Beyond the Ticker

 

Tuesday, Mar 31,2009, 11:27:01 AM   Click:

Editing a magazine is always a gamble, but never more than last year. The collapse of the market and the recession have wreaked havoc on your company, at a surprising pace, and I'm always wondering what will happen between the time these questions and go to the press when they land in your mailbox. Yes, we will keep you posted on our site, but still, I had many a bad dream about the printing of the financial equivalent of the famous fake title, "Dewey defeats Truman."

In fact, as this issue goes to press, Bernard Madoff was hustled out of prison, and the stock market is in its third day of a rally. It's great to see arrows pointing upward for a change. At the beginning of the crisis, I swore not to take my portfolio when the market closed over where he opened and not change my assignments at the time. So I watched this week and wow. I lost a lot of money. I hope that by the time you read this, my savings will be further along the road to recovery.

But this week of the wave to my advantage today, still looks like a dead-cat bounce. Around me, people going about their activities (or lack thereof), as usual. For financial planning, ie the preparation of our annual issue on health care. Despite the delays, Meltdowns, accidents and layoffs, life goes on. And health spending continues to increase, affecting the ability of customers to manage their businesses and save for retirement. These costs affect you in the same way.

It is important not to lose sight of the fact that financial planning encompasses much more than the security. Customers the costs and risks can and should be managed. In fact, the management of risks to health is more important than ever because people have fewer resources to launch the problems that emerge in May

This is the reasoning behind this month's cover. It is now time to learn about the planning of health care is a means to obtain the dynamics of your business. Yes, May we see health care reform to come, but the way the economy is underway, I doubt that means the end of private provision. At its most generous, any plan for public office may be very basic and your customers will want additional care. You can be part of the solution.

We also have an important part of this month on the long-term care insurance. Although many planners believe that this type of insurance is an essential element of retirement planning, sales are low. No wonder, if you look at the insurance companies: The reserves and stocks declined. Premiums are increasing, too. So we wondered: is it still worth buying insurance? Senior Editor Donald Jay Korn spoke to counselors and industry experts, and the answer is yes.