Doug Horn

During a prior article discussing retirement income, I mentioned REITs (real estate investment trusts) as a possible source of income. During the past 25 plus years of assisting clients with their investments and taxes, I have had a number of ...

Estate Planning has been the topic of many of my weekly articles. Whether it is high on the priority list or not, the financial impact of a missing or out-of-date estate plan can be considerable. Just because an estate plan ...

Whether you are retired or thinking about retirement soon, the creation of income will most likely be on the top of the list. Now that the paycheck is gone and social security is not filling the gap, retirees must create ...

With mutual funds so prevalent in investor’s portfolio today, it is amazing how many are not aware of the differences in share classes. While there are share classes other than, A, B, and C these are the most common, although ...

It has been a little over a year since I first wrote “Flying High or About to Crash.” Clearly, last January the economy and investor were in a different state of mind than they are today. At that time, the ...

As I was wrapping up for the week and getting ready to head home for what the weather people are saying will be a long weekend of staying inside due to a massive storm, I looked back at my first ...

The current administration wants to move forward with changes in the regulations governing many of the country’s financial institutions, as stated by President Obama Thursday of last week. While I believe anything can be improved, I also believe something as ...

At the last meeting of the East Tennessee Financial Planning Association Chapter, members were updated on current estate planning issues by Anne M. McKinney, Esquire, a recognized Knoxville legal authority on estate taxes. Per the IRS’s web site, this tax ...

Seems the hottest topic today is whether this is “two thousand and ten,” or “twenty-ten.” My response is “twenty-ten.” While this seems uncomfortable to say for many, most likely this is because we are accustomed to saying eighteen or nineteen ...

For almost the first quarter of 2009, everyone was wondering just how bad it will get. Shopping for the luxury items just about came to a standstill. The number of cars being sold slowed to a pace not seen in ...

As the close of another year approaches, this may be the ideal time to make sure all estate planning documents are in order and everything has been included. Estate Planning has been my topic for several weeks, and there seems ...

A topic that is almost avoided equally as much as estate planning is the discussion of how a family will care for an elderly parent when they can no longer care for themselves. I can almost hear the pages of ...

Estate planning seems to be such a feared topic that it is probably discussed less frequently than many of the ailments individuals often suffer. In a social setting, I am more likely to hear about somebody’s hernia than the fact ...

Today, headlines will include speculation about the direction of the market and the economy responding to each move in the markets, or release of new economic data. Be sure to remember headlines should not dictate investment policy. Each investor is ...

I hope everyone reading this column is aware current interest rates are not only low, they are almost nonexistent. When the annual interest rate on a savings account is 0.2 percent and that is not 2 percent, but 2 tenths ...

In recent weeks, the admired king of investing, Warren Buffet, surprised many in the investing world by announcing Berkshire Hathaway’s purchase of Burlington Northern Rail Road. When asked recently why he chose this investment, Warren quipped that when he was ...

The “Estate Plan” is often perceived as a massive set of documents for the wealthy. Clearly, estate plans are different for each family. Smaller plans will include documents for the husband and wife with each being only a few pages ...

While the recession of 2008 and 2009 has not been declared over, it clearly appears to be near its end. However, I believe it is just beginning for changes to be taking place in the financial services world. What does ...

During the past five years, I have been sharing my thoughts and knowledge with you and have recommended seeking advisors holding the CFP certificate when assistance is needed. I would like to take today to share why. First, CFP® is ...

During this past decade, the ability to retire successfully has been a tremendous challenge. Many of those retiring in 1998 and 1999 thought the investment markets would always go up, and that 18% to 24%, or even higher, were normal ...

Several mutual fund families have started releasing funds with an objective of ‘absolute returns’. For many individual investors, the selection of mutual funds is often based in part on the name of the fund. Having experienced the returns of the ...

Generally speaking, the investment markets usually incur a correction once they have had an extended upward move. These corrections often occur without warning, and the markets sometimes take their cue from the most unlikely source. Since March 9th of this ...

How is that headline for a promise? With the markets bouncing all over the place during the last year, finding an investment option paying seven percent and willing to pay the investor an eight percent bonus for investing is like ...

The investment rollercoaster that has occurred this year most likely has caused a number of transactions to occur in your investments account. Since a gain or loss in a retirement account is not reportable on the annual tax return, it ...

If your investment portfolios are feeling the pain of getting out too soon and back in the markets too late, then a lesson on managing risk may be beneficial. Warren Buffet said it earlier this year as well, if you ...

This is the last segment to our discussion on the common financial mistakes made by individuals and couples. We have discussed estate planning issues and how mistakes can be costly, time consuming, or both. Secondly, we covered financial planning and ...

Last week’s article covered four of the common mistakes pertaining to estate planning. This week we will cover four mistakes pertaining to Financial Planning, with the last two mistakes covered next week on tax planning. The first of the financial ...

To reach financial security, there are many hurdles that have to be successfully negotiated. Additionally, life often throws a number of unexpected items into our path. To add to the treachery by making common mistakes can add insult to injury ...

How have you done? Are your accounts recovering or still quivering? Economic recessions are painful events for everyone. While the unemployment rate has risen dramatically and this is impacting many families in our area and across the country, those that ...

One of the concerns I hear expressed more often today, is the fear that inflation is forthcoming. In my adult life I have experienced high inflation only once, but it is one of those experiences that are not forgotten. A ...

For the last three weeks I have been covering several ways to protect income and lifestyle. For some, this could be similar to reviewing fire insurance after the barn has already gone up in ashes. The equity markets’ drop during ...

In this third and final part to our discussion on protecting income and lifestyle, the use of variable annuities and outside managers/advisors will be covered. For those not familiar with variable annuities, they are specialized investment products offered by insurance ...

Last week’s topic discussed the role the investor may play in managing their assets. This included creating the allocation between asset classes, monitoring the markets to adjust this allocation and then the selection of the actual funds within each asset ...

The investment markets clearly know how to rattle the investor’s nerves. From 1991 to 1993, from 1995 to 1999, and from 2003 to 2007, it seemed everything was in alignment and the markets went up. But each of these three ...

It was last December when I originally wrote this article. A great deal has occurred since then and it may be wise to look at this again. I originally wrote “Recent reports on various financial networks indicate the American public ...

The following is an article I wrote a little over a year ago. With the impact the investment markets have taken, I thought a repeat of this information may assist many of my readers in determining whether they are ‘savers’ ...

“Time Value of Money” is a phrase we often hear, but do we really understand the impact it may have on our lives? In some of my previous articles I have referred to the growth of investments and the potential ...

If you were asked, “When was the last time you did any estate planning?” your answer may be, “Several years.” This is obviously going back to the last time your Will or trust was updated and signed. However, it is ...

During the last six months, the markets have been more daring and exhilarating than many of the fastest and tallest roller coasters. Not only have we seen significant drops, there have been two periods of significant rallies as well. The ...

Talking about investment performance during a major recession may seem out of place. But whether there is a recession or not, many of you are facing retirement as the next decision. Anticipating the correct investment performance may be crucial to ...

During Recessions and market corrections, it is often difficult if not painful and fearful to watch investment accounts decline in value. Years of hard work often created these portfolios; and in many cases, the account owner is now living off ...

Our lives, as well as the economy, are filled with numbers. We have our address, home phone number, cell phone number, work address and phone number, Social Security number, driver’s license number, mortgage amount, net worth, total debt, unemployment rate, ...

To pay the least amount of income taxes generally requires the taxpayer to know as many of the rules as possible. Knowing when and if specific actions can be taken may have a direct impact on the amount of income ...

With today’s market, no one needs more bad news. As I have written before, the bad news from this market will linger for months and persist even once the recession finally comes to a close. During these difficult times, navigating ...

Billions and billions have moved into variable annuities over the last several years. If you have not been part of this shift of assets, you may be one of the few. If you are wondering why so much money has ...

At first blush, you might say ‘yes,’ the recession of 2008/2009 is like the Great Depression. Clearly, many of the headlines are touting this recession will be as bad as the Great Depression. While some of you experienced firsthand or ...

I am not sure when it occurred last. That is for so many individuals to have doubts about the future, when the opportunities are so pronounced. For long-term opportunities to become realities, we need to have confidence that certain facts ...

Names like Bernie Madoff of New York can create doubt for investors. Even east Tennessee is not immune. Dennis Bolze of Sevierville made recent news when several investors claim to have lost money and Mr. Bolze can no longer be ...

These are clearly difficult times for many individuals. The numbers being reported from national and area layoffs are staggering. We all have experienced recessions or difficult times. If you are like most of us, once you made it through the ...

There are new rules for 2009 for those of you that have retirement accounts and are subject to required minimum distributions (RMD) rules. Recent Federal legislation will permit those subject to RMD rules to elect not to take the distribution ...