In an article in the New York Times Business Section on October 23, Julie Connelly described the attraction of index funds. Paul Merriman was the first person she quoted.

Click here to read the story.

I am often asked what to do with excess cash. It’s a common question which seems simple, but it has many answers depending on circumstances. I’ll outline 10 situations that people often find themselves in and tell you how I typically respond. There’s no perfect answer, but if you have excess cash yourself, you’ll probably find one or more of these suggested approaches that will appeal to you.

Do you recall what you were doing on October 19, 1987?  I sure do. Today marks the 20th anniversary of the stock market crash of 1987, when the DJIA experienced the worst single day percentage drop in history (approx 23%!).  To put this in perspective, this is the equivalent of the DJIA dropping about 3,000 points in one day from current levels.  At the time, I was 23 years old and under heavy fire working the trading phones at Schwab.  This was before internet trading, and before Schwab had call centers.  We were overrun.