Taxpayers Should Be Wary of Unsolicited Calls from the IRS Taxpayers who get an unexpected or unsolicited phone call from the IRS should be wary – it’s probably a scam. Phone calls continue to be one of the most common ways that thieves try to get taxpayers to provide personal information. These scammers then use that information to gain access to the victim’s bank or other accounts. When a taxpayer answers the phone, it might be a recording or an actual person claiming to be from the IRS. Sometimes the scammer tells the taxpayer they owe money and must pay right away. They might also say the person has a refund waiting, and then they ask for bank account information over the phone. Taxpayers should not take the bait and fall for this trick. Here are several tips that will help taxpayers avoid becoming a scam victim. The real IRS will not: Call to demand immediate payment Call someone if they owe taxes without first sending a bill in the mail Demand tax payment and not allow the taxpayer to question or appeal the amount owed Require that someone pay their taxes a certain way, such as with a prepaid debit card Ask for credit or debit […]

If you watch any of the so-called financial experts on TV, then you know their market predictions are always spot on, right? Think again. I watched a financial guru take to the airwaves touting his phenomenal record of correctly predicting market returns over the last 10 years. He suggested 2017 is the year to top all others with historic gains, even going as far as predicting the DOW will hit 21,000, which it has at this point. As the host began taking viewer phone calls, his answer to a viewer’s questions showed his accuracy wasn’t as good as he’d initially suggested. A caller asked how often the expert nailed returns over the last 10 years. His response: In 2008, 2014 and 2015. The viewer then said, “So in the last 10 years, you’ve been right three times.” This led the pundit to claim it’s about knowing when and how to call the markets. Basically, this guy was right 30% of the time in the last 10 years. You’d actually have a better chance of winning a coin toss or predicting the sex of a baby than listening to him. Here’s what we know for sure about investing in the markets: Had […]

When looking at the world around us, it’s hard not to question where the best place to invest your money is. Every 24-hour news cycle is filled with doom and gloom from one end of the earth to the other on any given day. In just the past couple of months we’ve seen, several major hurricanes consistently popping up; massive wildfires engulfing the western half of the United States. The shooting massacre of Las Vegas claiming several dozen lives. Globally, we are battling countries threatening to exit the European Union. We have countries talking about default. Then there is Venezuela dealing with hyperinflation to the point that their citizens are literally starving to death. Terrorism is an ever constant threat. On top of all that, we have this crazy North Korean crisis that could possibly catapult the world into World War III. Everywhere we turn something is happening. Then on the financial side, we have markets hitting all-time highs. Several companies are racing to be the first trillion dollar company. Everyone wants to know, will it be Amazon? Will it be Facebook? How close is IBM or Microsoft? We are in our ninth year of this current bull market with […]

Financial advisors are a dime a dozen. You can find just about any flavor of advice you’re looking for and at almost any price point as well. So how exactly do you drown out the noise and find one to meet your needs? I put together a few tale-tell signs that an advisor might not be the right fit for you. These are the seven mistakes that cost financial advisors clients. 1. Lack of communication The average financial advisor is pushing to serve over 500 clients. At our company, Heritage Investors, we pride ourselves on being an exclusive boutique firm—meaning each advisor works with about 50 clients. Why would we limit ourselves that way? It is simple. We aren’t trying to be all things to all people. We want to be all things to a select few people. If you’ve ever heard of the “Dunbar Number,” then you know the number of individuals a person truly connects with tops out at around 150. So if you’re working with a stockbroker in a transactional environment, it’s very possible they are working with 500 or more clients. If that’s the case, then they likely aren’t connecting with you the way you want. That means they’re probably […]