Categories
Retirement

Book Review: Redefining Financial Literacy

This is a book review of the newly released book titled Redefining Financial Literacy: Unlocking the Hidden Forces of Your Financial Future by Cindy Couyoumjian.

Managing my own retirement investments, I found this book to be very helpful in reshaping my personal retirement portfolio into a more balanced one.  Nothing is risk free, but now through the changes I have made after reading this book twice and putting these investment strategies to work, I am confident I have a more sustainable portfolio with less risk.  That is important because I certainly don’t want to run out of money nor take deep losses that will cause interruptions in my lifestyle.

In the first part of the book Cindy lays out in detail reasons the 60-40 investment model may put you in risk and may not protect you in the future, like it has in the past. The stock and bond relationship is not correlated like it was in the past. Both go down at the same time. The timing of the book is spot on in my opinion. I see how stocks at all-time highs could be a danger to my retirement investments at the same time interest rates could be rising causing bonds to go down in value. Bonds are no longer protection like they were in the past. Also bonds pay almost nothing.

In the second part of the book an innovative investment model is presented based on Cindy’s research and experience as a financial planner. Cindy offers her REALM model which is short for Retail Endowment Allocation Like Model. It starts with ideas from the investing strategies of the endowments and large institutions and has been tailored for individual investors like us.

The investment strategies of REALM are adapted from the endowment model: passive, tactical and alternative.  However, the focus is on five asset classes which work together in synergistic harmony to potentially offer managed risk for durable income in retirement.

Beginning in Chapter Six the book begins to show you how to create a plan to protect your income and lifestyle in retirement. By the way, some of the asset classes for endowment-like investment include stocks and bonds but to a less percentage than the 60-40 model.  Added to that is real estate (REITS), BDCs which stands for business development companies, and absolute return funds.  I have already added eight great BDCs to my portfolio (ARCC is my own example) and have purchased an absolute return fund as well. It has been exciting to learn about these new alternative investments.  

Cindy shows how each of these can help diversify your portfolio in ways the old models may not.

I was a conservative bond ladder investor until that stopped working a couple of years ago. When money from bond maturities had be put in equities, I reluctantly turned into a stock trader, something I do not want to keep doing. Now with the changes I have made to my portfolio with the help of this book, I have a sounder portfolio that will help protect me from potential problems we now face like low interest rates, high PE stock markets, and too much correlation between stocks and bonds. Now with a variety of assets,  my portfolio is set to better withstand whatever comes next.

I am keeping the book on my desk as a handy reference. I would recommend the book Redefining Financial Literacy to fellow retirees and those nearing retirement who want new ideas to protect your future.

Robert Fowler, President
Retirement Media Inc.
(Retired and Loving It!)

(More about the book at Cinergy Financial)  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cindy Couyoumjian’s greatest passion is to empower people by expanding their financial literacy and awareness. As the founder of Cinergy Financial, Cindy believes that financial literacy is a moral imperative, which is why she devoted her professional life to help people understand the constantly evolving financial and economic landscape. As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP), with 34 years in the industry, 8 securities licenses (the series 65, 63, 31, 26, 24, 22, 7, and 6), as well as a California Insurance License (License #0719038), Cindy has become not only a leader in the financial industry, but also an innovator of investment methodology.

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Del Webb Communities

Act Two & Beyond

On a Celebrity Cruise ship during a sea day, I went to a Beyond The Podium Series talk by Gid Pool. The subject was about making the most of your Act Two.  You know, Act Two, the second part of your life, where you do the things you always wanted to do.

Gid shared his story, of how he began a journey on his Act Two and became a Comedian.  His story is interesting.  He always loved making people laugh in school and his secret dream was to be a comedian.  But then the real world caught up with him, as it did does for all of us and the dream seemed lost forever.

So how did Gid come to talk about Act Two, at age 71?  His story is interesting.

At age 61, his wife’s boss invited them to his Comedy course graduation in Sarasota, Florida. This sparked life to his almost lost dream and with the support of his wife, Gid took the comedy course, which led him to emcee at the local comedy club, doing shows at comedy clubs, then to being interviewed by the Wall Street Journal, being featured by Jane Pauly about some amazing things seniors are doing in their Act Two, then AARP featuring Gid at their National Convention’s Life Re-imaged Series.

Wow, what a series of events. It doesn’t stop there either. When I spoke with Gid on the Celebrity Ship, he said he and his wife were having the time of their lives doing the Celebrity Beyond The Podium Series as well as his featured comedy show.  Many cruises later they have been to a good many parts of the world and have met so many interesting people, sharing how to make the best of their Act Two. He said he would send me his book he was working on when it was released.

Last week I received Gid Pool’s book “Act Two & Beyond”. Inside the cover he wrote:

To Robert – Make each day more spectacular than the last!! – Gid Pool.

I just finished the book and relate to a lot of it. Gid reminds me of my brother Frank, always the kidder and making people laugh. But the book  is not about comedy, but about not being constricted by what you have done with your life, but instead motivated by what you want to do.

There are many people who have become famous and successful  because of their Act Two, but the book is not about that either, it’s about how to rekindle your dreams and have an amazing life of your own.

Gid shares an amazing story and  you can feel the excitement of his journey and this helps you recognize the possibilities everyone has. You don’t have to be rich to have an amazing Act Two.

Starting something new, not knowing where it is going, can be a little scary.  That’s part of the excitement. But your journey may take you further than you even thought possible.  It did for Gid.

Gid said once determined to start his Act Two, the roller coaster of events fell into place, seemingly guided by his muse. Trust in what you are doing and by all means have a good time. This may be the time of your  life!

If you are open to starting your own Act Two, I would recommend Gid Pool’s book “Act Two & Beyond“.