Why don’t we teach personal finance in high school? When I was 17 I learned about double shifts in the supply and demand curve in AP Economics before I was formally taught the difference between a stock and a bond.

Retirement plans are a mystery to many. It’s no surprise that many small business owners can have a difficult time funding a retirement plan that perfectly fits their needs and does not have them asking, “Is this as good as it gets?”

I did an interview over the weekend for a Columbia graduate student seeking both professional and participant commentary about the state of the 401k industry. He wasn’t expecting to hear a whole lot of positive considering the recessionary environment, but he genuinely wanted to know how attitudes and advice regarding 401k investing had changed.

The issue of how to practice is a big one for financial advisors. Regardless of whether you’re starting a business from scratch or moving an existing client book from one firm to the next, the decisions you make will impact your earnings potential and the mood of your office. Is it better to work on a commission basis or collect fees?

Over the past few months I’ve fielded more questions than usual regarding overhauling 401k plans and switching providers outright. The concerns have come from employees and business owners who have found that all or most of the investments in their 401k plan correlate too closely with the major stock and bond indexes.

Some of my clients have baulked at the idea of making a contribution to their traditional or Roth IRA accounts for 2008 before the April 15th deadline. The idea of pumping more money into stock and bond investments in the midst of this ‘economic storm’ is an eerie proposition for some.