunity cost.
  

• Tech will continue to lead the way. We saw tech hold up relatively well into the March bottom and since then these stocks have outperformed the broader markets. With the semiconductors breaking out this week, tech has plenty of room to soar even higher. These companies came out of the tech bubble with clean balance sheets and little long-term debt. They are largely in great shape to prosper despite the tough macro economic environment. If there's one thing for sure, that is that American innovation will continue to develop the newest and brightest ideas and technologies.
  

• Commodities will not be as strong as the broader markets, but there will be money to be made.
  

• We are buying back into GOLD in the $1,040-1,080 area for a move to the $1,300-1,500 level next year.

• We need to watch unemployment to see if it has peaked. We do think unemployment will reach 8.5-9% next year, but it might hit 10.5-10.7% first. The rate of change (the speed with which unemployment is increasing) has slowed and that is the first step to a turn-around.
  

• We will see small year-over-year earnings growth—we do not see a roaring recovery.

• The housing market still has problems—mortgage resets continue to cause MAJOR concerns.

• Government policy remains by far, my biggest concern. The direction we are taking—away from free-market capitalism, away from private business—with a greater emphasis on government solving all problems is not good. Presidential approval ratings domestically and internationally are starting to reflect this concern.

Micro S&P Targets into Year End

Into the New Year, we see that should the S&P close above 1,120, the door is wide open for a move up to 1,127 by year end. From there, the market has room to push up to the 1,135-1,140 area rather quickly, although that zone should put a cap on any extended rally. On the downside, any pullback should find support in the 1,110 and then the 1,098-1,100 areas.

Wednesday, 13-January-2009

1) Boss is trying to get some business processed ASAP before HK leaves. Yesterday, one of the clients forgot to sign one of the pages. Today, Boss wants the document that needs to be signed overnighted to the client via the USPS and to include an overnight envelope to have them send it to us. Boss wanted to tell HK to tell the client that the reason it's being overnighted is because she doesn't trust the mail system. COMMENT: So if Boss doesn't trust the mail system, why are we using USPS services at all?

Tuesday, 11-January-2009

1) So HK is doing all the Roth Conversions for her AAA accounts. A lot of these clients are in their 70's and she's doing Roth Conversions. She also is doing random amount conversions on some of the accounts, because there are no calculations to determine the amount to be converted. NOTE: These old retired clients are already in a low enough tax bracket, why in the world are they doing conversions?

Monday, 11-January-2009

Well, today Boss was at her quarterly meeting. I helped Bob, the husband, put up this mirror. He wanted to put up more pictures since her office was painted over the weekend; however, BR specifically said that Boss said to do just the mirror. When Boss arrived at the office, Boss wanted to know why we didn't put anything up. I responded that Boss had told us. Boss didn't say anything and just nodded. NOTE: I guess she acknowledged wrong by not saying anything further.

20 Rules for Trading Success

Monday, January 11, 2010

20 Rules for Trading Success

By: Mike Lee

1. Create a game plan and stick to it! You should have a reason for entering each trade and always have a stop-loss price and a level to take profits before you enter a position. In the long-run, discipline is the key to consistent success.

2. You must learn to adapt quickly to changes. If a short-term trade isn’t working, don’t hesitate to switch sides. The market and stocks can change very quickly, and you must be able to change with them. Don’t be stubborn!

3. Don’t get married to trades! If a stock isn’t working for you and you are losing money, you don’t have to make it back in that stock. Likewise, don’t force a trade in a stock only because it has made you money before. Always just trade the best set-ups.

4. Do not try to bottom fish or pick tops. The trend is your friend; when you find it, follow it. Don’t trade with a bias because you think something should or shouldn’t happen, let the stock tell you what its next move will be. Trying to identify tops and bottoms is a losing way to trade in the long-run.

5. Accept losses, they are part of the game! Prepare yourself mentally and emotionally for this eventuality. Try to limit losses when you are not on top of your game and take a break if you need one.

6. Keep it simple. If a trade is working for you, stick with it!

7. Stay confident and positive. Don’t hesitate to take a step back or ask for help if you are not feeling good about your trading.

8. Be consistent with your game plan, size and execution. Don’t make a winning trade in 300 shares and a losing one in 1,000! Keep your tiers consistent and stick to your game-planned trades.

9. Stick to your trade, believe in your preparation! If you like a trade set-up, stick with it until it works or is no longer compelling. Even if it doesn’t work the first couple times, be patient and keep it on your radar.

10. In a losing trade, if you have an out, get out! The first stop is the cheapest stop in a losing position. Do not give into the temptation to let a losing stock run, because you will usually end up getting killed. Small losses are part of trading.

11. When you are wrong, admit it and move on. Don’t waste time with a trade that is no longer compelling.

12. Give your trade time. If you believe in the trade, wait for it to play out and stick to your game plan.

13. Never let a winning trade turn into a losing one! Take profits when you can, you can always get back in later.

14. Try to capture the full move of a stock. While it is important not to let winners turn to losers, you will make your good money from capturing larger moves. It is ok to give a little back if you have made a lot on a trade, but know when to let it go.

15. Recognize the type of trade it is. If it is a swing trade, don’t impulsively get out. If it is a quick trade, don’t get greedy. If it is a slower moving stock, be patient. If you are on, push yourself. Always be aware of the type of trade you are in and act accordingly.

16. If you are feeling good and happy about your day, it is ok to relax and enjoy the money. Don’t turn a great morning into a losing day. Catch yourself, it’s not worth it. In addition, if you have a bad morning and make it back to flat or a little green, call it a day and declare victory! If you push it, you are likely to end up back with a losing day.

17. Trade the same way whether you are up or down. Traders tend to press when they are down and get careless when they are up. Stick with what got you there.

18. Trade stocks that are in play. Don’t trade something just to trade it, make sure there is a catalyst. Volume is a trader’s best friend.

19. Stick with winners and don’t add to losers. Make sure you capture big moves in winning trades and get out of losing trades quickly.

20. Trust yourself! You will always make more money trading your own strategy than someone else’s.

Friday, 7-January-2010

1) Boss mentioned to HK in a client meeting that ESPP is treated pre-qualified tax consequences. HK corrects her and Boss just says she hasn't worked with ESPP's for awhile. NOTE: ESPP's have never been qualified!

Thursday, 6-January-2010

1) Client JP needed a ride home, because she can't drive and has to take taxi's. Boss husband, Bob, came by to drive her home. JP asked who 'Bob' was, and Boss (paused 5 seconds) before saying that, Bob was her friend. NOTE: Why didn't Boss acknowledge Bob as her husband?

Wednesday, 6-January-2010

1) Boss was handing out the last bit of See's chocolates in a 2 week old box. There were only a few pieces left and BR noticed that one of the pieces looked like it had a small portion missing. BR asked Boss if she had taken a bite out of the piece that was not whole. Boss gave an embarrassed giggle and said yes. NOTE: That's pretty gross that she took a bite out of one of them and put it back in the box.

Tuesday, 5-January-2010

Monday, 5-January-2010

Friday, 1-January-2009,

Off today.

Thursday, 31-December-2009

So an OSJ manager was visiting from CA. Per Boss, she doesn't know anything; however, today, Boss was asking questions about clients she has not got ahold of (ie. all the accounts she does not have Account Information Forms due to the client being inherited, etc.)

Wednesday, 30-December-2009

1a) Client MR who use to be a client of DC arb ery was coming in, so HK had to do a schematic. Even though HK explained to Boss the schematic, Boss accussed HK that the schematic was incorrect.

1b) In preparing the schematic, HK put it in the Schematic File Folder since last time, Boss told her not to put it in the front of the main folder. Boss told her that she now needed to put the schematic file back in the front of the main folder. So HK watches Boss put the file in the main folder and places the main folder on HK's desk. Boss then puts some client files into the client accordion folder. Boss starts to walk away with the accordion folder, and HK tells her she forgot the main folder. Boss freaks out and asks what the folder HK is handing her. HK explains that she forgot to take the main folder and Boss calms down.

2) Boss tells me 'Good Job', because I met the deadline to finish all the summaries that are due within the first quarter.