Shirley Mueller, MD

Though robo-advisors may fade in future years, they could leave us with a valuable legacy.

Can investors give up the good feelings a mortal imparts in exchange for paying less for financial advice

 about the use of robo-advisors, Internet services that deliver programmed computer-generated portfolio management, some with minor human intervention and others with none. My conclusion, “

When people can make money by saving it, they frequently choose that option

they (robo-advisors) are here to stay.”

As it turns out, this conclusion may have been premature. Robo-advisors may not be here to stay. This is according to Michael Kites in his May 2 column, “

The B2C Robo-Advisor Movement Is Dying, But Its #FinTech Legacy Will Live On!”

 “B2C” refers to business-to-consumer marketing as opposed to B2B (business-to-business) marketing. Firms that offer robo-advisors advertise directly to consumers; thereby, they are B2C. FinTech refers to financial technology that strives to make financial services more efficient.

Kites tells us that the cost of gaining a client for robo-advisors such as 

 is higher than the value of the client to the company over the client’s lifetime (meaning that they are losing money). This is because their customers tend to be weighted toward small accounts, which do not produce much revenue for the companies in their lifetime. As an example, Betterment’s average account size has remained about $20,000 since the fourth quarter of 2014. Evidently, Wealthfront has not done much better. Without the streaming revenue from larger accounts, robos will be forced to fade and almost certainly finally die out.

Nevertheless, Kites says, even if robos perish, they will have a place in the history of financial planning. This is because they challenged the investment industry with their novel computerized approach and thereby jolted it into investing in new software similar to that of robo-advisors. This created a revolutionary product for clients which Vanguard and Schwab are already using. Thus, in combination with the traditional touch of established investment companies, a morphed robo-advisor software is making an impact on the industry, though not in the package in which it was originally conceived.

Your Advisor's Compensation Has Increased Dramatically

Articles

The advent of so-called robo-advisors -- cheaper than a real human and theoretically just as competent -- hasn't been the game-changer some expected.

Robo-Advisors: Has Automated Advising Already Peaked?

A trip to Europe can be the vacation of a lifetime. But traveling there involves long and sometimes arduous travel. So how can you ensure you make the most of your limited time?

First and foremost, take an overnight flight and hit the ground running. This is easier if business or first class is on your dance card. Then, a comfortable flat bed is offered. But even in economy seating, there is the miracle of modern pharmacology.

Secondly, once in your European country of choice, 9 a.m. is 4 a.m. at home, at least for those Americans who live in the Eastern Time Zone. A lot of people in America get up at this time—remember the paperboy? So, wind back your clock and arise early stateside time which, of course, is five-plus hours later in Europe. This makes it easy for a 10 a.m. departure from the hotel. What to do during the day? If possible, plan your trip ahead of time. If you know what you are doing at 10 a.m., getting up at 9 a.m. (4 a.m. EST) is easier.

Of course, all friends who travel abroad like to talk about a fantastic restaurant or two on their trip. But, I find in most countries just plain food, even at a coffee bar, can be very good. Additionally, it is less expensive and doesn’t require a reservation. This is real freedom when the aim of the trip is seeing the sights rather than being tied to a food schedule.

Standing in museums can be tiring. That is why they have benches. Taking advantage of the ability to sit down can be refreshing plus an afternoon coffee to keep going. But, even at the end of an exhaustive touring day, walking to the hotel, provided it is not too great of a distance, can add spark to a relationship if with a companion or just be interesting if alone. Additionally, it tires out the body, which makes sleeping five hours ahead of the usual time easier.

Lastly, use the local currency rather than credit card. It is easy to get from bank machines and Rick Steves says this is the most economical way. Then, on return home, there are no foreign charges to rectify. This is quite a perk for the designated person in the family who balances the credit card tally.

And, if you are going to do this often, enroll in the 

Transportation Security Administration (TSA)

 Pre-Check Program. Then, you can slip into and out of the country more quickly. Provided the planes are on time, your trip will be what you anticipated, carefree and without jet lag.

Vacation: Using Money Wisely—Timing Counts

An Option for Your Large Transactions Abroad

When you travel to Europe, you want to take advantage of every moment. These tips will help you maximize your time (and money) while abroad.

How to Visit Europe and Hit the Ground Running

When viewing art, some museum-goers get that loving feeling. They like what they see and they see what they like. A few go so far as to have a religious experience of sorts and report sensations of euphoria. These perceptions, originating in the brain, aren’t all that is going on in a museum visitors’ body. The area below the neck is also engaged.

Psychologist Wolfgang Tschacher and colleagues from institutes in Switzerland and Germany recently demonstrated this to be true. They examined the physical responses of 373 museum visitors to the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, in Switzerland. By using a specially made glove on the visitor’s right hand, their motion, heart rate, and skin conductance levels were determined wirelessly.

.” The visitor in a study is wearing the especially made glove that monitors motion, heart rate, and skin conductance levels wirelessly. 

Sixty-five percent of the participants in the study were female. The average age of all was 47 years. Each subject spent on average of 28 minutes in the exhibit.

Skin conductance levels (SCL) measure the electrical current readings of the skin which vary with its moisture level. Differences are associated with emotion because the involuntary sympathetic nervous system responsible for the fight or flight response controls SCL. Thus, when someone is excited, activity in the sweat gland is increased which elevates skin resistance. This is recorded as a measure of emotional response.

An immediate post-visit customized computer questionnaire was used to evaluate responses to the 3 artworks where the participant lingered the longest (determined by the motion sensors in the glove). Responses to 3 artworks chosen in advance by the investigators were presented as well. Five areas of aesthetic appreciation were assessed.

 Pleasing; beautiful; well done with respect to technique, composition, and content

 The work is considered as surprising; makes one laugh

 The work is experienced as dominant, stimulating

 The work is well staged and hung, suitable in the context of other artworks

Using statistical measures, the researchers found that 3 of the 4 physiological measures used to determine biological responses to art in the museum showed significance.  

Beautiful, high-quality artworks and surprising or humorous pieces were significantly associated with a higher heart rate variability.

Works of art perceived as dominant were significantly associated with a higher skin conductance variability.

Dominant art was also associated significantly with a decrease in heart rate.

Interestingly enough, only skin conductance absolute levels were unassociated with any parameter.

Tschacher and his colleagues were sparse in explaining any meaning this might have for their participants, though this wasn’t really necessary. Their major conclusion stands on its own:  there are measurable physiological response to artworks in a museum. The authors sum this up by saying, “Our findings suggest that an idiosyncratically human property—finding aesthetic pleasure in viewing artistic artifacts&mdash;is linked to biological markers.” Our appreciation of art is not all in our heads!

Every year the Design Arts Society at the Indianapolis Museum of Art has what is called a “Love/Hate” evening. During the event, members of the group present their impression of the best and worst design in the galleries.  The occasion is meant to be thought provoking so those that are not presenters will join in a lively discussion. 

Recently, at one such event, David Force, a member of the group and presenter for the evening made this comment when he offered David Stark’s bedside gun lamp as an object of hate. The piece, basically in your face, and certainly dominant, stimulated Force to say, “My heart rate must be going down.”

Art and science are often depicted as near opposites. However, new research illuminates how the latter is intricately connected with the former.

Art Appreciation: Beyond the Brain

Though there are crime scares in Mexico that frighten tourists, it seemed very tame on our recent visit. This made me think that it is more for pansies than those that have excessive courage. We had nothing but good weather, excellent food, and great sightseeing.

What follows is the rundown on some of what we did in Mexico City, plus a review of our hotel, called The Gran.

The museums are numerous. The source I consulted easily 

of them. But, anyone can look at a recognized authority. Why not try the unrecognized non-authority (me) and address what isn’t in a guidebook—the unusual and even bizarre.

The Hall of Mexican Dentistry in the Museo de la Autonomía Universitaria

Get ready for a jaw-breaking exhibit. A group of dentists gathered enough momentum to renovate the 19th century Palacio de la Autonomía (Autonomy Palace) around and about the turn of the millennium. A Hall of Mexican Dentistry was the result of their efforts. The exhibits have examples of dentistry from the time of the Aztecs up to the 20th century.

An early dental chair and its equipment in the Mexico City’s Hall of Mexican Dentistry.

Prehistoric Mayan and Aztec fillings were precious jewels. After death, the jaw bones were incised as shown here. The Hall of Mexican Dentistry, Mexico City.

The university gained freedom from complete government control in 1929. The commemoration of that event is celebrated in a stairwell just off the dental museum. When you see it, you will know you are near your target, the Hall of Mexican Dentistry.

The Metropolitan Cathedral or Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de María

(Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City)

Churches are neither unnatural nor bizarre. It is what lies underneath this cathedral that makes it so. This holy church was built on an Aztec place of worship. Thereby, look down. Periodically, in the front of the Cathedral edifice, there will be glass areas through which to peer. The idea is to view some of the original Aztec ruins of which the church is now atop.

The glass in front of the entrance reflects the doors of the cathedral. Below is the earlier construction upon which the church was built. Tiles that were made in Mexico City from the 17th century are among the artifacts that can be seen.

There is more of the unfamiliar inside the church. Due to earthquakes and fires, parts of it were damaged over time. Therefore, what was a stairway to a pulpit made of precious stone had to be reconstructed after one such event. It ended up with the lower supporting structure made of a material much more modest than the more elegant original marble.

The stairway to the pulpit in the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City. The upper precious marble is supported by the later modest replacement below due to an earthquake.

Art of colonial Mexico is its focus. But, the real clincher was the unexpected. For example, early screens made in Mexico showing its conquest by Spaniards were made in exquisite detail. There was even an index for the scenes.

The Zócalo (central plaza) painted on an early screen. The Cathedral is on the left.

A display showing the products of Asia that were exported to Mexico. They inspired the creation of similar pieces in Mexico.

An unusual art form consisting of painting and shell overlay evidently inspired by the early import of Japanese screens to Mexico, also with shell adornment.

In Mexico, a lot happens on the street. First, there are masses of people. The city is 25 million large, so at any one time the chance that you will be accompanied by hundreds of others when walking is great. Most were Mexicans, even in city center where the tourist sites are located.

Within the close quarters with multiple other humans around, we were not pick-pocketed nor did we feel threatened in any way. In fact, walking on the street was interesting and even exciting. There were so many things to see that were out of the ordinary.

However, there are reports of pickpockets and other petty crime in Mexico City. It’s best to be careful as you would in any large foreign metropolis.

A mask for sale near the Zócalo, the main square.

A man in a bandana carries a hawk. Notice the blue and white tiles on the building in the background on the left of old Mexican origin.

The advantage of this hotel is that it is historic and elegant. Also, it is centrally located on the Zócalo with large rooms and it is well priced. The down side, from my point of view, is that there was a slightly chronic distasteful smell in the bathroom. Another is the organ grinder who toils from eight in the morning until evening without fail day to day; it is noisy and repetitious. The third is that I suspect the vegetables for the morning slushes were not cleaned according to American standards. Montezuma’s revenge followed their consumption. But, overall, for the money, it is a good bargain. For those, willing to spend more, there is the luxurious Four Seasons nearby.

An organ grinder such as the one on the Zócalo that began playing at eight in the morning without fail.

The elegant interior of the Gran Hotel, Mexico City. It was once a department store.

The bird cage in the lobby of the Gran Hotel was covered at night so that the exotic beast could get some rest.

Anyone who reads the headlines would think travel to Mexico unsafe and unwise. A recent trip to Mexico City proves otherwise.

Don't Believe the Fear: A Fascinating (and Safe) Tour Through Mexico City

“The US Dollar increased to 14.85 Mexican Pesos in February from 14.78 in January of 2015. The Mexican Peso averaged 8.18 from 1972 until 2015…”

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/mexico/currency

The American dollar is worth roughly 82% more now than its average compared to the Mexican Peso from 1972 to 2015. This makes for some choice bargains in Mexico for Americans. After a recent 10-day trip there, I can personally testify to this. Choosing Mexico as a vacation spot now can not only save money but provide pleasure doing it. Here are five reasons why. 

 On Feb. 10, a nonstop economy round trip ticket on Delta from the New York City area (Newark) to Mexico City was $528, less than flying to another foreign country. For example, round trip on British Airways from NYC to London, also nonstop economy, is $1,091. Both figures were obtained from Travelocity as the least expensive fares.

	View from the Gran Hotel rooftop restaurant in Mexico City over the Zocolo at night.    

 The Gran Hotel Ciudad de México on the Zocolo, the most prominent square in Mexico, charges $124 per night as its lowest rate. The more luxurious Four Seasons nearby, but not directly on the Zocolo, begins at $460 per night, considerably more, but in a comparable city like Manhattan would be $695 per night.

One of the two silver earrings (shown against a tulip bulb) I purchased from the gift shop of the Olga Y Rufino Tamayo, a modern art museum near the Archeological Museum in Mexico City.  They cost about $118.  Notice the contrast of the tarnished silver piece in the middle between the two silver roundels on either side. The mate to this earring is the reverse: tarnished silver, silver and tarnished silver rather than silver, tarnished silver and silver. This makes the earring pair interesting as well as attractive. Photo by the author.

 What was inexpensive before in Mexico is even less so. Think of silver and gold. For example, I purchased a 14-karatarat ring to supplement my wedding band for about $400. It was tooled in an intricate fashion and pleasantly light on my finger. Less expensive jewelry included pure silver earrings, approximately cost $118 dollars (please see illustration above). Nicely fashioned and colorful earrings made of other materials were less. 

Food preparation. The restaurants in Oaxaca were excellent and prices modest by American standards. Photo by the author.

 In Oaxaca, we had lunches and dinners that were more sophisticated and tastier than many NYC restaurants. That is saying something. The cost was less, too, a maximum of $100 for my husband and me including wine and tip. In Manhattan, a comparable meal at a high end restaurant would have cost more, at least $150.

Monte Alban near Oaxaca is an important pre-Columbian archaeological site as well as a world heritage site. Photo by author. 

5. The historic sites within the country are numerous, worthwhile, and well kept.

 There are 32 cultural properties listed on the World Heritage Site in Mexico. In short, these properties are a joy for the eyes and heart.

One word of caution about safety in Mexico. There clearly has been and is crime in the country. In fact, the U.S. government has travel warnings out for parts of the country. Please see details on the 

. We visited Mexico City, Puebla, and Oaxaca with no trouble. They are all in the lower half of Mexico where there have been fewer drug problems than in the Northern areas. In fact in Puebla and Oaxaca, much smaller than Mexico City, the atmosphere seemed rural and welcoming. The only reason Mexico City didn’t appear this way was because it was so crowded and thereby hard to navigate. Still, it is always advisable to take reasonable precautions such as staying in tourist areas or if going elsewhere being accompanied by a guide. 

Last, but not least, Mexico is more or less within the same time zone as the United States. The three places we visited are in the central time zone. This made for easier adjustment on the body. This is in addition to money saved and pleasure gained when visiting Mexico now.  

The American dollar is worth roughly 82% more now than its average compared to the Mexican Peso from 1972 to 2015. This makes for some choice bargains in Mexico for Americans.

5 Reasons It's a Great Time to Visit Mexico

My guess is that after visiting The Hispanic Society most visitors are so overwhelmed by the beauty of the building and its contents that they not only donate, but donate more than the suggested $10 per person.

The entrance to The Hispanic Society of America.

El Cid, the museum’s signature statue, is reflected in the left glass door.

When visiting crowded and bustling Manhattan, it can be refreshing to escape the crowds and still enjoy a first class exhibit with pizazz. That is what the 

 has to offer. It demonstrates the passion of its creator, 

 (1870 —1955) for the art and culture of Spain and Portugal. For further zing, Archer’s own birth history adds zest.  

The gigantic El Cid immediately across from the museum entrance.

It was sculpted by Anna Hyatt Huntington, Archer Huntington’s second wife.

The blue sky above the background building for El Cid is reflected in the white snow below the statue.

Though he was the stepson of the railroad magnate and industrialist, Collis P. Huntington, some rumored that his step-father was also his father. This was in spite of the fact that Arabella Yarrington, Archer’s mother, was not married to Collis Huntington at the time of his birth. In 1870 America this was scandalous!

The Portrait of the Duchess of Alba by Francisco De Goya, 1797 awaits the visitor.

Now, let’s raise our head above hearsay and get back to the young Archer. He was driven by vision. By the time the lad was nineteen, he expressed his wish to establish a “Spanish Museum.” We know he had the resources from his parents.  His aspiration was fulfilled in 1904 when the free museum and library were founded by him.

The view to the left after entering the museum. It is magnificent as is the vista to the right.

A painting that represents the spirit of the museum.  In this so-called Caste painting a Mestizo man (of mixed race, especially the offspring of a Spaniard and an Indian) accompanies an Indian woman and their offspring termed a Coyote. Juan Rodrigues Juarez (Mexico, 1728).

The museum includes paintings, decorative arts, archeological specimens, sculptures, prints, and photographs, plus a library. The latter includes some of the first books published in Mexico, Peru, Guatemala, and Puerto Rico, countries that are derivatives of Spain. It is interesting to note that among the many early photographs commissioned by Huntington to chronicle disappearing rural Spain are those taken by women. It seems Archer Huntington had a predilection for hiring the female species. In this, he was far ahead of his time. By report, he even employed women deaf mutes. The star among his group of traveling women photographers was Ruth Matilda Anderson.

Huntington also engaged an impressionist Spanish artist to paint disappearing Spain, Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida (1863-1923). Sorolla spent 8 years of his life in this endeavor. The result is displayed in an octagonal room at the West end of the museum. This one of kind and unique set of paintings offers the visitor a vision of Spain from the early 1900’s.

Part of the panorama by Sorolla in its own dedicated room at The Hispanic Society of America. .

There is only one reason people would not visit this museum. It is because the location can be perceived as difficult. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. The exhibition hall is at Broadway between 155th and 156th Street in Washington Heights. The Metro C line as well as the 1 line have stops just a few blocks from the museum. Walking to The Hispanic Society from either stop is easy.

The Hispanic Society of America is in brown in the upper left atop the green patch designating the Trinity Cemetery. The Hudson River is to the left. The Harlem River is to the right. The C line metro is in blue just under 155th Street one block to the right of the two continuous green patches. The metro 1 line at 157th Street is also shown in blue. Both are within several easy walking blocks of the museum.  From Google Maps.

When traveling North on Broadway, this is the sign that indicates a turn to the Left is needed. The museum does not face Broadway. Rather, its side is to this main thoroughfare.

When visiting crowded and bustling Manhattan, it can be refreshing to escape the crowds and still enjoy a first class exhibit with pizazz. That is what the Hispanic Society of America has to offer.