Competitive Rates and no Commissions AARP Financial products Feb 23, 2010 Sylvia Cruz AARP offers its members discounts and savings on many financial services through AARP Financial, which is not owned or operated by AARP. However, AARP has licensed its name to AARP Financial and endorses its services and products. The majority of savings are realized in the form of lower service fees. In order to purchase AARP financial products individuals have to be members of the AARP organization. Memberships are available for people 50 and over and retiree status is not a requirement. AARP Financial Saving Accounts AARP Financial provides banking services to AARP members through various partners. These partners are other financial institutions that have joined the network to provide financial services and discounts to AARP members. These accounts are insured by the FDIC. High Yield Certificate of Deposits – The minimum deposit for a CD is $500 at very competitive…

A good-government group is asking Congress to rethink the concept of self-regulation. In a > letter sent to several congressional committees today, the Project On Government Oversight took aim at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. “In light of Finra’s abysmal track record, and the flawed premise of self-regulation in general, POGO calls on Congress to consider vastly curtailing the power of self-regulatory organizations,” the group wrote. “Effective, independent, and efficient government regulation is the only proper way to safely oversee our markets,” POGO added in the letter. SROs, including Finra, failed to prevent “virtually all of the major securities scandals dating back to the 1980s,” POGO wrote. The group blamed the “incestuous relationship” between SROs and the financial services industry, and pointed to the past industry ties between some Finra…

Fidelity Investments says it still isn’t offering third-party target date funds on its adviser-sold 401(k) platform. Not all fund companies signing on to the platform understand that to be the case, however. Last Wednesday, after months of discussions, John Hancock Funds LLC received a contract from Fidelity stating that the company would start offering John Hancock’s target date funds through Fidelity’s adviser-sold 401(k) platform. “The contract is open-ended,” said Gene Huxhold, senior managing director at Hancock. “They could elect to not allow our target date funds on, but they didn’t give any indication that they weren’t going to include them.” But Fidelity executives said that, at this point, it is only contemplating offering third-party target date funds on its adviser-sold 401(k) platform. “But we have no plans to do so immediately,” said…

Your business runs on your finances. Being able to track and monitor your earnings and expenses is perhaps one of the most important yet understated tasks to be done. Accountants can also help you with your financial forecasting as well as cash management through their advice after doing an internal audit. Sometimes getting a local accountant is also helpful especially in counties that may have local tax codes that non local accountants are not aware of. In Bridgend, for example, getting a Bridgend accountant is essential as they do know the process for local taxes and are kept abreast of new developments within the county. Getting to know how your financial health for your business is an essential information and data that must be constantly updated. Each business industry may have different operating styles and the need for cash may be done differently. For example, in the construction business, while…

I still remember the first time saw the young man pitch on TV in the Little League World Series back in 2001.� His fastball was devastating as he struck out player after player on the opposing team. This Little League World Series is a baseball extravaganza has capture worldwide attention for years and is now played before millions through the ESPN broadcasts. My son Josh played Little League Baseball for four years, and I served on our local Little League board, so I know from the inside how far this organization goes to provide a fair playing environment for the players.� Birth certificates are required to play and are checked for every player, even at the local level.� Additional scrutiny comes for All Star players to participate in the playoffs that lead to the World Series.� For four straight Junes, Josh and I dug out original, notarized…

I�€™ve had some interesting discussions with folks over the past several weeks on several polarizing topics.  For example, we�€™ve discussed whether government subsidies are a good thing.  In general, they�€™re great for those being subsidized and not so hot for those taxpayers paying the subsidies. Of course, the greater good can be achieved by such government subsidies, but they can also cause undesirable effects.   There are definitely two sides to the argument! In the markets, one of the topics that produces a broad range of responses is volatility.  We�€™ve seen marked increases in volatility across almost all trading instruments since the summer of 2008. Is this a good or bad thing? One thing is fairly certain �€“ higher levels of volatility are most likely to be with us for quite a while. For some investors and traders, this…