The Value of Debt in Building Wealth

A New York Times bestseller and one of the Ten Best Business Books of 2013 by WealthManagement.com, this book brings a new vision of the value of debt in the management of individual and family wealth In this groundbreaking book, author Tom Anderson argues that, despite the reflex aversion most people have to debt—an aversion that is vociferously preached by most personal finance authors—wealthy individuals and families, as well as their financial advisors, have everything to gain and nothing to lose by learning to think holistically about debt. Anderson explains why, if strategically deployed, debt can be of enormous long-term benefit in the management of individual and family wealth. More importantly, he schools you in time-tested strategies for using debt to steadily build wealth, to generate tax-efficient retirement income, to provide a reliable source of funds in times of crisis and financial setback, and more. Takes a «strategic debt» approach to personal wealth management, emphasizing the need to appreciate the value of «indebted strengths» and for acquiring the tools needed to take advantage of those strengths Addresses how to determine your optimal debt ratio, or your debt «sweet spot» A companion website contains a proprietary tool for calculating your own optimal debt ratio, which enables you to develop a personal wealth balance sheet Offering a bold new vision of debt as a strategic asset in the management of individual and family wealth, The Value of Debt is an important resource for financial advisors, wealthy families, family offices, and professional investors.

Increase the odds you won't run out of money in retirement – using debt! Conventional wisdom is wrong – being debt free in retirement may actually increase your risk. The Value of Debt in Retirement teaches you how incorporating debt into your retirement strategy may increase your return, lower your taxes and actually lower your risk. You read that right. If handled correctly, debt—that thing we've all been taught to avoid—can play an integral role in your life, especially in retirement. New York Times Best Selling Author and nationally acclaimed financial expert Tom Anderson shows you how to use the time tested strategies of the best companies and the ultra rich to retire comfortably, minimize taxes, buy the things you have always wanted to have and do the things you have always wanted to do. Thought provoking and against the grain, Anderson explains why your risk tolerance doesn't matter, why being debt free may actually increase your risk and why rushing to pay off your mortgage may be a financial disaster. Full of shocking revelations and tricks high- net-worth individuals have used for years, The Value of Debt in Retirement opens the world to a new approach to wealth management in retirement, one that factors in both sides of the balance sheet as an integrated ecosystem. Real-world case studies illustrate how informed debt strategies can lead to a happier, healthier retirement. See how an individual with a net worth of more than $5 million can spend $20,000 per month – after taxes – and pay less than $5,000 per year in taxes, how it is possible to increase your rate of return by 50%, and how a lower risk portfolio with debt could increase the chances you do not run out of money. Specifically written to Baby Boomers, practical guides and checklists show how to use debt strategies to fund primary and secondary properties, refinance credit card debt, and finance hobbies, such as cars and boats and recreational vehicles. Additional guides show how you can help your children, help your parents and leave a bigger legacy for your heirs and favorite charities. Regardless of your net worth, The Value of Debt in Retirement provides tools to use to apply these concepts to your personal situation. There is no free lunch: the book delivers a balanced perspective focusing on the potential risks and benefits of the strategies discussed. A discussion on economic history highlights some of the shocks the economy may face and provides important warnings that you should factor into your retirement plan. Anderson not only shows that your life expectancy may be longer than you think, but also illustrates that many investors may be on track to average returns well under 4% for the next ten years – a potentially devastating combination. Irrespective of your beliefs about debt, The Value of Debt in Retirement proves risk is more important than return for retirees and provides suggestions on ways to minimize that risk. Not all debt is good and high levels of debt are bad. The Value of Debt in Retirement is about choosing the right debt, in the right amounts, at the right time. Perhaps most importantly, this book isn't for everybody. This book requires responsible actions. If you can't handle the responsibility associated with the ideas then this book then it isn't for you. If you need a rate of return under 3% from your investments then you may not need this book. But if you can handle the responsibility and if you need a return above 3%, this book may offer insights into the best (and potentially only) way to achieve your goals.

Our broken economic model drives inequality and disempowerment, lining the pockets of corporations while extracting wealth from local communities. How can we reverse this?  Joe Guinan and Martin O’Neill argue for an approach that uses the power of democratic participation to drive equitable development and ensure that wealth is widely shared. They show how this model – Community Wealth Building – can transform our economic system by creating a web of collaborative institutions, from worker cooperatives to community land trusts and public banks, that empower and enrich the many, not the few. This book is essential reading for everyone interested in building more equal, inclusive, and democratic societies.

A personal finance guide for today's turbulent world Sustainable Wealth empowers you to achieve your financial goals by unleashing the shackles of debt, no matter how uncertain the future may be. Filled with in-depth insights and practical advice, this reliable resource illustrates how you can predict economic booms and busts before they happen, adapt to changing markets and plan for lasting financial stability. Over the course of his career, Axel Merk has been at the forefront of identifying major trends, a leader in the public policy debate on how to fix the economy, and guide for investors looking to navigate the global credit crisis. With this new book, Merk puts your financial decisions in a global context and shows how factors ranging from the Federal Reserve and Congress to trends in Asia and Europe influence your financial well-being. Coaches you how to recognize major economic trends before they happen Puts forth a plan to help you cope with expenses and save for retirement, while building a legacy of wealth, not a mountain of debt Reveals why «staying the course» when governments or markets change the rules may be hazardous to your wealth As investors struggle to adapt to the new financial landscape, Sustainable Wealth provides straightforward answers to the tough financial questions we face-and the tools to achieve a financially sustainable lifestyle.

101 Ways to Get Out Of Debt and On the Road to Wealth is the ultimate handbook for anybody who wants to get out of debt and stay out of debt. This book will provide you with an insider’s knowledge of how to beat the lenders at their own game. Inside you will find 101 practical and proven methods that anybody can use to master their debt. Best-selling author Ashley Ormond shows you how to conquer all types of debt, including mortgages, credit cards, car loans, personal loans, investment loans and small business loans. In this book you will learn how to: save a fortune in interest get out of debt years earlier decide which debts to attack first find the best lending deals for your needs manage repayment problems. Ashley Ormond’s common-sense approach will get you debt free and on the road to wealth in no time – and that means more control over your life, less stress, and greater long-term security for you and your family.

Leverage the financial services evolution to maximize your firm's value The Essential Advisor presents an insightful handbook for advisors looking to navigate the changing face of financial services. The industry is evolving, consumers are evolving, and many advisors are being left behind as old methods become less and less relevant. This book shows you how to turn this shift into a positive, by positioning your firm to maximize these new opportunities, and deliver the results and experience increasingly expected of financial advisors. You'll learn how to provide the transparency, hands-on interaction, and around-the-clock access today's clients demand, and how to consistently deliver service that robo-advisors cannot duplicate. Emerging technologies do not have to be a threat to your practice—they are tools that represent opportunities to provide greater service to your clients, and smart technology integration will be a hallmark of firms that survive the shift. This guide provides a clear vision of the future of financial services, and an indispensable management framework for maximizing your firm's future value. Advisors are increasingly confused about what clients are seeking, and clients are equally confused about what advisory firms offer that alternatives cannot. This book helps clear the air on both sides by examining the client's perspective of financial services, and helping advisors better communicate their strengths. Articulate the value of your services Leverage new technology to complement your practice Capitalize on opportunities and maximize your firm's value Position your firm to benefit from the changing consumer population Financial advisors can only grow their businesses if clients know what they do, know how to hire them, and can access them affordably. The Essential Advisor shows you to bring your firm into the future successfully.

New insights for investors and business people looking to create wealth in the turbulent post-crisis world In a no holds barred expose of the 2008 financial meltdown from the inside, Ziad K. Abdelnour argues that the political and financial elites have done nothing to fix the structural problems and instead have worsened the situation. By creating more market bubbles, they are actually waging a war on the most productive members of society. For investors, business people, and entrepreneurs that need to navigate the troubled geopolitical waters of the post-crisis world, Abdelnour offers several solutions, including looking at the world anew and understanding that the federal government's primary objective is to promote the creation of an environment conducive to the creation of wealth not job creation, not bailouts, not subsidies, not expansion of the federal bureaucracy, and not providing lifetime support to those who choose not to take advantage of the innumerable opportunities that exist in this nation for them to create a better, more productive life for themselves. Written for investors that need to navigate the troubled geopolitical waters of the post-crisis world · Offers «out of the box» investment tactics and strategies to outsmart the system · Describes political and business solutions that anyone can engage in to restore freedom and prosperity The author is President and CEO of Blackhawk Partners, Inc., a private family office that has two major lines of business, private equity investments and advisory services, and physical commodities trading Compelling and persuasive, Economic Warfare reveals that wealth can be created in the new, post-crisis world, but investors need to understand that the rules of the game have changed.

Rolando Dromundo presents a political and historical analysis of the state-building processes in Ukraine, Moldova, and the unrecognized Republic of Pridnestrovia from the Soviet fall until 2015, starting with a sketch of the main geopolitical trend that surrounds these polities and its influences on them, and paying special attention to the vicissitudes of the Ukrainian political crisis of 2013–14 and its immediate consequences in Crimea and the Donbass. This book is a must for scholars with an interest in the Post-Soviet Space and to anyone curious about an international conflict from a realist perspective. It offers an original insight on the understanding of the oligarch’s role in the Ukrainian political life and presents a different perspective of the unrecognized Republic of Pridnestrovia. Dromundo writes neither pro-Russian nor pro-Western. He sheds light on the problems from different angles and illustrates how the local inhabitants turned out to become the biggest losers in the game because they have fallen prey to local elites allied with different foreign powers disregarding local identities and needs. Altogether, the book helps to better understand the complexity of local state-building processes in a multiethnic society.

Acclaimed investment experts Peter Treadway and Michael Wong explain how to protect your investments—and even profit—from the coming sovereign default crises A major sovereign default crisis is looming for the so-called developed economies of the world. The result will be a major redistribution of economic wealth and an overhaul of the international financial system on an epic scale. Investing in the Age of Sovereign Defaults: How to Preserve your Wealth in the Coming Crisis explains what lies ahead, and offers invaluable suggestions to help investors avoid massive losses. Explains why the West is headed for a major default crisis and how investors can protect themselves Contends that the value of gold will continue to rise and that sooner or later government debt, including that of the U.S. and Japan, will be shunned Written by investment experts Peter Treadway and Michael Wong The days of the economic status quo are coming to an end. Investing in the Age of Sovereign Defaults shows investors what's coming and what investors must do if they want to escape unscathed.

‘Governments should spend no more than their tax income.’ Most people in Europe and North America accept this statement as simple common sense. It resonates with the deeply engrained economic metaphors that dominate public discourse, from ‘living within your means’ to ‘balancing the budget’ – all necessary, or so conventional wisdom holds, to avoid the dangers of debt, taxation and financial ruin. This book shows how these homely metaphors constitute the ‘debt delusion’: a set of plausible-sounding yet false ideas that have been used to justify damaging austerity policies. John Weeks debunks these myths, explaining the true story behind public spending, taxation, and debt, and their real function in the management of our economies. He demonstrates that disputes about public finances are not primarily technical matters best left to specialists and experts, as many politicians would have us believe, but rather fundamentally questions about our true political priorities. Requiring no prior economic knowledge, this is an ideal primer for anyone wishing to cut through the rhetoric and misinformation that dominate political debates on economics and become an informed citizen.