Sam Mickey is the founder of Sam Mickey Consulting and is a financial advisor in Boston, Massachusetts. Sam provides customized tax-efficient financial, insurance, and estate planning strategies for individuals and their families, with specialization in the following:

• Savings and Investments
• Retirement and Estate Planning
• Life Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Disability Insurance

Sam Mickey began his professional career as a Research Analyst at 3i Capital Group, a leading international investment company focused on mid-market Private Equity and Infrastructure and later joined AXA Advisors, a global financial services company with $866 billion in assets under management.

Sam Mickey successfully passed Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Series 7 and 66 licensing exams and is licensed as an agent for life, health, accident, and long-term-care insurance.

We had the chance to interview Sam and learn a little more about finance and investing.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

Sam Mickey: My typical day includes several blocks of meeting times as well as set times to reach out to new clients. In order to be productive, I need to constantly be contacting new opportunities. We essentially spend one week trying to fill the calendar for the next week.

How do you bring ideas to life?

Sam Mickey: To bring ideas to life, I would typically seek out a partner with more experience than me on the topic. From there, we would brainstorm our best course of action, possibly seek approval from other peers, and just run with it. A lot of the time you have to simply try new ideas, and those who are not successful may have had issues putting themselves out there.

What’s one investing trend that really excites you?

Sam Mickey: I have been an avid investor in crypto currencies since I was in college. While I do not recommend them to most clients, and they are extremely volatile, I do believe that they are a very exciting opportunity. If we could make it so that financial transactions were instant instead of taking two to three days, there would be a lot of cost savings opportunities for the financial services industry. The whole industry and all of its clients could potentially yield higher returns if the global fee structure and lag is lowered.

What should investors understand about diversification?

Sam Mickey: You have a set dollar amount you’re willing to invest. But you don’t want to put it all in one place, to minimize your risk. So, you put some in X investment, more in Y investment, and another portion in Z investment. This is the process of diversification. A smart strategy is to mix up the types of assets you’re investing in. It’s rare for stocks, bonds, and cash investments to move up or down together at the same time. Therefore, consider investing in multiple categories to diversify your investments and ensure balance among your investments. To further diversify your portfolio, consider diversifying your investment within each class. For example, take the allotted amount for stocks and further divide it among industries, such as health care, technology, infrastructure, etc. This way, you protect your investment from volatility in one particular industry.

A simplified way to ensure diversification is to consider a mutual fund or exchange traded fund. A mutual fund is a company that pools money from many investors and invests the money in securities such as stocks, bonds, debt instruments and other investments. However, be sure that your mutual funds are well diversified and allocated among a variety of different sectors.

Why is rebalancing important?

Sam Mickey: Rebalancing is a way to get your portfolio back on track to ensure an equal and stable investment strategy. There are three main ways to rebalance:

• Sell. By selling some investments that are overweight relative the rest of your portfolio, you can then invest in some that are underweighted.
• Buy. Purchase additional or new stocks, bonds, or other investments in underweight categories.
• Adjust contributions. As you continue to put money into your portfolio, you can direct a different portion of the money to underweighted categories.

It’s important to note that as you consider rebalancing, there may be additional taxes or transaction fees associated with the rebalance. It’s best to consult with an experienced financial advisor who can help you rebalance the portfolio with an eye toward reducing risk or transaction fees.

What is the FDIC?

Sam Mickey: The FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and “… is an independent agency of the United States government that protects you against the loss of your deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. FDIC insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.”

The creation of the FDIC came out of the 1929 stock market crash when millions of Americans lost their life savings from banks that had gone bust, and the entire nation plunged into an economic crisis that came to be known as the Great Depression.

Like any insurance – there are limits of what the FDIC might payout. For example, a single account for one person with no beneficiaries is granted up to $250,000 per owner. Joint accounts as well as IRAs and certain other retirement accounts are paid up to $250,000 per co-owner.

The first step to recovering your losses is to first make sure you work with banks that are members of FDIC. If you are not sure – ask or call the FDIC.  You will not recover a cent if your money is in a non-FDIC institution.

What happens if you have invested assets in a brokerage firm and it fails? 

Sam Mickey: The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) protects investors from lost or stolen securities and helps manage assets during the insolvency of an investment firm. It was created in 1970 by the U.S. Congress recovering billions of assets for hundreds of thousands of investors.

Unlike the broad coverage of the FDIC, the SIPC does not offer relief to all investors. Because the stock market is different from the banking industry their policies on protection differ. SIPC will not return a sum of money to investors when the value of their stocks, bonds and other investments falls. SIPC replaces missing stocks and securities (when possible).

If your money, stock or securities were stolen, you can expect help from the SIPC, if you are sold worthless stocks and securities, SIPC will not cover you. To ensure protection, you should make sure your broker is a member of SIPC.

Originally published on Vizaca.com

The post Interview with Sam Mickey, Founder of Sam Mickey Consulting first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Sam Arnold

Korean tech giant Samsung has posted its highest revenue ever in 2020, thanks to a boost in its flagship phone sales.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made several tech companies a lot of money. For one, Samsung posted its highest quarterly revenue ever this year. The company cites increased customer demand for smartphones after COVID-19 lockdowns. 

More Money for Samsung

The Verge reports that the Korean tech giant posted revenue of 66.96 trillion won and an operating profit of 12.35 trillion won. In a statement, Samsung said that the economic restarted boosted customer demand for new gadgets. The company responded by supplying more phones. 

Smartphone Demand

Moreover, the demand for smartphones drove up Samsung’s revenue. Meanwhile, Samsung also saw a 59% year-on-year increase in operating profit. The company says strong sales of memory chips and consumer gadgets drove this rise.

Other companies like Huawei ordered memory chips from Samsung. Huawei had to respond to US sanctions last month. 

What’s Next?

However, Samsung warned that next quarter’s profits might dip. The demand for memory chips is falling. Also, Apple just launched the iPhone 12 this month. Before the iPhone 12, Samsung released various phones. These include the Galaxy Note 20, the Galaxy Fold 2, and the Galaxy Z Flip 5G. 

Samsung cornered the smartphone market because Apple delayed the iPhone 12 to October. For next year, the company plans to focus on foldable phones. These phones might set them apart from their rivals. Moreover, they want to introduce 5G to the mass market.

The post Samsung Records Highest Revenue Ever in 2020 first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Sam Arnold

You can look outside the Apple Watch for on-the-go ECG monitoring. Now, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 3 for ECG monitoring. With the clearance, Samsung and Apple are the only two smartwatch makers allowed to release ECG apps.

FDA Clearance for the Galaxy Watch 3

The Verge reports that the FDA has given Samsung a Class II clearance. For Galaxy Watch 3 users, this clearance means you can use the watch as a medical device. You can rely on your watch to give you accurate data, which you can take to your doctor. Apple Watches had also received Class II clearances in 2018. 

As a Class II medical device, Galaxy Watches and Apple Watches are on the same level as home pregnancy tests and blood pressure cuffs. However, only Class III devices, like pacemakers, enjoy a Class III clearance.

The FDA confirmed the clearance. Like the Apple ECG app, the Samsung app is a Class II medical devicehttps://t.co/377jISvSsm pic.twitter.com/2rAO9V9ECI

— The Verge (@verge) August 5, 2020

The Galaxy Watch 3 as a Medical Tool

Federico Casalegno welcomed the FDA clearance at Samsung’s Unpacked event. At the event, he said the FDA giving the  Watch 3 a Class II clearance was exciting news. Caselegno is the Senior Vice President of Samsung.

Users can also access an ECG app in the Watch 2, but they can’t use it in the United States. The Galaxy Watch 3 takes a step closer to the Apple Watch in terms of use as health and wellness gadgets.

South Koreans Already Use the Galaxy Watch 3’s ECG app

In May, South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety cleared the Watch 2’s ECG app for public use. It’s not yet clear when Americans can use the feature on their Watch 2s.

The post US FDA Clears Samsung Galaxy Watch 3’s ECG App first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Sam Arnold

Leaked photos reveal that Samsung may be rolling out new wireless earbuds this year. Rumors say the buds might be called “Galaxy Buds Live.” This release might shake up the industry in a slow year, affected by the coronavirus. Google had released its pair of wireless earbuds, but complaints from users hurt them. With that, Samsung’s only proper rival is Apple. We’ll soon see how these new earbuds match up with the latest AirPods.

Samsung’s Product Rollout

The leaked photos first appeared in the German tech site Winfuture. Gizmodo reports that the new earbuds differ from the old Galaxy Buds+. The new ones show a bean-shaped earpiece, with speakers in the middle. Two microphone holes also appear on both ends. Guesses say that these speakers might block outside noise.

Gizmodo adds that the earbuds measure about 2.8 cm long. The rear end goes inside the ear, filling out the upper part of the ear canal. In the buds’ lower part are the speakers. There may also be a sensor that should detect if the buds are in the ear. From Winfuture’s leak, Samsung’s earbuds don’t seem to offer active noise cancellation. Fans of the AirPods Pro can relax.

According to Forbes, these new earbuds might be part of Samsung’s new rollout this year. They plan to release the buds in July, together with the new Galaxy Watch 3. In August, Samsung also plans to launch the Galaxy Note 20 and Galaxy Fold 2. Even with the pandemic, the Korean giant looks forward to a busy summer this year.

Other Earbud Competitors

Google’s Pixel Buds might be popular, but it faces lots of complaints. Some users have called the buds “unusable.” Connectivity issues also plague the device. In some cases, the audio suddenly cuts out. Other users have also grumbled about uneven battery life.

Meanwhile, Apple’s AirPods Pro continues to run the market. Its active noise cancellation feature is their selling point. The design also ensures it fits all ear sizes perfectly to keep out ambient noise. Also, the new model fixes what some consider design flaws in the original AirPods. Older AirPods do not nestle into the ear. Instead, they hang on the ear’s edge. If you use them while working out, they could fall off your ear.

However, AirPods Pro’s battery life might disappoint users. It lasts for only 4.5 hours. If you use them while working, they might cut off on you. In most cases, one ear might run out of juice before the other. Not only that, but most new earbuds last for more than 5 hours. Like all Apple products, the AirPods Pro are also very expensive.

If the price and battery life are deal-breakers for you, you might look out for Samsung’s new earbuds.  Samsung should announce further details about them very soon.

The post Samsung Gearing Up to Release New Earbuds, Leaked Photos Show first appeared on Tekrati and is written by Sam Arnold