The Financial Detox® Show

In this show Jason and Alex debunk the common perception that performance of markets is correlated to which political party is in office. They warn against misinformation out there surrounding this topic; investors may make costly mistakes when they make changes to their portfolio based on prediction of election results.They present historical data, since the S&P 500 was created, that show there is no pattern of market growth or decline according to which party is in office. Jason offers to share this Investing During Election Years report with listeners. Interested listeners should email him at jason@financialdetox.com for a complimentary copy of it.Jason and Alex then stress the importance of focusing on what investors can control, amidst the shut-down of the global economy. They offer a complimentary second opinion to any listener who would like advice on their portfolio, including a risk analysis. The Financial Detox team has a world [...]

In this show Jason and Alex educate consumers on how to avoid the common pitfalls of annuities, and the uncommon reasons why one could be an effective part of a portfolio.They begin by warning listeners that most people who sell annuities are highly compensated for selling them, via commissions paid by the consumer. Thus, they prioritize selling them over other financial solutions. Jason offers to listeners free education about annuities via a phone conversation. Listeners can call the Financial Detox team for the unfiltered and unbiased truth about annuities, as they are full-time fiduciaries. They do not sell many annuities, but they do occasionally recommend them to clients when they are appropriate. In the rare case they do recommend an annuity, they do not allow their advisers to take large compensation upfront. Rather, they allow them to take small compensation up front and level it over time so there are [...]

Jason and Alex commiserate with the audience on the resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the country. In a world that seems to be changing rapidly they bring the conversation back to focusing on what we can control, taxes and insurance being the focus of today’s show. They start by addressing insurance because many investors are asking about principal protection and alternative asset classes. While annuities do provide principal protection and guaranteed income for life, they explore the various issues that surround them. Jason reminds listeners that one of the things that makes him most frustrated with annuities is the people that sell them and how they fail to disclose their compensation. They also tend to not fully explain how investors miss out on the power of the markets and forego liquidity of their money by purchasing annuities. Alex reminds listeners of his learning experience being in the annuity only [...]

In this show Jason and Alex provide listeners with a high-level process for building an optimal portfolio. They educate listeners on the importance of understanding and applying behavioral science and factors to this process. Jason and Alex bring to light how important discipline is to investor success. Success in investing requires having a disciplined investment philosophy, and continuously working to improve it. Understanding behavioral finance and factors are vital to this.Jason and Alex discuss some types of behavioral mistakes investors typically make. They highlight regret, due to the importance of freeing investors lives of unnecessary stress and investment mistakes. They discuss how behavioral finance shows people should control the things they can and ignore the things they can’t control.They then educate listeners on what factors are, and share examples of types of factors. Successful investors need to determine which factors have persistent higher probabilities of having better performance, based on [...]

Jason and Alex invite special guest Scott Palka to the show, to help small business owners amidst the “new normal” of continuous change. They announce that IDA is now filming all shows, to provide an additional educational resource to consumers.Jason begins the show by introducing Scott, jedi master of helping business owners financially plan. He is the creator of an innovative model that helps small business owners with high level financial planning. This simple, short term projection tool provides a range of estimates for different scenarios, to help business owners make better decisions.Jason points out how difficult it is to be a successful investor without a quality financial plan, and the consequences are even more severe for business owners who lack a proper financial plan.Scott shares a common mistake he has seen small business owners make in these times – focusing on how to accomplish PPP forgiveness, at the expense [...]

In this show Jason and Alex present what investors should do amidst all that is happening in the world, in these uncharted waters.They begin by sharing the purpose of the show, which is to advocate for consumers by providing financial education free from any conflicts of interest. Jason brings to light that most financial radio shows’ purpose is to sell commission based, high profit products. IDA does not any sell products, as they are full time all the time fiduciaries who objectively build comprehensive financial plans that optimize their clients’ financial lives.Jason and Alex discuss how relevant Jason’s book, written multiple years ago, is to the present crisis, as it lays out a plan for how investors can successfully navigate uncharted waters amidst crisis.They discuss how important it is for investors to have a financial plan and make intelligent and disciplined decisions with their life savings in uncertain times. Alex [...]

Jason and Alex begin the show by discussing a concern on many peoples’ minds amidst the pandemic: how will probable inflation from stimulus programs affect our life savings? They highlight the importance of having a plan in place to protect life savings from inflation amidst sky high fiscal stimulus. Not only during a crisis and after, but most importantly before. They begin by explaining why we need to plan for inflation, as inflation is a major way life savings are diminished if not properly planned for. Jason points out inflation has been 4% on average annually over the last 50 years. Bottom line is peoples’ dollars need to earn more or their value will be eroded over time. NBA and philanthropic super star Brad Holland joins the show, bringing an authentic perspective on the challenges families and non-profit organizations, and businesses, are facing amidst the pandemic. CEO of Boys [...]

On this show Jason and Alex welcome special guest Scott Heinila, Regional Direction at Producer’s Choice Network. Scott joins the show as an insurance expert, particularly in the field of long term care. They discuss the importance of having a comprehensive conversation in the form of a financial plan in order to be prepared to recommend proper insurance solutions. Jason points out that many insurance professionals in his past experience have tended to do a poor job at this. Instead of assessing the entire client situation, they push insurance products as the total solution, possibly because that is the only licensed specialty that they possess. Scott shares why his firm has developed a niche in long term care mainly as the result of the boomer market demanding it. He shares that the headwind of filling this demand is actually coming from the financial advisers of the boomers. He shares [...]

Jason and Alex pick up where they left off on last show with other financial advisers as their target audience. They begin by reminding listeners that the Financial Detox team at Intelligence Driven Advisers have a purpose to educate, empower and eliminate toxic financial advice. This purpose rings true in their communication with advisers and investors alike. They begin by addressing the fact that the mega firms that we all know do not tend have a guiding investment philosophy. Instead they are more like a grocery store that has a wide spectrum of products that they offer. Advisers are the shoppers, able to select any product they would like in these stores full of various product types. Their decisions determine what the end client experience will look like. Through both bear and bull markets they are on their own in shopping and building out an investment philosophy. Imagine what [...]

Jason and Alex are almost always speaking to investors, but in this show they shift gears and focus on talking to the financial advisers out there. There are many types of advisers, and advisors, out there. Independent financial advisers, financial consultants at large wire house firms and low-cost brokerage houses, insurance professionals, and the list goes on and on. There are so many types of professionals that work in these various forms, both individually and as teams. The quest to serve clients and provide clients the best possible financial advice unites all of them. Jason shares his story of spending six years at Merrill Lynch, then another six years at Smith Barney, now Morgan Stanley. He recalls the silo environment, the lack of transparency in how the firm received revenue from both clients and the industry, and how that created massive conflicts of interest thus resulting in biased investment [...]