#financial advisor cost

[curiousquill1]

Choosing the right portfolio management services is crucial for achieving financial goals. This guide explores essential tips to help you select the best services based on your needs, risk tolerance, and investment objectives. Learn about key factors such as expertise, cost, transparency, and customer support to make an informed decision that aligns with your financial aspirations.

[financialfriend123]

[artisanalpeanutbutter]

If I won the turbo super duper lottery, I'd put away 10 million, pay off my student loans, calculate how much it would take to mortgage a house in a decent area, put that aside, then put the rest in an account that I would use to pay for various funds (i.e. funeral, bail, disaster, etc.)

[artisticdivasworld]

Financial planning for truckers 

Financial planning is something a lot of folks in the industry overlook, but it’s super important if you want to stay afloat and keep your wheels rolling. First, let’s talk about budgeting. It might sound like a boring topic, but think of it as your roadmap. Without a clear budget, it’s like driving without a GPS. You know your income can be pretty unpredictable, especially with fluctuating fuel…

[sporksaber]

Me staring at my spring semester course planning sheet with a class I need to take now labeled inapplicable

[webnavals]

Investing for Beginners: Where to Start Now and Build Wealth — Earning Ventures Investing For Beginners: Where To Start Now And Build Wealth

Investing for beginners: start by understanding your financial goals and risk tolerance, then explore low-cost index funds and consider utilizing a robo-advisor for guidance. Investing can be overwhelming, especially for beginners.

With so many options and strategies available, it’s important to start with a solid foundation. Before jumping into the world of investments, take the time to understand your financial goals and risk tolerance. This will help you determine the appropriate investment approach for you.

One popular starting point for beginners is investing in low-cost index funds. These funds allow you to invest in a diversified portfolio of stocks or bonds, without the need to pick individual securities. This helps reduce risk and provides broad market exposure. For those who want a more guided approach, robo-advisors can be a valuable tool. These online platforms use algorithms to build and manage a personalized investment portfolio based on your goals and risk tolerance. They offer convenience and professional guidance at a fraction of the cost of traditional financial advisors. Whether you choose index funds or a robo-advisor, the key is to start investing early and regularly. Over time, this can help you build wealth and achieve your financial goals. So, take the first step today and start investing for your future.

[my-financials]

Investing on a Budget: 10 Smart Strategies for Young Adults to Grow Their Wealth

Investing on a shoestring budget might seem like a high mountain to scale, but it’s more of a gentle hill when approached with the right strategy. Young adults, often grappling with limited funds, can still pave their path to financial growth through smart, incremental investing. Here’s how: Embrace the Power of Compounding: Think of compounding interest as a snowball rolling downhill, gathering…

[mortgagesrefinance]

The Benefits of Refinancing Your Mortgage

In the ever-evolving landscape of financial decisions, one choice that homeowners often contemplate is whether or not to refinance their mortgage. Refinancing is a strategic financial move that can have a significant impact on your long-term financial well-being. In this comprehensive guide, we delve into the advantages of mortgage refinancing, helping you make an informed decision that aligns with your financial goals.

Lower Interest Rates, Lower Payments

Improved Financial Stability

Refinancing your mortgage can lead to substantial savings by securing a lower interest rate. As the market fluctuates, interest rates may decrease, and refinancing allows you to capture these lower rates, potentially reducing your monthly mortgage payments. This can result in enhanced financial stability as you free up additional funds for savings, investments, or other essential expenses.

Increased Cash Flow

A lower monthly mortgage payment translates to improved cash flow, providing you with more disposable income each month. This extra cash can be used to pay off high-interest debt, invest in home improvements, or bolster your emergency fund. By strategically reallocating your funds, you can achieve both short-term and long-term financial goals.

Debt Consolidation

Streamlined Finances

Refinancing your mortgage can serve as a powerful debt consolidation tool. By combining high-interest debts such as credit cards, personal loans, or car loans into your mortgage, you can simplify your financial obligations. This consolidation not only reduces your monthly payments but also eliminates the stress of managing multiple creditors.

Lower Interest Costs

Mortgage interest rates are typically lower than those of other forms of debt. By consolidating your debts into your mortgage, you can benefit from these lower rates, ultimately reducing the overall interest costs of your debts. This strategy enables you to pay off your debts more efficiently.

Home Equity Utilization

Access to Home Equity

Refinancing provides an opportunity to tap into your home's equity. You can choose to do a cash-out refinance, where you receive a lump sum of money based on the equity you've built in your home. This cash can be used for various purposes, such as funding home renovations, paying for education, or covering unexpected medical expenses.

Increased Property Value

Investing in your home through renovations or improvements can increase its market value. This, in turn, can boost your home equity even further. A higher property value not only enhances your financial standing but also improves your long-term investment prospects.

Shorter Loan Terms

Faster Debt Elimination

Refinancing also allows you to shorten the term of your mortgage. By switching to a shorter loan term, you can pay off your mortgage faster. While this may result in slightly higher monthly payments, it can lead to substantial savings in interest over the life of the loan.

Financial Freedom

A shorter loan term can also lead to greater financial freedom in the long run. With your mortgage paid off sooner, you'll have more financial flexibility for retirement planning, travel, or pursuing other life goals without the burden of monthly mortgage payments.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mortgage refinancing offers a multitude of benefits that can significantly improve your financial outlook. From lowering interest rates and increasing cash flow to debt consolidation and leveraging home equity, refinancing provides homeowners with a powerful financial tool. By considering the advantages outlined in this article, you can make an informed decision about refinancing your mortgage and work towards a more secure financial future.

Remember, it's essential to consult with a qualified financial advisor or mortgage brokers to determine the best refinancing strategy tailored to your unique financial situation.

[wonnieaura]

financial knowledge for the girlies 🤍🍓💸

Develop a budget: Creating and sticking to a budget can help you better understand your income and expenses, and learn how to prioritize your spending.

Save regularly: Saving money is crucial for achieving financial stability. You can set up automatic transfers to a savings account so you won't be tempted to spend the money.

Pay off debt: High-interest debt can hinder your financial progress. Make a plan to pay off your debts and focus on high-interest debts first.

Invest wisely: Investing can help your money grow over time. Look for low-cost index funds, which can give you broad exposure to the market at a low cost.

Understand compound interest: Compound interest is the interest you earn on interest. By investing consistently, the power of compound interest can help you build wealth over time.

Research before making big financial decisions: Before making a major decision, such as buying a house or car, research different options and weigh the costs and benefits.

Learn from your mistakes: Every failure or setback can teach you something valuable. Use these experiences to inform your future financial decisions.

Get professional advice: Seek advice from a financial advisor if you're unsure about your financial decisions. They can provide guidance on investments, retirement planning, and tax strategies.

Be aware of scams: Scammers can take advantage of financial illiteracy. Be cautious when someone offers an investment that's too good to be true.

Continuous learning: Financial knowledge is constantly changing, so stay informed by regularly reading financial news, books, and attending classes or webinars.

[curiousquill1]

Tips for Choosing the Best Portfolio Management Services for Your Needs

Many investors use portfolio management services to maximize their financial success because making investment decisions is a difficult and time-consuming procedure. To guarantee alignment with financial objectives and risk tolerance, choosing the best portfolio management service provider necessitates carefully weighing a number of important aspects.

Understanding Portfolio Management Services

Wealth management services are a professional way of managing investments. Skilled fund managers help customers make strategic decisions about risk management, rebalancing, and asset allocation. Investment management services now include a variety of wealth management options that take into account long-term financial objectives, estate planning, and tax ramifications, going beyond simple investment management solutions.

As the Indian financial markets develop and investors look for specialized knowledge, portfolio management services in India have become increasingly popular. With different degrees of personalization and investment approaches, portfolio management services in India serve both retail and high-net-worth investors.

Key Factors in Evaluating Services

When evaluating the best portfolio management services, several crucial factors deserve attention:

Track Record and Experience

The history of a service provider's performance across various market cycles would speak volumes about the capabilities of such a provider. Look for consistent returns rather than occasional spectacular gains and check how they have managed market downturns. Portfolio management services in India are registered with SEBI, adding another layer of security and compliance.

Investment Philosophy and Strategy

Every wealth management service employs unique investment strategies. Some invest based on value, while others emphasize growth or income generation. The philosophies of these will determine if they suit personal investment goals and the level of risk one can take.

Transparency and Communication

Transparency is most important where control of investment decisions and portfolio performance is communicated regularly. Their fee structure should explain fees covering management fees, performance fees, and any other charges clearly.

Customization Requirements

All investors have different financial objectives and risk tolerance and constrains. Superior Portfolio management services have customized solutions instead of a one-size-fits-all approach. This customization applies to tax issues, estate accounts, and certain investment restrictions.

Use of Technology

The use of technology is incorporated by modern wealth management service providers to track the portfolio, evaluate the risk level, and present reports to clients. Advanced platforms allow for real-time monitoring and provide detailed analytics to track the performance of investment.

Final Selection

To determine the best portfolio management services, follow these steps:

Research Several Providers

Compare several service providers, their minimum investment requirements, fee structures, and services provided. Portfolio management services in India vary in terms of these, so one has to research pretty well.

Contact Client References

Talking to some existing clients gives a better feel of the service experience. Hear how the wealth management service deals with a client's problems and relationship after a while.

Evaluate Resource Distribution

The best portfolio management services maintain appropriate client-to-manager ratios, ensuring each portfolio receives adequate attention. Understand how frequently portfolio reviews occur and who handles day-to-day management decisions.

Review Risk Management Protocols

It is important to understand how service providers handle risk. They should have clear protocols for market downturns and demonstrate how they protect client assets during volatile periods.

Conclusion

This process helps the investors evaluate carefully about which of these portfolio management services best fits into their financial need and goals. Remember, that this is going to affect one's long-run financial success greatly, thus warrants thorough due diligence and careful considerations of all alternatives.

Professional portfolio management services continue to evolve within the landscape of investment; however, as complex markets create uncertainty, making this service indispensable to investors wishing to navigate successfully, taking one's time while selecting the best provider can help between reaching their financial goals or not.

[o-sachi]

Hope They Caught Us ‧₊˚ ⋅ Blue Lock Chars. (Request)

ଳ oh no, the paparazzi has revealed your relationship; what's going to happen now?ଳ characters; isagi yoichi, bachira meguru, nagi seishiro, reo mikage, michael kaiser, sae itoshi, rin itoshi, barou shoei, chigiri hyoma, shidou ryusei ଳ tags; pro player characters, gn reader, sfw

ᯓ Isagi Yoichi

Isagi wasn't really concerned about being "found out" in the first place. He mostly kept a low profile with you for your own privacy and safety.

If you're just starting out, he'd probably dodge questions about his love life. But after a couple of months, he'd gladly reveal it in a press con.

Being one of the top strikers, it became an unspoken rule in media to not be that "trashy" tabloid to mess around with Isagi's private life.

In a way, everyone respected the low profile he wanted for the two of you.

He'd probably be more open with sharing photos of the two of you once you're married. Maybe he'd even post occasional updates about your family.

ᯓ Bachira Meguru

He does the job of the paparazzi for them. Tabloids have no use in tailing him in public because he posts about you on his socials as much as he can.

Seriously. When he needs to promote an upcoming match, he'll use a picture of you wearing his jersey and slap on the caption his management asked him to.

It probably becomes a meme—how obsessed he can be with you. Oddly enough, it earns him even more fans.

When you get married... he will never shut up. Seeing his social media, you'd forget that he was a football player in the first place.

It's a different story if he had kids though. He'd be super pumped to share them and all their milestones, but he's responsible enough to know that they need to remain private for their safety.

ᯓ Nagi Seishirou

His management initially told him to keep a low profile with anyone that he dates. Being a famous footballer meant that he had to protect his reputation at all costs. Romantic relationships could be a slippery slope, so they wanted to safeguard his image as best they can.

He shrugs it off and promises that he will do that. Butttttt, not long after the two of you started dating, the paps already got to him. Suffice to say that his management was not happy.

The two of you were caught out in public getting some food. They could've argued that you were going as friends, but the way Nagi lazily wrapped his arms around your waist (force of habit) told people otherwise.

When the news blew up that he was dating someone—he shrugged it off. Again. His publicist trains him excessively to prepare for the upcoming press con, knowing that Nagi will most definitely slip up again.

The poor guy tries so hard to lie in front of the media, but it was too obvious. It was almost hilarious how he kept mixing up his answers. In the end, the management relented and allowed him to reveal your relationship without mincing words.

ᯓ Reo Mikage

Similar to Nagi's case, everyone tells him to keep the relationship a secret—his management, his parents, his financial advisors, and even a few of his friends.

It was a tougher situation for him because not only is he famous, but he's also disgustingly rich. That only posed more danger for you and especially for him.

There were plenty of close calls when the paparazzi would camp near his house and his usual haunts. But somehow... all the stories and articles get shut down quickly. Reo has his managing team (and some of his parents' connections) to thank for that.

So, people now have a slight idea that Reo might be dating someone. But that's about it. They have no idea about who the person is nor how serious the relationship is. When a photo or two goes under the radar and somehow makes its way on to the internet, people always assume it's edited or taken out of context.

The devil works hard, but Reo Mikage's management team works harder.

ᯓ Michael Kaiser

He's the type of celebrity that the paparazzi always gets ahold of. It's practically impossible for him to get away, so he gave up and accepted his fate. When he was still single—he didn't give a shit about them as long as they kept their distance and turned off the flash of their cameras.

But when you came into the picture... he became so so mean to the paparazzi. Even if they kept their distance from the two of you, he'd always throw a scarf over your head or hand you his sunglasses, so that you didn't have to deal with your face being plastered all over the internet.

He would definitely throw a middle finger or two if one of the paps tells you to smile for them or something. An article about Kaiser—with the now infamous picture of him—would be uploaded the next morning. But, honestly? Who gives a shit?

Grows to hate the paps with a burning passion. He literally can't have a calm day without them on his tail. And best believe that he'll express this disdain on every press con and interview possible.

Fans eventually come to his rescue and throw hate on every tabloid that keeps on hounding him and his precious significant other.

ᯓ Sae Itoshi

Sae is the only one safe from the prying eyes of the public. if he wants to keep you and your relationship private—then private it shall be. It's not that he's embarrassed of you, but he thinks that other people have absolutely no say in your relationship. What' between the two of you, stays there.

He rarely posts on social media. If he does, it's going to be a promotional pub for his next match or appearance. Not a single post about his personal life will be there, especially a post about you.

The paparazzi almost never catches him. Even if they do, it's always just him by himself doing mundane things. Eventually, the paps figured it was useless to track him down and decided to hound a different celebrity (his brother lol).

He secretly loves to mess with the internet by posting the most cryptic shit ever. It has everyone coming up with conspiracy theories, but none of them seem to stick (there's always gonna be that one "debunker" after all). When he randomly sees people debating and fighting on the internet about his posts—it makes him giggle a bit inside.

He'll probably only reveal bits of his personal life once he's retired. Maybe he'll tell people he was married and was with you for a long time now. For a star as big as him, the paps won't let him go even if he retires, but at that point, he could hardly care.

ᯓ Rin Itoshi

He hated the thought of having the public know about your relationship because 1) it will compromise your safety, 2) it will mean that a bunch of random extras would be talking about the two of you, and 3) his business is his alone. Rin's just an incredibly private person all around.

So smug at first because the paparazzi was exclusively going after his brother—being a huge pain in the ass. His smugness was quickly wiped away once the paps started hounding him instead. He definitely cursed his brother in his mind for "being so boring that even the tabloids got sick of him."

He would release a statement in which he tells the public to back off and that it's none of their concern if he was dating anyone. Although, it completely backfires because who mentions that out of the blue? Everyone knew he was reverse-psychology-ing them.

Of course, he was pissed about how his statement blew up in the wrong direction. You, on the other hand, found it quite amusing. To relieve his stress, you suggested to go out of the country with him for a while and enjoy a nice vacation.

As fate would have it, that was when the two of you were caught red-handed—being all over each other at a beach in Cancun. Rin was... not impressed when the pictures spread all over the internet. But you were there to cheer him up again! (He still won't give them the satisfaction of admitting to your relationship though).

ᯓ Barou Shoei

Barou's strict with himself and with you. His management team doesn't have to fret over him because they know he has it all under control. He reminds you constantly and teaches you how to be careful under the public eye. He's super sweet and considerate for that !

He asks you if your prefer the privacy or if you'd like to make your relationship public (He cares too much about what you think). If you prefer privacy, then he'd do anything and everything in his power to keep your existence under wraps. If you wanna go public, then he's making a statement tomorrow.

However, you do decide that you want people to know about your relationship; it felt more real that way. He takes note of it and does it in the flashiest way possible: inviting you down on the field to celebrate with him after a win.

The paps have an absolute field day with that moment. So many HD pictures of different angles of that celebration filled the internet for a month or so. Everyone thought it was quite cute.

You still kept a low profile after that. People knew about your relationship, but your safety was still his number one priority.

ᯓ Chigiri Hyoma

Chigiri could give two shits about the paparazzi. Let them follow if they want; it makes them look sad and pathetic shouting for his and your attention after all.

Don't get him wrong though—he's still concerned about your safety, so he does everything else in the background to make sure no one can do anything nasty to you even if your relationship is plastered all over the internet.

There wasn't any need for statement or confirmation from him. There were always paparazzi waiting for you when you go out to dinner with him. He'll still gladly hold your hand and whisper some reassurance into your ear.

HE IS THE TYPE TO RESPOND TO HATE COMMENTS ONLINE. And it's too funny. Chigiri has the best comebacks and one-liners to the haters which has fans rolling on the floor laughing. "That's why Chigiri is the goat," one netizen says.

You two eventually become a power couple that's referenced quite often in media. How cute.

ᯓ Shidou Ryusei

He was involved in an incident once wherein he calmly approached one of the paps, took the camera from him, snapped a photo of the guy right in his face, and said, "Doesn't feel good to be photographed without your permission huh?"

Safe to say that after that—the paps didn't want to do anything to him. I mean, he's already a menace on the football field (which is a regulated place, by the way), so what more if he was out in public without any restraint?

People knew about your relationship anyway. He wasn't shy about it and both of you were like YOLO—having fun over safety any day was your motto. (Thankfully, management was kind enough to make sure both of you were still safe though).

He's the type to overshare on the internet. It's to the point that sometimes you have to whack him over the head and ask him to delete a post because it revealed too much about his life.

Shidou shitposts on the internet way too often. So much so that people started calling his posts "Shidouposts" (affectionately). He also loved sharing memes about himself or about the two of you.

ε( ε ˙³˙)ɜ ｡° ⚬ ｡ likes and reblogs are appreciated

pls do not translate/copy/reupload my work on other platforms.

o-sachi © 2024

[artisticdivasworld]

Why Analyzing Financial Data is Crucial for Your Trucking Business

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com If you’re having a tough time keeping your business on track. We get it—running a trucking company is no easy feat. There’s so much to juggle: maintenance, fuel costs, routes, driver management, and on top of that, financials. It’s overwhelming, and we know the last thing you want to think about is diving into those spreadsheets and financial reports. But let me…

[ltrntv]

Idea For Blue Lock Men!!

possible content: smut(?)/mature, romance, situationships?

university au !! aged up characters !!!

IF SOMEONE TELLS ME TO, I WILL WRITE IT.

There is no way in hell you from yesterday would approve of your current living situation- but, in your defense, this wasn’t supposed to be the case.

It all started when you answered that stupid little ad on Craig’s List looking to fill an extra room and split the rent. An act of desperation after just getting off the phone with your financial advisor and not having a positive look on the extra cost of dorming on top of your classes.

You had lied to your parents, knowing they wouldn’t approve of you moving into an apartment with four strangers- let alone the fact that you hadn’t even known any of the girls’ names. Isn’t it the same as moving into a dorm and getting assigned a roommate you have never met before? You don’t know anyone who goes to the university- this might be the best chance for you to make a set of friends before the first semester rolls around!

If only you had known. If only you had clicked on the profile of the poster.

Those five girls you were supposed to be moving in with…

Yeah, they’re actually five men.

[ironthebiron]

Just another story to add to the chorus of voices shouting about the Healthcare industry.

Many years ago, my father had a heart attack at work. He was rushed via ambulance to the hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He did not have insurance as he was still under his probationary period with his current employer.

I proceeded to get a bill for all of the expenses involved. It cost over $15,000. Fifteen grand to pick my dad up and drop him at the hospital and say he's dead. And they billed me and called me and sent threatening letters. I was panicking.

And then a financial advisor says to ignore it. I was in disbelief. "How am I going to ignore it? It's going to ruin my credit score, I'll never be able to rent an apartment, I'll be in debt forever."

"You're not legally obligated to pay it." That's right. Medical debt, along with pretty much all debt, is not inherited. These fucking vultures were trying to convince me I was obligated to pay this obscene bill. They were harassing a 23-year-old who had just lost his father to collect debt they had no legal right to.

Fuck these people. I hope every Healthcare CEO, every shareholder, every rich fuck who fills their wallets with the deaths of the poor gets shot in the fucking face. It's a mercy compared to what they deserve.

[mesetacadre]

Full translation under the cut

Trumpism or declining imperialism?

Immediately after winning the elections, the reelected president of the United States, Donald Trump, tested the waters of public opinion with respect to what a priori could be understood as stupidity: annexing Greenland, Canada, retaking the Panama Canal, taking control of the Gaza strip, and lastly, leaving Ukraine in the lurch demanding billions in compensation –closing one front to open another?–. These ideas were interpreted from some media soapboxes as the boastings of an eccentric or fascist president. The problem with this is that annexations and war are not the result of boastings, they're not the delirium of this or that governor; if this was the case, it'd be enough with subjecting them and their advisors to psychological therapy, to placate their most quarrelsome impulses. On the contrary, we speak of necessities and demands of the imperialists as a class, and not because they're greedy, but rather because this is how capitalism works, through competition, the urgency of profits, upholding and widening markets, etc.

To understand this imperialist aggression beyond the psychological profiles loved by TV talk shows, we need to define some data. The USA's GDP increased 2.7% in 2024, more than any other G7 economy, but much less than its main competitor, China. It's important to point out that, throughout the entire Biden administration, China grew more than the USA, and the same can be said about GDP per capita. On its end, the US has a comercial deficit of 900 billion dollars and a negative check balance with other countries. In the debit side of the balance sheets of the biggest US financial and industrial companies there are large bonds and debts with the rest of the world. In 2023 and 2024 an economic recession was averted, the main world economy had a "soft landing" after the pandemic, but not without going through periods of industrial contraction and not without the banking system trembling in the first quarter of 2023, with the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank and other financial institutions.

The defeat of the democrats, without a doubt, was in no small part due to the generalized impoverishment of the north american working class. Inflation also hit the country hard, with an accumulated rise in prices of 21% since 2020. On top of this, mortgage rates rose, health and car insurances got more expensive, and the credit that sustains the middle classes shrunk during the Biden administration; good times for the bourgeoisie, bad times for the working class.

In this landscape, Trump is less the cause or source of determined policies, but rather their personification, as the need of the great US monopolies, consortiums and multinationals to dope their horses in the race against emergent powers. Trump's economic nationalism is, in summary, protectionism increasing the cost of imports and foreign services and the severe USamerican commercial deficit. At the same time, it means the demand of foreign companies to invest in and carry out their activity on US soil. Racism and the frontal attack on class organizations and critical social movements are coupled to this economic program. This is nothing new nor does it signal the beginning of a new era; state intervention in times of crisis or heightened international conflict is as old as capitalism itself. The State is that institutional scheme that, in the face of a market in which private or independent agents compete, "puts order" so ensure the continuity of the market itself. Recall how the great crises in the history of capitalism were solved with warfare and a nationalist and authoritarian governance in the main world economies. The crisis of the 70s was resolved forcing commercial deregulation and labor flexibilization on Third World countries, and on the working class of the imperial core to a great degree: the famous "structural adjustments" of so-called neoliberalism.

Back to the present day, the Trump administration will most likely be continuist with Biden's economic policy, in which economic growth depends absolutely on grants and government subsidies to the great industry and technological companies, guaranteeing the necessary growing investments, backing financial institutions and promoting the offer of a private capital growingly more committed to the "ideal collective capitalist", the State.

Facing the low profitability of industrial capital, the main motor of economic growth, the escape presented to the economic structure of the great power is increasing labor productivity. Perhaps this will help to better understand the alliance represented by Trump and Musk, which is much more complex than a simple alliance between two extravagant character with right-wing ideas. The big technological companies, greatly subsidized and dependant on infrastructure, are fundamental for the modernization of the productive fabric and an international competition spurred on by robotization and automation. The North American imperialist State ensures the control of raw resources, trade routes and guarantees investments with the dollar as the dominant currency. It's important to understand this fully, because capitalism's political economy problems aren't just "technical", such as low profitability or the market's inability to absorb excess population. Class warfare is deployed internationally through the channels of imperialism, with its military, judicial, cultural, etc. implications.

We have multiple examples. The so-called Ecological Transition, or the development and employment of new technologies, are fully incorporated into imperialist dynamics. The necessary technologies for the production, processing and storage of energy require investments, infrastructures and the mass exploitation of every kind of natural resources, not always abundant. The paradox of Green Capitalism, or the 4.0 Industrial Revolution, lies in the fact that its existence necessitates the ratcheting up of the exploitation of human and natural resources of all the peoples of the world, and it's through this deep-seated problem that these territorial conflicts that Trump has brought to the table are understood.

Of course, not all consortiums and imperialist monopolies are prepared to cede its market and resources to the USamerican power. The extension of imperialism through export capital favors the historical emergence of the bourgeois class worldwide, accumulation surfaced new nations in the 20th century that, in a consequent worsening of international competition, made an interventionism necessary from the totality of the imperialist alliances and institutions dominated by the USA, such as NATO or the IMF. This is where coup d'etats, commercial sanctions, judicial processes, even military invasions against nations of all continents fit within the last decades. China's technological transfers to Third World countries or the developmentalist outlook of its partners could result in similar effects in the future.

The emergence of new powers, that is, the restructuring of the imperialist pyramid, has obstructed some of the channels through which wealth flowed to the top of that pyramid, the US, EU, Japan, etc. The rise of Russia, China, India and other regional powers has entailed a greater strategic equilibrium between links of the imperialist chain and a greater interdependency between the countries of the world. The spoils are increasingly disputed between more exploiters. Before this situation, the US seems to look to shorten the value chains, lower the dependency of their capital's circulation and recourses on their competitors, open new commercial routes opposed to the Chinese silk routes and restore the flows of accumulation.

It's commonplace that there is nothing more dangerous than a fatally wounded empire. It's evident that imperialism, as it has been configured up to now, is entering a highly volatile phase. This process will not only happen through tariffs, also through wars and other ways of intervention, reminding us daily that the trees of capitalist civilization grow on a stratum of unpaid mass human labor, environmental plunder and violence. And may no conscious worker doubt that every imperialist in the world will attempt to join that exploitation, regardless of its "pole" and independently of their nationality, religion, skin color or political party.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Biden wants to ban ripoff “financial advisors”

I'll be at the Studio City branch of the LA Public Library on Monday, November 13 at 1830hPT to launch my new novel, The Lost Cause. There'll be a reading, a talk, a surprise guest (!!) and a signing, with books on sale. Tell your friends! Come on down!

Once, American workers had "defined benefits pensions," where their employers promised to pay them a certain amount every year from their retirement to their death. Jimmy Carter swapped that out for 401(k)s, "market" pensions where you have to guess which stocks will be valuable or starve in your old age:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/25/derechos-humanos/#are-there-no-poorhouses

The initial 401(k) rollout had all kinds of pot-sweeteners that made them seem like a good deal, like heavy employer matching that doubled or even tripled the value of every dollar you put into the market for your retirement. But over the years, as Reaganomics took hold and workers' power ebbed away, all these goodies were clawed back. In the end, the market-based pension makes you the sucker at the poker table, flushing your savings into a rigged casino that is firmly tilted in favor of finance barons and other eminently guillotineable plutocrats.

Neoliberalism is many things, but most of all it is a cult of individualism. The fact that three generations of workers are nows facing down retirement without pensions that will provide them with secure housing and food – let alone money to see the odd movie, buy birthday gifts for their grandkids, or enjoy a meal out now and then – is framed as millions of individual failures, not a systemic one.

In other words, if you are facing food insecurity and homelessness after a lifetime of hard work, it's because you saved wrong. Perhaps you didn't save enough (through a 40-year run of wage stagnation and skyrocketing housing, health and education costs). Or perhaps you saved wrong, making the wrong bets on the stock market. If you can't afford to run your air conditioner during a heat dome, that's on you: you should have been better at stocks.

Apologists for this system will say that you don't have to be good at stocks – you just have to pay an Independent Financial Advisor to pick the stocks for you and you'll be fine. But IFAs don't work for free! What if you can't afford one?

Enter "predatory inclusion" – the practice of offering scammy, overpriced and substandard products to poor people and declaring it to be a good deed, because otherwise, those poor people would have to do without. The crypto bubble relied heavily on this: think of Spike Lee and others shilling for pump-and-dump scams as a way of "building Black wealth":

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/07/business/media/cryptocurrency-seeks-the-spotlight-with-spike-lees-help.html

More recently, Intuit and other scammy tax-prep services have argued against the IRS's plan to offer free tax preparation as bad for Black and brown people, because it will deny them the chance to be deceived and ripped off with TurboTax:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/09/27/predatory-inclusion/#equal-opportunity-scammers

Back in 2018, Trump won the predatory inclusion Olympics, when his Department of Labor let the Fifth Circuit abolish the "Fiduciary Rule" for Independent Financial Advisors:

https://www.investopedia.com/updates/dol-fiduciary-rule/

What was the Fiduciary Rule? It said that your IFN had to put your interests ahead of their own. Like, if there were two different funds you could bet on, and one would pay your IFN a big commission, while the other would be a better bet for you, the IFN couldn't put your retirement savings into the fund that offered them a bribe.

When Trump killed the Fiduciary Rule, he proclaimed it a victory for poor people, especially Black and brown people. After all, if IFNs weren't allowed to accept bribes for giving you bad financial advice, then they would have to make up the difference by charging you for good advice. If you couldn't afford that advice, well, you'd have to make bad retirement investments on your own, without the benefit of their sleazy self-dealing.

The Biden Administration wants to change that. Biden's Acting Labor Secretary is Julie Su, and she's very good at her job. Last spring, she forced west coast dockworkers' bosses to cough up the contract they'd stalled on for a year, with 8-10% raises for every worker, owed retroactively:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/16/that-boy-aint-right/#dinos-rinos-and-dunnos

Su has proposed a way to reinstate the Fiduciary Rule, as part of the Biden Administration's war on junk fees, estimating that this will increase retirees' net savings by 20%:

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-11-07-julie-su-labor-retirement-savers/

The new rule will force advisors who cheat their clients to pay restitution, and will require them to deliver all their advice in writing so that this cheating can be detected and punished.

The industry is furious, of course. They claim that "The Market (TM)" will solve this: if you get bad retirement savings advice and end up homeless and starving, then you will choose a different advisor in your next life, after you are reincarnated (I guess?).

And of course, they're also claiming that forcing IFNs to stop cheating their clients will deny poor people access to expert (bad) advice. As the Financial Services Institute's Dale Brown says, this will have a "negative impact on Main Street Americans’ access to financial advice":

https://www.fa-mag.com/news/legal-challenge-predicted-for-new-dol-fiduciary-proposal-75257.html

Here's that rule – read it for yourself, then submit a comment expressing your views on it. The government wants to hear from you, and administrative law requires them to act on the comments they receive:

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/11/03/2023-23782/proposed-amendment-to-prohibited-transaction-exemptions-75-1-77-4-80-83-83-1-and-86-128

Su is part of a wave of progressive, technically skilled regulators in the Biden administration that resulted from a horse-trading exercise called the Unity Task Force, which divvied up access to top appointments among the progressive wing and the finance wing of the Democratic Party. The progressive appointments are nothing short of incredible – the most competent and principled agency leaders America has seen in half a century:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/23/getting-stuff-done/#praxis

But then there's the finance wing's appointments, like Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley, who ruled against Lina Khan's attempt to block the rotten Microsoft/Activision merger (don't worry, Khan's appealing):

https://pluralistic.net/2023/07/14/making-good-trouble/#the-peoples-champion

Perhaps the worst, though, is Biden's Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, a private equity ghoul who did a stint for the notorious wreckers Bain Capital before founding her own firm. Raimondo has stuffed her department full of Goldman Sachs alums, and has sidelined labor and civil society groups as she sets out to administer everything from the CHIPS Act to regulating ChatGPT.

As Henry Burke writes for the Revolving Door Project and The American Prospect, Raimondo's history as a corporate raider, her deference to the finance sector, and she and her husband's conflicts of interest from their massive stakes in companies she's regulating all serve to undermine Biden's agenda:

https://prospect.org/economy/2023-11-08-commerce-secretary-gina-raimondo-undercutting-bidenomics/

When the administration inevitably complains that its popular economic programs aren’t breaking through the media coverage, they’ll have no one to blame but themselves.

The Unity Task Force gave us generationally important policymakers, but ultimately, it's a classic "pizzaburger." If half your family wants pizza, and the other half wants burgers, and you serve them something halfway in between that makes none of them happy, you haven't made a wise compromise – you've just made an inedible mess:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/06/17/pizzaburgers/

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/11/08/fiduciaries/#but-muh-freedumbs