2020 CES | LAS VEGAS

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Monday, January 6, 2020 | 2020 Consumer Electronic Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Attended the early morning session entitled “CES 2020 Trends to Watch” in the North Hall of the convention center. The session was presented by Steve Koenig, VP, Research, Consumer Technology Association. During the session, Steve previewed trends in consumer technology, the next big things and disruptive innovations that will redefine consumer technology in 2020. Essentially, Steve attempted to answer the big question many attendees are asking “What’s happening in consumer tech?”

Steve talked about how a New IoT, a new Intelligence of Things, will dominate the consumer technology landscape, and will influence the culture during the upcoming decade.

Global 5G deployment in 2019.

It is forecast that 5G handsets shipments will reach 20.2m in 2020 and 133M by 2030. Furthermore, it will take time for 5G network to happen and be rolled out. As 5G propagates, it will be led by enterprise applications.

5G will provide ultra reliable, low latency connectivity.

5G of the future is expected to enable digital tools to solve problems, enhance efficiency and increase productivity over the next decade in areas such as in agriculture productivity. Essentially, according to Steve, a lot of the devices we attribute to science fiction will become reality during the next decade.

AI of Things will enhance user experience.

Intelligence of Things is enhancing the Home (Smart Home).

Over the past ten years, the conversation was about connected things or the Internet of Things. Over the next ten years, the discussion will be connected intelligence things. AI chips in 8K television and smart phone cameras and smart ovens. For example, you put a pizza in a smart oven, the oven recognizes the pizza and adjust the oven temperature and controls the cooking time instead the consumer .

AI in McDonald’s Drive Thru

Manning a drive-thru can be a stressful job. Adding AI to automate part of the task can improve productivity and the delivery of service to the customer.

Human – Machine partnership in which some portion of the task becomes automated to improve customer service. in the case of a fast food restaurant drive-thru, AI machine can take the order and payment; human fulfill the order and provide inter personal service.

Streaming Wars – Abundance of choice and competition

With companies such as Netflix’s and Roku dominating the video streaming, big media corporations, such as Disney, ComcastNBC and AT&T, are striking back by launching their on over the top video streaming services. It appears that big media wants to control relationship with consumer.

Overall, it appears tat the next decade will be dominated by 5G and AI.

Diversity and Inclusion Dividend

During the afternoon, I attended a session called “The Hidden Diversity Dividend”. The essence of the session was that after two decades of conversation about diversity and inclusion in the C-Suite and technology industry, the problem still persists. Over the two decades, progress has been slowed and measured in millimeters.

The excuses of unconscious bias and lack of dedicated effort by senior continue to prevail as major reasons for the lack progress regarding diversity and inclusion of women and people of color.

The panelists stressed that there is a playbook that has been proven to work to solve this problem. And, focus and systematic effort is necessary along with getting industry on board with the program. To end the problem permanently, industry executive leader must:

  • Become aware and share the good, bad and ugly regarding the lack of diversity and inclusive
  • Except that equality and inclusion are choices; unconscious bias is an excuse.
  • Understand that it is not about representation, it is about reflection. It takes hard work and consistently
  • Appreciate that it takes critical and systematic change, a Scorecards, Mentoring, and Holding people accountable

Bottomline, consumers must hold companies accountable for their lack of diversity and inclusion in the C-Suite and for perpetuating the good old boys network. Take telecommunications and media company AT&T for example, the projected successor to AT&T CEO Randal Stevenson is a non-diverse majority white male. No women or persons of color were apparently even considered for the top job at communications and media conglomerate.

To change and grow, companies and people must get comfortable with being uncomfortable And to create a more equitable, diverse and inclusive industry, organizations must be willing to change for the better.

Lifestyle changes to make if you want to get rich in 2020

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If you want to build more wealth in 2020, start with these five lifestyle changes endorsed by self-made millionaires.

If your’re looking to build more wealth in 2020, money won’t simply appear — you’re probably going to have to make some changes to reach your goals.

Here are five lifestyle changes that have helped self-made millionaires get to where they are today. If they worked for them, they could also work for you.
— Read on www.cnbc.com/2020/01/03/lifestyle-changes-to-make-if-you-want-to-get-rich-in-2020.html

2020 Consumer Electronic Show | Las Vegas

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2020 CES | Sunday, January 5, 2020, Las Vegas, Nevada

It is easy to observe the pending presence and impact of #CES2020 Show on Las Vegas. With more than 170K plus expected attendees, the 2020 CES Show and attendees literally take-over the “City of Sin”.

Today, listened to CES Tech Talk Podcast entitled “Making Space for Drones“, which featured Steve Dickson, Administrator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Mark Blanks, Director, Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership. They discussed facilitating and regulating the safe operation and testing of drones. During the CES Tech Talk, the FAA Administrator emphasized that if someone operates a drone, they’re considered a pilot and are subject to FAA regulations and guidelines. FAA is expected to have a significant presence at 2020 CES.

Las Vegas Weekend Happy Hour

Additionally, my intent was to locate the best on the Las Vegas strip or just off the strip venue for a weekend happy hour and to simultaneously watch NFL Wild Card Football games.

Thus far, made a brief stop for food and drink at MB Steak located adjacent to off-strip Hard Rock Resort and Casino. From the hour of 4 pm to 5 pm, the restaurant’s small bar area offered a very limited happy hour menu of cocktails and appetizers. Although enjoyed the happy hour offerings of brisket sliders and Gentlemen’s Mule, the venue was absent of life and nearly empty. And, the bartender seemed a bit surly and provided service with a pained expression.

Another weekend happy hour venue worth a visit is the Tex-Mex El Segundo Sol’s Loco Hour from 4 pm to 7 pm at Fashion Show Mall. The Tex-Mex restaurant offers a Loco Hour menu at the bar consisting of quesadillas, tacos, Margaritas, draft beers and well drinks to name a few. The daily Loco Hour draws a decent size crowds of Las Vegas locals and visitors stopping for nourishment and hydration. The food was okay and the beverages were above average. Overall, an excellent venue for an early evening happy hour.

People Watching

Afterwards, spent time wandering the nearby casinos and people watching.

First brief wandering was inside the Wynn Casino. And, must say that I was impressed by the design of the entrance and the holiday decorations that adorned the lobby and entrance to the casino.

After the Wynn, I crossed the elevated pedestrian walkway and wandered into the Palazzo to sit in the casino and people watch in the vicinity of Bar Luca. Regretfully, smoking remains permissible and a guy smoking a foul smelling non-American cigarette forced me to leave a prime people watching area.

Afterwards, I found a perch in Venetian near the blackjack pit to people watch. Unfortunately, the new location paled in comparison to the seat in Palazzo and concluded that the people to watch were in the Wynn and Palazzo.

Overall, I terrific day wandering around the Las Vegas Strip casinos.

7 Rules for Wealth: #4 Retirement Cost-Cutting

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Are you paying 1% for portfolio management? Why?

You want to be invested in a collection of index funds with an average expense ratio no worse than 0.1%. That’s easy to do. Fidelity has index mutual funds with 0% fees. Or you could easily put together a small, well-balanced assortment of exchange-traded funds costing 0.03% to 0.06%. (Check out the Forbes Best ETFs for Investors ranking.)

Or you could put all your money in the Vanguard Balanced Index Fund at 0.07%.
— Read on www.forbes.com/sites/baldwin/2020/01/04/7-rules-for-wealth-4-retirement-cost-cutting/

2020 Consumer Electronic Show | Las Vegas

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Saturday, January 4, 2020 | 2020 Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas

Arrived in Las Vegas early Saturday evening to attend the 2020 Consumer Electronic Show (CES). After arriving McCarran International Airport and disembarking the aircraft, I, along with several dozen other arriving passengers, took advantage of the CES registration kiosk conveniently located in the airport’s main lobby to checkin and pickup conference credentials.

The show opened to the media for early viewing of new products and to publicize the event. The show advertise itself as “…the world’s gathering place for all those who thrive on the business of consumer technologies”. 

According to the show’s website, CES showcases the products and services of more than 4,500 exhibiting international technology companies and expects more than 170,000 attendees from 160 countries. The show is owned and produced by the Consumer Technology Association (CTA).

The show’s first scheduled event for the 100K plus attendees will be a keynote address delivered by Samsung Electronic’s President and CEO Mr. Hyun-Suk Kim scheduled for Monday evening, January 6, 2020. The keynote begins at 6:30 pm at the MGM auditorium.

The two previous years opening CES keynote (2018 and 2019) speakers were Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang in 2019, who unveiled AI robotic assistants and Intel’s CEO Brian Krzanich in 2018, who unveiled a swarm of AI autonomous synchronized drones.

Anticipate that #2020CES in chilly Las Vegas will impress and wow attendees just like it has in previous editions.

Feeling Financially Secure

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Northwestern Mutual Planning & Progress Study found that 71% of Americans feel financially secure, yet US adults feel more cautious and risk-averse today
than they did 10 years ago.  Additionally, xx% of U.S. adults 18 and over say the economy will be better this year than in 2018, which is a considerable jump from the 31% who said the same last year.

Those are great signs for the future. But they’re also great reasons to focus even more on your finances. Being financially secure takes a lot of planning – and when you are feeling more optimistic about the future, it’s a great time to think about paying off debt and putting more into savings.

https://news.northwesternmutual.com/planning-and-progress-2019

2020 Investment Outlook

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Investors should expect heightened market volatility in 2020. History tells us that it’s not uncommon for three to four large-cap equity stock market pullbacks of at least 5% to occur each year and market corrections of at least 10% can occur every year. As a result, it may be prudent for investors to position their stock portfolios away from higher-risk asset classes for safer asset classes.

Portfolio Guidance:

  • Cash has an important place in a portfolio as a volatility dampener and a source of funds.
  • Focus on higher quality assets.
  • Go beyond traditional fixed income for yield. Investors may consider equity dividends as another source of income.
  • Defense can be a good offense. Given expectations for market volatility, suggest reducing exposure to riskier assets.
  • Focus on longer-term diversification, as shorter periods are likely to be more volatile

Deciding to retire or not | 3 preretirement phases | Fidelity

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Key takeaways

  • While financial and work-related factors are the primary reasons people continue to work, nonfinancial factors like family, health, and lifestyle ultimately cause people to pull the trigger to retire.
  • Wellbeing in retirement is not just about money, or even intellectual stimulation. It’s largely about the freedom to do what you want, when you want.
  • As you enter a stage of preretirement, consider working with an advisor to help shape strategies for Social Security, health care, and cash flow in retirement.

When will you be ready to retire? Particularly if retirement is still far away, you’re probably thinking in terms of dollars—how many you will have and how long they will last. But new research finds that for many people, the decision to retire is not just about money. It’s about life, and the freedom to enjoy it.

That’s the conclusion of an extensive survey of over 10,000 pre-retirees and recent retirees. The online survey was conducted by Fidelity Investments in collaboration with the Stanford Center on Longevity and Greenwald & Associates1 and only included respondents who believed they had some control over if and when they would stop working full-time.

While financial and work-related factors are the primary reasons people continue to work, with eligibility for Medicare and Social Security as key factors, the survey also finds that it’s often nonfinancial factors like family, health, and lifestyle that ultimately cause people to pull the trigger to retire. Among retirees, 72% chose leisure as a very or somewhat strong reason to retire, 64% pointed to stress at work, and 62% cited a desire to spend more time with grandchildren.

“We’ve seen a shift in values as people near retirement,” says Eliza Badeau, Director of Thought Leadership at Fidelity. “Many people seem to desire freedom over money. It’s less about the money and more about spending time where it matters most to them,” she adds. “Most people say they look forward to the freedom that retirement brings such as spending time with their family or doing hobbies they enjoy—ultimately trading in that job stress for leisurely interests.”

Research finds that for many people, the decision to retire is not just about money. Discover 3 preretirement phases that are influencing peoples decision to retire here.

— Read on www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/retirement/time-to-retire

Cash Flow Analysis in Retirement

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Adding up all the money coming in and going out is called cash flow analysis, and it looks at all income from investments, properties, work, or anywhere else. And it looks at spending.

When it comes to cash flow, there are no hard and fast rules about what is good—it depends on personal goals and values. But there are some general guidelines to be consider.

  • Try to start early and save at least 15% of income for retirement—and any employer matching counts toward this goal.
  • Retirees should try to limit withdrawals from their savings to about 4% of their account balance in the year they entered retirement, though they can increase that for inflation each year.
  • Limit your monthly essential bills and housing costs to 50% of your monthly income.
  • Save about 5% of your income for short-term expenses.
  • Look to keep your total monthly debt bills below 36% of your monthly income.
  • Consider a growth portfolio consisting of (70% stocks, 25% bonds, and 5% cash) that would have allowed a retiree to withdraw more than 7% each year over 25 years of retirement—over 25% more than a conservative portfolio (20% stocks, 50% bonds, and 30% cash) with a sustainable withdrawal rate of 5.7%.3

Cash flow analysis may also show some opportunities for tax savings and other ways to make the most of one’s money.

Source: Financial health: Know your vital signs, FIDELITY VIEWPOINTS, 09/30/2019
3. The chart, “More stocks may mean higher anticipated withdrawal rates, but with less certainty,” was created based on simulations that relied on historical market data. The historical range analyzed was January 1926 to July 2018. These simulations take into account the volatility that a variety of asset allocations might experience under different market conditions. The illustration compares 3 different hypothetical portfolios—conservative, with 20% stocks, 50% bonds, and 30% cash; balanced, with 50% stocks, 40% bonds, and 10% cash; and growth, with 70% stocks, 25% bonds, and 5% cash. For each of the hypothetical portfolios, the maximum withdrawal rate was calculated such that the portfolios do not run out of money in 99%, 90%, and 50%, respectively, of the hypothetical scenarios. See footnote 4 for more information on asset classes and historical returns.

Burton Malkiel says his passive investing idea was called ‘garbage’ | CNBC

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  • Burton Malkiel said an early review of his famous book blasted his ideas about passive investing.
  • Malkiel’s book, published in 1973, influenced the thinking of many industry leaders who pioneered index funds, including Vanguard’s Jack Bogle.
  • Malkiel said there are still not enough investors taking advantage of passive strategies.

Investing is a method of purchasing assets to gain profit in the form of reasonably predictable income like dividends, interest, or rentals, and appreciation over the long term. Investing involves time period for the investment return and predictability of the returns.

Burton Malkiel, author of “A Random Walk Down Wall Street,” said the investment community thought his passive investing idea was “ridiculous,” Burton Malkiel said an early review of his famous book blasted his ideas about passive investing.

Malkiel’s book, published in 1973, influenced the thinking of many industry leaders who pioneered index funds, including Vanguard’s Jack Bogle. Malkiel said there are still not enough investors taking advantage of passive strategies.

The father of passive investing told CNBC on Thursday that the shift toward index funds has vindicated his ideas and that there is still too much active management. According to Malkiel, passive investing has outperformed ninety percent of active investing over a fifteen year period.

Burton Malkiel is an emeritus professor of economics at Princeton University and author of the famous investing book, “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.” He said on CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” that his idea that most investors should invest passively was originally met with ridicule.

He believes that each investment has a firm anchor of something called intrinsic value. It means that when market prices fall down, a buying or selling opportunity arises. The theory of Investment Value determines the intrinsic value of stock and then use the concept of discounting in the process.

He also believes that discounting basically involves looking at the income backward rather than seeing how much money an investor has in the next year; an investor looks at the money expected in the future and see how much less it is currently worth. Intrinsic value of a stock is equal to the present or discounted value of all its future dividends.

Burton G. Malkiel is the Chemical Bank Chairman’s Professor of Economics Emeritus at Princeton University. He is a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers, dean of the Yale School of Management, and has served on the boards of several major corporations, including Vanguard and Prudential Financial. He is the chief investment officer of Wealthfront.

— Read on www.cnbc.com/2020/01/02/burton-malkiel-says-his-passive-investing-idea-was-called-garbage.html