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Bob Carlson's |
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RETIREMENT WATCH |
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Creating the retirement you desire through independent research and safe, solid strategies |
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ABOUT BOB CARLSON Bob Carlson is known for giving "smart, savvy" advice on a range of personal financial issues of importance to retirees and pre-retirees. Many of his strategies and recommendations seemed unconventional when he first made them but are now considered conventional wisdom. He showed how easy it is to buy a annuity that would increase monthly income by up to 20% for life; how to decide the best way to take a lump sum distribution; why it is cheaper to pay gift taxes now than estate taxes later; and many other strategies. Carlson's wide background and training allow him to present subscribers with thoughtful, carefully researched advice on a wide range of financial issues. He holds a law degree and a Master's in Accounting from the University of Virginia and a bachelor's degree in financial management (with high honor) from Clemson University. He has passed the CPA Exam. In addition to being an attorney, Since 1992 he has served on the Board of Trustees of the Fairfax County (Va.) Employees' Retirement System since 1992, during which time the fund has grown from about $640 million to over $2.5 billion. He has been elected chairman of the board by his fellow trustees since 1995. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the Virginia Retirement System, a $40 billion fund, from February 2000 to February 2005. Carlson's unique perspective enabled him to make financial forecasts that seemed outlandish at the time, such as: * In 1986 he forecast that the Dow would reach 6000 by the year 2000. He repeated that forecast in 1993. * He urged the sale of all utility stocks in the spring of 1993, just before those stocks suffered their worst bear market in history. * In December 1994, when the bond market was mired in one of its worst years ever and the stock market was flat on its back, he presented a detailed forecast for the Investment Boom of 1994-1997. * He aggressively recommended buying zero coupon bonds in 1996 when most investors were concerned about ever-rising inflation and interest rates. Subscribers who followed his advice pocketed gains of 50% or more when he issued a sell signal in the fall of 1998. Not all of Carlson's recommendations are this accurate, of course. But his "margin of safety" investment principle ensures that investors will make substantial gains when the forecasts are accurate and won't suffer big losses if markets turn the other way. The bargain-hunting instincts he inherited from his parents spur him to seek out undervalued investments and ways he and his subscribers can save money. Carlson has been a prolific author. In addition to editing RETIREMENT WATCH and serving as editor of Tax Wise Money from 1985-1997, he has written numerous books and reports, including Tax Wise Money Strategies (Carroll & Graf: New York; 1995), Retirement Tax Guide, How To Slash Your Mutual Fund Taxes, Bob Carlson’s Estate Planning Files, and 199 Loopholes That Survived tax Reform. He also has been interviewed by or quoted in numerous publications, including Barron’s, Money, Worth, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the Washington Post, and many others. He has appeared on national television and on a number of radio programs. He has been a popular speaker at a number of investment conferences and seminars and received honors and awards such as mention in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World, Who’s Who in Finance and Industry, Who’s Who in The South and Southwest, and Who’s Who in the East. Carlson lives in Fairfax, Va. In his spare time he enjoys bicycling, golf, flying a small airplane, and taking out the boat docked at his lake house near Charlottesville, Va.
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