Insights

Aaron has been published or quoted in:

I create original educational content on a variety of topics regarding low-cost, tax-efficient retirement and investing strategies. Feedback and topic suggestions are appreciated (contact form).

BLOG

Shorter and less technical educational articles.

“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance; it is the illusion of knowledge.”

Daniel Boorstin

RESEARCH

Longer and more analytical research pieces.

“Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic.”

Thomas Henry Huxley

VIDEOS

Educational videos about investing and planning.

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

Upton Sinclair

INSIGHTS

Three Key Investment Ingredients for Portfolios

March 6, 2023

This video highlights what I believe are the three primary investment ingredients used for building portfolios (assets + strategies + products). Understanding this high-level categorization and how these ingredients differ

What To Do With Your Cash?

January 9, 2023

Disclaimer: This article explains some potential options related to investing but does not constitute investment advice. Please get in touch if you would like to discuss your particular situation. After years of near-zero

Exchange-traded Fund: Tax Efficiency

October 31, 2022

Some people attribute their tax efficiency to the low-turnover nature of the indices underlying many ETFs. Low turnover is a factor but there is another critical driver of ETF tax

Exchange-traded Fund (ETF) Tax Efficiency

October 31, 2022

Financial planning: Asset location

August 16, 2022

Here I discuss financial planning strategies involving asset location (not to be confused with asset allocation). This involves both income and investment-related taxes but is important enough to warrant its

Tax Efficiency Part III: Asset Location

August 16, 2022

Disclaimer: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments and taxes, but does not provide and should not be construed as providing tax advice. Please contact your CPA or tax

Tax Efficiency Part II: Investment-related Taxes

April 11, 2022

Disclaimer: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments and taxes, but does not provide and should not be construed as providing tax advice. Please contact your CPA or tax

Financial planning: Investment-related taxes

April 8, 2022

Here I discuss financial planning strategies for reducing the amount of investment-related taxes one may pay. Investment-related taxes are those which apply to dividends, bond interest, rental income, etc. in

Tax Efficiency Part I: Income Tax

February 1, 2022

Disclaimer: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments and taxes, but does not provide and should not be construed as providing tax advice. Please contact your CPA or tax

Financial planning: Income Tax

January 4, 2022

Here I discuss financial planning strategies for reducing the amount of income tax one may pay on money they earn (spoiler: optimize the use of your retirement accounts!). I also

AAII 2021 Virtual Conference Presentation

October 27, 2021

I was honored to speak alongside some industry heavyweights at AAII’s 2021 virtual conference. My topic was Using Income Annuities in Retirement. Here is a link to my (hour long!)

Retirement income

September 29, 2021

Can you imagine a plan for retirement income you could understand and implement with ease? With total costs of just 0.10% per year? A 30% reduction in investment-related taxes? I

Bond Ladders & Income Annuities: Restoring the Sanctity of Fixed Income

May 5, 2021

Here is a link to the full article: Bond Ladders & Income Annuities I spent some time on Google, but could not ascertain the origins of the term fixed income.

Insurance & annuity professionals

January 15, 2021

This video discusses the various types of financial professionals that would like to help you with purchasing life insurance and annuities.

Financial professionals

December 15, 2020

This video discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly types of financial professionals that would like to ‘help’ you with your investments.

About Aaron

November 17, 2020

In this video, I talk about my background, my experience, and why I like financial planning.

Optimizing Fixed Annuity Tax Deferral

August 23, 2020

Here is a link to the PDF: Optimizing Fixed Annuity Tax Deferral. DISCLAIMER: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments, annuities, and taxes. This article does not provide

Dividends: Theory and Empirical Evidence

April 3, 2020

Here is a link to the PDF: Dividends: Theory and Empirical Evidence. OVERVIEW Building on the concepts presented in our Dividends Are Different article, here we present data and observations

Dividends Are Different

November 19, 2019

Here is a link to the pdf: Dividends Are Different. OVERVIEW There has been abundant discussion regarding the utility of dividends. Many investment models rely on factors or other strategies

Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA)

February 7, 2019

Disclaimer: Net unrealized appreciation (NUA) decisions involve both investment and tax considerations. However, the following is not tax advice. I suggest seeking advice from a qualified tax professional before making

Illustrating the Value of Retirement Accounts

September 4, 2018

This article attempts to clear up some of the confusion around the assumptions, logic, and results discussed in my previous article on retirement accounts.

Quantifying the Value of Retirement Accounts

April 23, 2018

This article quantifies the immense value in not having to pay taxes on investment income and rebalancing (i.e., dividends, interest, and capital gains) within retirement accounts.

Another Pet Peeve: Correlation v Active Opportunity

November 21, 2017

This article dispels any notion of a relationship between correlations and opportunities for active managers to perform despite the many comments that assume such a relationship exists.

Stock Misplacement in Size-Based Indices

November 1, 2017

Here is a link to the PDF: Stock Misplacement in Size-Based Indices. There has been much discussion of the small cap premium recently. Has its popularity cannibalized its utility? Are

Retirement Income Generation 101

October 12, 2017

The following is meant to be a quick summary of retirement income strategies. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me or read my longer and more detailed

Tail Risk Hedging

August 26, 2017

Here is a link to the full article: Tail Risk. Disclaimer: This article discusses unconventional strategies that are not suitable for most investors. Please consult a financial professional with specific

My “Repackaging” Pet Peeve

August 4, 2017

Many advisors' portfolios of various funds, strategies, and managers effectively turn out to be the market portfolio but with significantly higher costs.

Zombie Market Primer

June 26, 2017

I see multiple symptoms of a dysfunctional market whereby product mechanics have displaced due diligence and resulted in widespread malinvestment.

Foregoing Due Diligence

May 16, 2017

Robo-advisors and broad market index strategies involves little to no due diligence regarding the price paid (valuation) or asset quality.

Tea Leaves: Corporate Cash Trends

April 4, 2017

This article looks at US corporate cash flow trends. My research indicates easy money is drying up and companies are increasingly getting squeezed for cash.

The (Un-)Importance of Returns

March 24, 2017

Here is a link to the article PDF . In my last job with a large investment bank I built two global research teams and worked with high-profile clients around

Shooting Yourself in the Foot with Conscientious Investing Strategies

December 12, 2016

Many conscientious investing strategies achieve precisely the opposite of their intended goals. Fortunately, there is a relatively simple fix.

Mild Debunking of Sharpe’s Logic

October 19, 2016

This article exposes significant issues with the logic behind William F. Sharpe's “The Arithmetic of Active Management” which condemned active managers to underperform the market in aggregate.

Structured Financial Planning

September 2, 2016

Our Structured Investment Income (SII) strategy attempts to extract the primary advantages of annuity and SWR strategies while addressing two of their major drawbacks: costs and market dependency.

The Non-credit Crisis

June 21, 2016

The financial crisis was not the primary driver of the market’s 50% collapse. The real 800 pound gorilla facing markets at the time was overvaluation.

Asset Allocation: Logic and Math Behind Risk and Return

May 20, 2016

We discuss why the conventional definition of risk misguided and how traditional asset allocation strategies can systematically dampen long-term returns.

Destroying Steady Income

November 9, 2015

By treating income as an ancillary concern at best, many funds and portfolio managers effectively destroy what would otherwise be steady income streams.

More Market Correction to Come

September 1, 2015

The recent spate of volatility in the global equity markets has caused some uproar amongst investors. We expect markets to fall another 30% or more before this correction is finished.

Index Investing: Low Fees but High Costs

August 25, 2015

Looking deeper into the mechanics and rules of index investing reveals subtle but real costs that can far outweigh the low advertised fees.

What To Do With Your Cash?

Exchange-traded Fund (ETF) Tax Efficiency

Tax Efficiency Part III: Asset Location

Disclaimer: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments and taxes, but does not provide and should not be construed as providing tax advice. Please contact your CPA or tax

Tax Efficiency Part II: Investment-related Taxes

Disclaimer: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments and taxes, but does not provide and should not be construed as providing tax advice. Please contact your CPA or tax

Tax Efficiency Part I: Income Tax

Disclaimer: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments and taxes, but does not provide and should not be construed as providing tax advice. Please contact your CPA or tax

AAII 2021 Virtual Conference Presentation

I was honored to speak alongside some industry heavyweights at AAII’s 2021 virtual conference. My topic was Using Income Annuities in Retirement. Here is a link to my (hour long!)

Bond Ladders & Income Annuities: Restoring the Sanctity of Fixed Income

Here is a link to the full article: Bond Ladders & Income Annuities I spent some time on Google, but could not ascertain the origins of the term fixed income.

Optimizing Fixed Annuity Tax Deferral

Here is a link to the PDF: Optimizing Fixed Annuity Tax Deferral. DISCLAIMER: This article discusses topics at the nexus of investments, annuities, and taxes. This article does not provide

Dividends: Theory and Empirical Evidence

Here is a link to the PDF: Dividends: Theory and Empirical Evidence. OVERVIEW Building on the concepts presented in our Dividends Are Different article, here we present data and observations

Dividends Are Different

Here is a link to the pdf: Dividends Are Different. OVERVIEW There has been abundant discussion regarding the utility of dividends. Many investment models rely on factors or other strategies

Net Unrealized Appreciation (NUA)

Illustrating the Value of Retirement Accounts

This article attempts to clear up some of the confusion around the assumptions, logic, and results discussed in my previous article on retirement accounts.

Quantifying the Value of Retirement Accounts

This article quantifies the immense value in not having to pay taxes on investment income and rebalancing (i.e., dividends, interest, and capital gains) within retirement accounts.

Another Pet Peeve: Correlation v Active Opportunity

This article dispels any notion of a relationship between correlations and opportunities for active managers to perform despite the many comments that assume such a relationship exists.

Stock Misplacement in Size-Based Indices

Here is a link to the PDF: Stock Misplacement in Size-Based Indices. There has been much discussion of the small cap premium recently. Has its popularity cannibalized its utility? Are

Retirement Income Generation 101

The following is meant to be a quick summary of retirement income strategies. If you are interested in learning more, please contact me or read my longer and more detailed

Tail Risk Hedging

My “Repackaging” Pet Peeve

Many advisors' portfolios of various funds, strategies, and managers effectively turn out to be the market portfolio but with significantly higher costs.

Zombie Market Primer

I see multiple symptoms of a dysfunctional market whereby product mechanics have displaced due diligence and resulted in widespread malinvestment.

Foregoing Due Diligence

Robo-advisors and broad market index strategies involves little to no due diligence regarding the price paid (valuation) or asset quality.

Tea Leaves: Corporate Cash Trends

This article looks at US corporate cash flow trends. My research indicates easy money is drying up and companies are increasingly getting squeezed for cash.

The (Un-)Importance of Returns

Here is a link to the article PDF . In my last job with a large investment bank I built two global research teams and worked with high-profile clients around

Shooting Yourself in the Foot with Conscientious Investing Strategies

Many conscientious investing strategies achieve precisely the opposite of their intended goals. Fortunately, there is a relatively simple fix.

Mild Debunking of Sharpe’s Logic

This article exposes significant issues with the logic behind William F. Sharpe's “The Arithmetic of Active Management” which condemned active managers to underperform the market in aggregate.

Structured Financial Planning

Our Structured Investment Income (SII) strategy attempts to extract the primary advantages of annuity and SWR strategies while addressing two of their major drawbacks: costs and market dependency.

The Non-credit Crisis

The financial crisis was not the primary driver of the market’s 50% collapse. The real 800 pound gorilla facing markets at the time was overvaluation.

Asset Allocation: Logic and Math Behind Risk and Return

We discuss why the conventional definition of risk misguided and how traditional asset allocation strategies can systematically dampen long-term returns.

Destroying Steady Income

By treating income as an ancillary concern at best, many funds and portfolio managers effectively destroy what would otherwise be steady income streams.

More Market Correction to Come

The recent spate of volatility in the global equity markets has caused some uproar amongst investors. We expect markets to fall another 30% or more before this correction is finished.

Index Investing: Low Fees but High Costs

Looking deeper into the mechanics and rules of index investing reveals subtle but real costs that can far outweigh the low advertised fees.

Three Key Investment Ingredients for Portfolios

Exchange-traded Fund: Tax Efficiency

Some people attribute their tax efficiency to the low-turnover nature of the indices underlying many ETFs. Low turnover is a factor but there is another critical driver of ETF tax

Financial planning: Asset location

Financial planning: Investment-related taxes

Financial planning: Income Tax

Here I discuss financial planning strategies for reducing the amount of income tax one may pay on money they earn (spoiler: optimize the use of your retirement accounts!). I also

Retirement income

Can you imagine a plan for retirement income you could understand and implement with ease? With total costs of just 0.10% per year? A 30% reduction in investment-related taxes? I

Insurance & annuity professionals

This video discusses the various types of financial professionals that would like to help you with purchasing life insurance and annuities.

Financial professionals

This video discusses the good, the bad, and the ugly types of financial professionals that would like to ‘help’ you with your investments.

About Aaron

In this video, I talk about my background, my experience, and why I like financial planning.

INSIGHTS

Aaron has been published or quoted in:

INSIGHTS

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