The Financial Detox® Show

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 [...]

Today’s show captures some of the emotions felt by Jason and Alex during the recent shut-in.  Jason is fired up and unleashes his opinions and disagreement on some of the recent decisions and news being spread across the country. He talks about why it’s so important to source information and act on confirmed data rather than emotionally charged information that may or may not be true. He points out the potential conflicts that hospitals have in their reporting of COVID-19 deaths and how that might be skewing statistics that many of us rely on to gain comfort around containment of the virus. They also discuss how inconsistent and problematic it is for state and city officials to open, and then close, some beaches and how those decisions may actually be politically motivated rather than objective in nature. None of this disagreement is meant to lack compassion for those who [...]

In this episode Jason and Alex revisit the concept of stress, especially as it pertains to investing. At times like these that test our emotions, it is more important than ever to focus on the things that we can control and accept what we can. It’s also easy to get caught up in the massive amount of information that is everywhere regarding COVID – 19. We are all trying to become experts as quickly as possible, but the truth is that very few of us are qualified sources for this type of information meant to be giving advice to others. The same can be true of those who give investment advice. One of the most stressful things an investor face is being invested at times when markets are dropping. It feels like you are out of control and that you are losing hard earned and saved money. This feeling [...]

In today’s show Jason and Alex start by reminding listeners that in this time of Easter and Passover many people find themselves in a very strange situation. Holidays like these are ones that many of us are accustomed to being together for, and unfortunately many of us can’t this year. One of the positive things that we hope to come away from this with is a much stronger sense of appreciation for sharing these kinds of experiences with one another. We will not take them for granted in the future. On January 11th China state media reported the first known death from what was then an unknown new virus. On January 30th the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health emergency. Since then investors have been on the rollercoaster ride of market swings in the double-digits. Daily! On February 19th the S&P 500 hit an all time high [...]

On this show Jason and Alex discuss the massive stimulus program called the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. One of the components of the Act allocated $350 billion to help small businesses keep workers employed amid the pandemic and economic downturn. Known as the Paycheck Protection Program, the initiative provides 100% federally guaranteed loans to small businesses. Another component that peaked the interest of many is the provision to send most Americans direct payments of $1,200, or $2,400 for joint filers, plus $500 for each child. The amount of the payments will be reduced for those with higher incomes. For individuals filing taxes as singles, the reduced amount begins at an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $75,000 per year and is completely phased out at $99,000. For joint filers, the reduced amount begins at $150,000 and payment is eliminated at $198,000. Your AGI will be determined [...]

This show explores the definitions and relevance of an investor’s IQ, EQ and FQ. Major market events like the one that we have been experiencing these past few weeks puts us to the test on all three. The DALBAR Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior Study uncovers data that explains the mistakes that investors make. These mistakes tend to be driven by emotions and have caused investors to underperform broad markets significantly over the past 20 plus years. The show starts by discussing our intelligence quotient (IQ) which is a total score derived from a set of standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence. Next is our EQ. An average EQ score ranges from 90-100, with a perfect score measuring 160. Those who score high on this test tend to demonstrate tendencies to make an effort to understand and empathize with others. Those with below average EQ scores can increase [...]