FINANCIAL ADVISOR INSIGHTS: Tons Of Investors Seeking Advisors Are Confused About Some Pretty Basic Stuff

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Investors Can't Tell The Difference Between 'No Fee' And 'No Commission' Advisors (Wealth Management)

According to WealthManagement.com senior editor Megan Leonhardt, a new study by Pershing says investors can't tell the difference between "no fee" and "no commission" advising. "It comes down to education," Kim Dellarocca, managing director at Pershing told Leonhardt. "For investors, there was no strong reaction when asked to choose whether "fee-only" or "no commissions" was more preferable, according to the results of Pershing's study on advisor value propositions."

The study showed those investors already using a fee-only advisor value the statement "we provide advice free from conflicts of interest because we take no commissions" more (64 percent), compared to the 39 percent of investors using a commission advisor. Dellarocca told Leonhardt. "It shows there's still a great degree of confusion in the marketplace. Those using a fee-only advisor value it more. They've been educated already."

When Is The Best Time To File For Social Security Benefits (AdviceIQ)

"Your Social Security can be worth more in golden years' income than your 401(k) or individual retirement account," writes May Financial Group's Wayne Fourman. "The trick: Know at what age to best file for benefits."

"Consider a married couple who both begin Social Security with a first-year combined benefit of just $23,304, based on the Social Security program fact sheet," contends Fourman. "As of Dec. 31, 2013, the average retired benefits recipient gets $1,294 a month and a spouse $648 a month. A retirement plan needs a value today of $543,147 to provide the same income as Social Security for the next 20 years."

Fourman concludes that, "many preparing for retirement do not understand the value of benefits and how those benefits work, nor do the eventual retirees' financial advisors."

Investors Shouldn't Depend On Large Cap Stocks (Financial Planning)

In a time when every financial news report mentions to the performance of the S&P, Craig L. Israelsen, executive in residence in the personal financial planning program in the Woodbury School of Business at Utah Valley University, believes that, " it might be wise to consider just how well this measure has performed over time and what role it should play in a portfolio." Israelson adds, "the numbers suggest that despite some spectacular short-term results, too many investors put too much of their money in large-cap stocks."

Although, he admits, large-caps performed well in 2013 with the SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) producing a one-year return of 32.32%. In addition, "the index's five-year annualized performance (at 17.85%) was also impressive," writes Israelsen. However, "The 10-year and 15-year performance figures were relatively poor with the 15-year annualized return clocking in at just 4.58%."

Here Are 4 Questions To Ask Before Adding International Bond To Your Portfolio (Morningstar)

Judging by Morningstar's recent fund flow data, investors are giving their bond portfolios a foreign flavor, writes Christine Benz, Morningstar's director of personal finance. "Traditional mutual funds in the world-bond group have garnered nearly $7 billion in new investor dollars over the past year, even as funds in the intermediate-term bond group have seen $37 billion flow out the door."

However, "even as investors have been attracted to the world-bond category, it's easily one of the trickiest to navigate," cautions Benz. "It's compact--with fewer than 100 distinct funds--but it's full of offerings with disparate strategies. Foreign-currency exposure is a key differentiator, but funds also vary in their approaches to market maturity, interest-rate risk, and sector choices, among other factors."

Investment Grade Corporate Bond Are Doing Great (Charles Schwab)

"After a disappointing 2013, investment-grade corporate bonds are once again delivering positive returns, thanks mainly to price gains linked to falling Treasury yields," writes Collin Martin, senior research analyst, fixed income at the Schwab Center for Financial Research. "And although yields on investment-grade corporate bonds are now near all-time lows, we still think they look attractive relative to Treasuries and make sense for investors looking to generate income without incurring too much risk."

According to Martin, "the Barclays U.S. Corporate Bond Index has generated a total return of 6.6% this year-a nice improvement from its 1.5% drop in 2013. In fact, investment-grade corporate bonds have performed better than most other types of fixed income investments this year, including sub-investment-grade bonds,"