All Work

Marc Guberti

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QYLD’s 12 Percent Yield Has Quietly Eroded NAV by 35 Percent Over a Decade While the Nasdaq Tripled

If you bought Global X NASDAQ 100 Covered Call ETF (NASDAQ:QYLD) a decade ago for the headline yield, the monthly checks have arrived on schedule. The position itself has not. QYLD currently distributes roughly…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A newspaper titled 'Market Journal' open on a table. The main headline reads 'VOLATILITY AHEAD' in large, bold letters. Below the headline, a black arrow graph zig-zags across a grid, indicating fluctuating market movement. A white ceramic coffee cup is visible in the upper right background, and a crystal glass object is in the upper left background. The newspaper pages are white with dark gray text.

SOXL Lost 90 Percent in 2022 While Semiconductors Themselves Fell 35 Percent, And the Daily Reset Math Hasn’t Changed

Semiconductors have been the trade of 2026, and the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSEARCA:SOXL) has been the vehicle retail traders keep reaching for. SOXL is up about 291% year to date and…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A close-up of a person's hands holding a black smartphone. A translucent blue holographic overlay emanates from the phone, displaying financial market data, including line graphs and bar charts in blue, yellow, and red. A large red banner across the middle of the digital interface reads 'RISK' in white letters, flanked by a white minus sign on the left and a white plus sign on the right. The background shows a blurred person wearing a blue collared shirt.

EMB’s 6 Percent Emerging Market Bond Yield Hides Hard Currency Sovereign Default Risk Most Income Investors Have Never Modeled

The iShares J.P. Morgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NASDAQ:EMB) is the default vehicle for retirees and income investors seeking higher coupons than U.S. Treasuries without currency risk. EMB holds roughly $13 billion in…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A grayscale photo of black oil barrels stacked on wooden pallets in an industrial facility, with a building wall in the background. Transparent, colorful financial charts are overlaid on the image, featuring a pink jagged line graph trending downwards, red and blue candlestick charts showing price declines, and red vertical bar graphs.

USO’s Front Month Oil Strategy Has Lagged Crude Oil Itself by Half Since 2014, And the Roll Cost Is the Reason

If you bought the United States Oil Fund (NYSEARCA:USO) to bet on rising crude prices, the fund is living up to its reputation. USO is up 114% year to date as WTI rallies. The…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A businessman in a dark suit and white shirt holds a silver smartphone in his left hand and fanned U.S. dollar bills in his right. Behind him is a translucent overlay of a world map and various financial charts, including red and green candlestick graphs and line graphs. The letters 'ETF' are displayed prominently in bright green text in the center of the image. The background is a dark screen with glowing financial data and numbers.

PDBC Promises Diversified Commodities Without K-1 Tax Forms, But the Workaround Hides a Long Term Roll Cost

The Invesco Optimum Yield Diversified Commodity Strategy No K-1 ETF (NASDAQ:PDBC) exists to solve one specific tax-season headache. Investors who want broad commodity exposure as an inflation hedge typically face the choice between owning…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A focused older couple sits at a desk, reviewing paper documents and a laptop screen. The woman, with short gray hair and a blue shirt, is in the foreground pointing at a document. The man, with a gray beard, glasses, and a gray sweater, is partially blurred in the background, holding a document and also pointing. A white mug sits near the laptop, which displays what appears to be a spreadsheet. The scene conveys diligent financial planning.

How a 401(k) Balance Over $900,000 Quietly Pushes 85 Percent of Social Security Into the Taxable Income Column

The retiree is 70, single, sitting on $900,000 in a traditional 401(k), pulling $50,000 a year from it, and collecting $30,000 from Social Security. The portfolio looks healthy. The cash flow looks reasonable. What…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A spiral-bound notebook with 'Roth IRA Conversion' handwritten in black ink is open on a light brown wooden desk. To the left, a portion of a brown leather satchel or briefcase with a strap is visible. A black marker rests near the bottom right of the notebook. In the upper right corner, a small, dark brown book and a pair of gold-rimmed reading glasses are placed on the desk.

A 58 Year Old With $2.2 Million in a 401(k) Has Twelve Years to Execute the Roth Conversion That Saves $315,000 in Lifetime Taxes

The scenario lands in a lot of inboxes. A 58-year-old engineer or executive, household income north of $300,000, sees $2.2 million sitting in a traditional 401(k) and a planned retirement at 63. The instinct…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

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The 5 Year Roth Conversion Ladder a 52 Year Old Can Use to Access $40,000 a Year of Retirement Funds Penalty Free at 57

A 52-year-old with $1.5 million in a traditional 401(k) and a goal to retire at 57 faces a five-year gap. The 401(k) is built for 59½, the IRS charges a 10% penalty for early…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

Three green wooden blocks with black letters, spelling 'E T F', are arranged in a row on a white surface with blurred financial candlestick charts in the foreground. A colorful spiral notebook and a black-rimmed magnifying glass are partially visible in the softly focused background.

AOR’s 60/40 Allocation Has Lagged a Simple S&P 500 by 60 Points Over a Decade, And Built In Rebalancing Did Not Help

The iShares Core Growth Allocation ETF (NYSEARCA:AOR) is the kind of fund a financial advisor recommends when they want to give a client one ticker and never think about it again. AOR holds roughly…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A fair-skinned woman with long, light brown hair smiles warmly, looking slightly to her right. She wears a quilted red jacket. Behind her, a light blue background features large, purple text that partially reads 'Retirement Planning' and other smaller, lighter text to the right.

The Hidden 401(k) Tax Bomb That Hits a $1.3 Million Saver With $19,800 in Their First RMD Year

Picture a single 73-year-old retiree sitting on $1.3 million in a traditional 401(k), drawing $36,000 a year in Social Security, and feeling reasonably set for retirement. 2026 is the year required minimum distributions begin,…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

Three people are seated around a round wooden table, engaged in a discussion while reviewing documents. A man in a gray suit, facing away from the camera, sits on the left. Across from him, an older man with gray hair and a beard, wearing a plaid shirt, holds papers and smiles towards an older woman with dreadlocks, wearing a gray sweater. A silver laptop, a black smartphone, a black insulated mug, and a small potted plant are visible on the table, with bright windows in the background.

The QLAC Strategy That Lets a 70 Year Old With $2 Million Defer $200,000 of RMDs Until Age 85

A 70 year old retiree sitting on $2 million in a traditional 401(k) has roughly three years before required minimum distributions start dictating tax bills. The conventional planning advice (Roth conversions, charitable distributions, asset…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A middle-aged man and woman sit at a desk reviewing financial documents. The woman points with a pen at a paper, while the man looks on intently. A laptop displaying a spreadsheet, calculators, and binders labeled '401(k) Statement,' 'Tax Return 202X,' and 'Roth Conversion Analysis' are visible on the desk.

The 401(k) to Roth Bracket Filling Strategy That Saves a $300,000 Earner Couple $145,000 in Taxes Over 8 Years

A 60-year-old couple pulling in $300,000 a year with $1.8 million in a traditional 401(k) is sitting on a problem most high earners do not see until it is too late. Every dollar in…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A close-up shot of a wooden desk with financial documents, a calculator, a pen, and a sticky note. The documents are labeled "Roth IRA", "401(k)", and "IRA (Individual Retirement Account)" in black text on beige, white, and green paper, respectively. A yellow pen with a silver tip rests on the green "IRA" document. In the foreground, a bright orange sticky note displays a large black question mark. A black calculator is partially visible in the upper left background.

How a Backdoor Roth IRA Adds $7,500 a Year of Roth Wealth for a $300,000 Earner Couple Over the Income Cap

A married couple, both 52, earns $300,000 of combined W-2 income. They max their 401(k)s, build a taxable brokerage account, and want to fund Roth IRAs too. They open the contribution flow at their…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

A senior woman with reddish-brown hair and a wrinkled hand resting on her forehead looks down intently at a document she holds in her other hand. She wears a pink shirt under a soft purple robe. A white coffee cup and saucer are on the dark wooden table to her left, with more documents underneath the one she is reading. The background is dark, showing parts of a brick wall and a wooden chair.

A 75 Year Old With $3 Million in a 401(k) Discovers Three Years of RMDs Will Cost Her $42,000 in Medicare Surcharges Alone

Margaret turned 75 last fall, sits on a $3 million traditional 401(k), and is two years into required minimum distributions. She did everything the textbooks said. What arrived this spring was not a thank-you…

Marc Guberti · 3 months ago

Marc Guberti

QYLD’s 12 Percent Yield Has Quietly Eroded NAV by 35 Percent Over a Decade While the Nasdaq Tripled

SOXL Lost 90 Percent in 2022 While Semiconductors Themselves Fell 35 Percent, And the Daily Reset Math Hasn’t Changed

EMB’s 6 Percent Emerging Market Bond Yield Hides Hard Currency Sovereign Default Risk Most Income Investors Have Never Modeled

USO’s Front Month Oil Strategy Has Lagged Crude Oil Itself by Half Since 2014, And the Roll Cost Is the Reason

PDBC Promises Diversified Commodities Without K-1 Tax Forms, But the Workaround Hides a Long Term Roll Cost

How a 401(k) Balance Over $900,000 Quietly Pushes 85 Percent of Social Security Into the Taxable Income Column

A 58 Year Old With $2.2 Million in a 401(k) Has Twelve Years to Execute the Roth Conversion That Saves $315,000 in Lifetime Taxes

The 5 Year Roth Conversion Ladder a 52 Year Old Can Use to Access $40,000 a Year of Retirement Funds Penalty Free at 57

AOR’s 60/40 Allocation Has Lagged a Simple S&P 500 by 60 Points Over a Decade, And Built In Rebalancing Did Not Help

The Hidden 401(k) Tax Bomb That Hits a $1.3 Million Saver With $19,800 in Their First RMD Year

The QLAC Strategy That Lets a 70 Year Old With $2 Million Defer $200,000 of RMDs Until Age 85

The 401(k) to Roth Bracket Filling Strategy That Saves a $300,000 Earner Couple $145,000 in Taxes Over 8 Years

How a Backdoor Roth IRA Adds $7,500 a Year of Roth Wealth for a $300,000 Earner Couple Over the Income Cap

A 75 Year Old With $3 Million in a 401(k) Discovers Three Years of RMDs Will Cost Her $42,000 in Medicare Surcharges Alone

Why a 64 Year Old Retiree Is Draining Her $1.1 Million 401(k) Early to Maximize a $5,181 Social Security Check at 70

A 73 Year Old With $1.5 Million in a 401(k) Discovers RMDs Will Trigger a $280,000 Cumulative Tax Bill

The 401(k) Mega Backdoor Roth Strategy a Tech Worker Used to Build $750,000 of Roth Wealth in Six Years

The Triple Tax Free HSA Account High Earners Are Funding Before Maxing Their 401(k)

The Roth Conversion Strategy Affluent Investors Over 55 Are Using to Empty Their 401(k)s Before Required Distributions

SMCY’s Dreamy Distribution Hides a Track Record Even YieldMax Investors Should Find Concerning