A Valuable Lesson in Estate Planning

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The still-stinging death of pop music icon Prince has made the world a sadder place. The singer/songwriter, master guitarist, actor and bonafide musical genius touched millions of people with his life’s work.

Unfortunately, Prince won’t have a say in what happens to the fruit of his life’s work now that he has passed.

Why?

Because Prince did not have a will, or a living trust, or any kind of estate plan in place when he died.

That means the state of Minnesota likely will be responsible for the disposition of an estate valued at some $300 million. That figure doesn’t even include the estimated $500 million in publishing rights to Prince’s musical catalog, or future royalties from ongoing sales of his music (which skyrocketed right after his passing).

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While the death of Prince was a tragedy for music lovers around the world, his death also can be a teachable moment about the importance of having a will, a living trust and a complete estate plan in place — especially if you have significant wealth, and especially if you have children.

If you want a say in what happens to your money, property, business, family heirlooms, etc., after you die, then the only way to do that is to set up a will or a living trust that specifies who gets what, how your estate is to be distributed and who will be in charge of your estate after you’ve departed.

I know this isn’t a pleasant subject to tackle, but it is one that must be dealt with before it’s too late. The last thing you want is for some government bureaucrat to decide for you where your money goes after you’re gone.

The way I see it, you owe it to yourself and to the ones you leave behind to tackle the unpleasant issue of estate planning.

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And while the process might not be the most comfortable experience of your life, knowing that the fruit of your life’s labor will have the destination of your choosing is a most comforting feeling.

So, let us all learn from the lessons of a Prince — and don’t leave your legacy up to chance, or up to others.

ETF Talk: Capturing Growth Potential in Precious Metals

The Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) seeks to replicate as closely as possible, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Index.

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The Index provides exposure to a global universe of publicly traded small- and medium-capitalization companies that generate at least 50% of their revenues from gold and/or silver mining, hold real property that has the potential to produce at least 50% of the company’s revenue from gold or silver mining, or primarily invest in gold or silver.

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The fund normally will invest at least 80% of its total assets in companies that are involved in the gold mining industry. As such, GDXJ is subject to, among other risks, that of investing in international equities and small- and mid-cap mining companies. Many companies may not have begun to generate material revenues and operate at a loss, contributing to greater volatility, lower trading volume and less liquidity than larger companies.

GDXJ’s share price has traded up quite steeply over the past three months, with shares up more than 110% from the fund’s low in mid-January. Year to date, GDXJ has risen over 80% on the strength of precious metals and related sectors. The ETF pays out a modest annual distribution in December, amounting to an approximately 0.5% yield, which almost covers its expense ratio of 0.55%. The fund has $2.38 billion in assets and trades at just over a 1% premium to assets.

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