Nevin's Data "Points"

This coming Friday, the nation will, in large part, set aside its normal business for a three-day weekend filled with cookouts and fireworks displays, as we commemorate the birthday of our nation. Despite those “distractions,” some will think back on the courage of the nation’s founders and their vision in crafting a structure of government that remains a unique role model for the world—and well they should. Still, students of history—and even aficionados of the musical 1776 , readers of David McCullough’s John Adams , or its recent HBO miniseries adaptation—know that the decision to declare independence was no easy matter. Indeed, the political bartering involved in getting to a “ unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America ” would have been all-too familiar to the legislators of today. While we celebrate the Fourth of July as Independence Day, that is neither the day on which the Continental Congress passed the resolution (July 2), nor the day on which the decl...

Having just spent most of the past week in Chicago at our annual Plan Designs conference (bigger and better than ever, I might add!), my head is still swimming with new ideas, modifications of existing “assumptions,” and the occasional validation of the “tried and true.” I’m dedicating this week’s IMHO to a rough summary of some notes I took during that time (in some cases, I have “refined” statements to be more declarative than they were presented to make a stronger point): • A prudent process helps you win in court; a good result keeps you out of court in the first place. • Lots of people have already decided who they are going to vote for in November. • Automatic enrollment (still) isn’t for everyone. • Some people who nod their head knowingly when you start talking about glide paths don’t have a clue what you are talking about. • In an era where asset-allocation solutions dominate, you’re better off picking the best target-date fund(s)—and then finding a recordkeeper that can/will...

My dad has been on my mind a lot of late—for no particular reason that I’ve been able to identify. The anniversary of his passing was several weeks ago—his birthday not until October. The approach of Father’s Day is the most obvious explanation—but the truth is, Father’s Day with my dad was never a particularly memorable occasion (Dad always liked his Sunday afternoon naps). He was a man of few words (outside his pulpit, anyway) and, like many men of his time, wasn’t inclined toward big shows of emotion. Ultimately, he was with us longer than he expected to be—but a lot less time than I ever anticipated. Perhaps because I’ve been in that frame of mind—perhaps because of his closeness with his father, and his books that shared that relationship with the rest of us—the news of Tim Russert’s untimely passing Friday really stuck with me this Father’s Day weekend. People die tragically and prematurely every day, of course. However, most of them are unknown to us, and nearly all are unn...

More than a decade ago, my mom was getting her finances ready for retirement. A schoolteacher her whole life (except for that swathe of time when she set that aside to be at home with her brood during their formative years), there weren’t a lot of varied sources and complicated tax planning to worry about. The most significant component was the balance she had accumulated in her 403(b) plan. Then, as now, I fancied that I had at least enough investment savvy to make reasonable investment decisions for myself–and I’ve never been shy about offering my sense of the markets to anyone willing to listen (and worth every penny they paid for that advice, I might add). But this was my mother’s money–and a significant component of what she would need to live on for the rest of her life. Frankly, I was nervous about making a decision that would wipe out her years of savings. Fortunately, I had the presence of mind to recommend an asset-allocation fund. Nothing too fancy, certainly in hindsi...