So you can imagine my excitement when I saw HBO’s Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Retirement Plans special. This one HITS THE JACKPOT!
It’s absolutely hilarious! I’ve never heard anyone talk about retirement plans quite like this before. It’s everything the personal finance community blogs about, but a whole lot funnier!
Don’t worry if you don’t have HBO. You can watch the entire thing on YouTube below.
In case you’ve never heard of it, Last Week Tonight is kind of like the Daily Show on Comedy Central where they take real topics and then blast them. But because its on HBO, they can say (i.e. swear) and do a whole lot more!
Here’s a quick run-down of all the topics that they cover in this segment:
- Examples of why we’re all really stupid when it comes to buying stuff using examples from the Suze Orman show; including one caller who wanted to spend $4,000 on an elf spotting certification??
- Are the people in the Prudential commercials actually walking towards the date of their own death? Creepy …
- It turns out that the term “financial adviser” has absolutely no meaning. In fact, you can go to Last Week Tonight’s website and print out your own financial advising certificate.
- Why do advisers push annuities so hard? No surprise – BIG commissions!
- Did you know that not all advisers are “fiduciary’s”? Legally, they don’t have to act in your best interest.
- 401(k) plan fees and the negative effects of compounding fees.
- Passively vs actively managed funds. How many times can you say the word “active” in one commercial?
- A group of top fund managers were outperformed against a cat named Orlando!
- When was the last time you read the Wikipedia page for “rope”?
- John Hancock’s 401(k) plan for Last Week Tonight, the outrageous fees their researchers found in the contract, and their broker who made a $10 million dollar error in his Excel spreadsheet.
- They close out with how the Prudential commercial really should go!
Even though it’s over 20 minutes long, it’s totally worth watching the full episode. Enjoy! Note: Moderately safe for work (some swearing).
Readers: Let me know what you think of this video. Pretty spot on for some topics, huh?
Hilarious. Thanks for sharing!
I’m saving this one for lunch! Thanks for sharing – sounds like some great topics!
YEs I have been watching John Oliver for years now, he is really good at showing the facts. So many issues in America and nobody wants to shed light on them. I’m glad somebody is fighting back and helping to reveal how unfair certain organizations treat people.
I missed watching the show! Thanks for reminding me of this MMD.
I love John Oliver! The ideas posted have a shocking truth behind it. It’s simple to learn these topics yet people mistake finance for it being complicated. I blame how industry professionals love using jargon to make concepts seem complicated for job security purposes (there has been good evidence that this practice has been going on for a long time). Thanks for sharing!
Oliver is so hilarious! One of the best episodes I have watched so far. Thanks for sharing MMD.
Oliver really nails it here. He always does. And his advice about the low cost index funds is really important, probably more than anything else as I doubt most Americans have any idea what fees are being charged in their actively managed mutual funds. I think most people don’t really have a concept of what a “normal” fund fee is, so when something like 2% is charged, people think “Oh wow, that’s really good”. Understand how great that SOUNDS (not “is”) in this world of 35% credit card rates and the like..
I think people think the same about actively managed funds. We personal finance bloggers know about the power of index funds, but the average person? “I don’t want the STOCK MARKET to dictate my retirement account! That’s gambling! Markets crash! I’d rather a financial expert actively manage my portfolio!”
The only thing I’m not sure about is Suzie Orman’s advice on annuities. There are so many different types of annuities. To say “an annuity” is like saying “a stock”. Okay, what stock? Or “an insurance policy”. Okay? Life? Health? Auto? Flood? What exactly? I see a lot of horror stories about annuities online, but there are fixed annuities out there that are principal guaranteed and safer even than bank CDs. The question to ask is if the annuity is fixed or variable. The annuities that I sell at my bank are all fixed annuities with your principal guaranteed by legal contract and no management fees at all (no market exposure). Other financial advisors sell variable annuities that are completely different. Hmm, I think I just found my next blog post.
Great segment! Loved the commercial at the end! Now to get my elf watching certification!
Sincerely,
ARB–Angry Retail Banker
OMG! I had a good laugh watching John Oliver.
I know! His shows always crack me up.