State Farm and Edward Jones React to the Fiduciary Rule

By Mack Bekeza With April 10th, 2017 quickly approaching, a large number of investment firms and insurance agencies are scrambling to comply with the DOL fiduciary regulation. However, some firms believe they have found a solution to the upcoming rule. Knowing that their representatives cannot put their clients’ interest first, State Farm and Edward Jones […]

Retirement Savings… Are You on Track?

By Mack Bekeza Retirement savings… that thing you are supposed to live off of when you no longer want to work. Although people seem to talk about it frequently, most people do not realize how important it is to actually save for retirement. In fact, there are numerous statistics that show how little people save […]

The DOL Rule and Why Brokers and Insurance Agents Should be Concerned

By Mack Bekeza Are you currently a Registered Representative or an Insurance agent? If so, you will want to keep reading! As you may know, the Department of Labor will have new regulations in effect on April 10, 2017, which will change how Brokers and Insurance agents conduct business with retirement investors. For starters, when […]

Fund Families sued by their own employees over their retirement plans??

By Mack Bekeza Over the past two years, a number of investment firms have been sued by their employees over their 401(k) plans. That’s right! Investment firms have been sued over their own in-house retirement plans! Why? In most cases, these firms would only provide proprietary funds to their employees at a full or slightly […]

Active Versus Passive Investment Strategy…Which is Best?

By Mack Bekeza Investors have been debating if it is better to have an active investment strategy or a passive one. On one side, investors claim that being active will allow them to capture the best investment opportunities and optimally manage risk. On the other side, investors claim that going passive will help them secure […]

How to Get the Most Out of Index Funds

By Mack Bekeza Although index funds can be an excellent choice for retirement investing, many people do not have a complete understanding of how they work. Before we get into the main topic, let’s get some facts straight about what these funds have done historically. Over the long term, have index funds outperformed the large […]

The People’s Best Interest…The Battle Continues

By Mack Bekeza The official ruling for “fiduciaries,” meaning people who are legally bound in the best interest of retirement investors, will not take effect until April of 2017. However, the Department of Labor (“The DOL”) has been bombarded by lawsuits. This brings us to the recent filing from the National Association for Fixed Annuities (“NAFA”) in […]

Save Up to Break Stuff: Retirement Saving Should Not be Taken Lightly

By: Katherine Brown, Research Associate, Castle Rock Investment Company My grandmother loved to drive. After they took away her license, she enthusiastically offered the use of her 1989 Crown Victoria to anyone who was visiting her, whether they had a car of their own or not. She also purchased a motorized scooter to get around […]