Stop trying to beat the market, because you can't. That sage advice comes from investment legend Charley Ellis, who has been keeping tabs on the debate between active and passive investment management for five decades. In his new book “Index Revolution: Why Investors Should Join it Now” Charley argues that indexing is the most efficient and cost effective way to achieve your long term financial goals. He states it clearly: “The stunning reality is that most actively managed mutual funds fail to keep up with index funds.”

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Ellis founded Greenwich Associates in 1972, creating a financial industry consulting firm that would become a go-to resource for the biggest fund managers and Wall Street firms. One of his many claims to fame is that he was the first industry insider to publicly proclaim that most active portfolio managers do not keep up with the benchmarks they are trying to beat, and that investors are better off in low-cost index funds. That admission occurred in 1975, when he wrote a timeless article, titled The Loser’s Game. In the article, he explained the quandary that active managers face and quantified their disappointing results. It was the same year that Vanguard launched the first index mutual fund. In addition to writing and talking about the industry, Charlie serves on as an Investment Committee member of Rebalance IRA.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week, especially Mark, the Best Producer/Music Curator in the World. Here's how to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

We always talk about the importance of working with fiduciary advisors, but who's keeping tabs on them? Guest and current FPA President Ed Gjertsen weighs in on the question. He says that the oversight is conducted by a trio of entities: the CFP Board of Standards, the SEC and FINRA. Ed also discussed why he and the FPA remain "fee-neutral".

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Jack from GA needed advice about his future retirement from the military, we discussed in greater detail why revocable trust may not be necessary for most and reviewed new IRA rollover rules for Marilyn.

In case you missed it, last week was the official start of tax season. Here's last week's CTM segment outlining what you need to know about changes to your tax returns and here's how to stick to your New Year's Financial Resolutions.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Oh sure, I wanted to call this episode, "Islanders Shutout Rangers," but this is a financial, not a sports show...and after all, I can only torture Mark so much. After a brief recap of the game, we spoke with Tom (a Bruins fan), who needed help deciding whether or not he should downsize prior to retirement.

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Vicky and John sought guidance on putting cash to work, which allowed me to explain how hard it is to time the market and why even if you are risk averse, you may want to allocate a small percentage of your portfolio to stocks.

Jennifer had an interesting question about how to treat her rental properties; Rosetta and an anonymous e-mailer had estate questions; Jeff, JD and Mark asked about index funds vs. ETFs vs. Robo-Advisors; Alan asked about scrubbing his credit report of errors; and Vicky asked about ditching whole like policies for her kids.

Here's last week's CTM segment about weak retail sales and the negative impact on stocks.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Forget New Year's resolutions; we're doing New Year REALLOCATIONS! Shane kicked off the conversation with a good problem: What to do with $500K in cash? One easy place to start: A diversified portfolio, that takes into account risk tolerance and time horizon.

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Larry is on the other end of the risk spectrum from Shane, but maybe that's just fine for his situation. Both Carolyn and Jerome asked about how to select a financial advisor.

These questions provided a perfect opportunity for me to explain the different types of advisors and the various ways you can pay for services. For more, you can check out: Protect Against Scams: 10 Questions to Ask Financial Advisors. We also were able to exonerate Brian from his self-described "financial malpractice".

Finally, here's last week's CTM segment about the diving stock and oil markets.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. Check out Mark's first-producing credit for this CBS Evening News segment that aired recently. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet us: @jillonmoney and @MTalercio

Congress finally got its act together and agreed on a deal to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. Sure, we may have to go through this all over again in January and February, but in the mean time, it's back to our regularly scheduled programming!

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Our young listeners are so great, because in answering their questions, I can review some of the basic premises we should all be applying throughout our lives. Leah got us started with questions about rolling over an old retirement plan and whether or not to combine assets with her soon-to-be husband. Aaron's wife wants to buy a house, but is that the best idea at this point in their lives? Steve needed advice about where to invest $5K and Tim and his wife have whole life insurance and want to know whether to exchange it for term -- YES! 29 year old Jaydan wrote such a nice e-mail, that I wanted to give him a shout-out on the show and in the show notes as well.

On the retirement front, Cheryl asked about the nasty provision of Social Security that reduces benefits for federal employees (Windfall EliminationProvision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). While there is legislation pending to undo these punitive rules, given the state of affairs in DC, I wouldn't hold my breath for action.

Ena has a wonderful problem: she has saved $1.35 million and needs a strategy to create income from the portfolio in retirement. Now is a good time to interview fee-only advisors. Howard asked about index vs. managed funds (INDEX RULES!), Andy is weighing a lump sum versus an annuity for his wife's retirement account, and Robert asked about the file and suspend strategy for Social Security.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

Sometimes fans come from out of the blue…we are grateful that a radio legend discovered Jill on Money!

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Meanwhile, back on the show, our regulars kept us busy. Mike from NY needs advice on how to break up with his current advisor; Kristen from TX asked about hardship withdrawals from retirement accounts; and Wanda from KY and Kathryn from MN are each weighing under what conditions to consider long term care insurance.

We love hearing from our young listeners too! Justin from MA is strategizing about student loan pay downs; Joe from VA has an 18-year-old son, who needs guidance about which kind of accounts to open; and Rainey’s 29-year-old granddaughter is considering a low-minimum investment vehicle for her Roth IRA.

We fielded a variety of investment questions from John, Ed, Mim and Raymond covered a lot of ground in terms of general research and protecting against emotions.

Mark asked about rolling over an old retirement plan and Pat inquired about dollar cost averaging.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world, who was alone while Christina the intern was on vacation. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

Congress finally acted to fix the student loan fiasco, by linking the interest rate to the 10-year Treasury yield. Just because you can borrow money for college, doesn't necessarily mean that you should...

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We fielded a bunch of questions about college loans and the best ways to save for education, starting with Aaron from MN, who is getting an early start with a three-month old! Also weighing in was Dwight from KY, who found a kindred spirit in being anti-debt and David from TX and Brittany from Boston, both of whom are juggling college and retirement savings.

Early retirement seems like such a 1990’s concept, but it seems to have emerged during this show. Victor was helping his dad figure out whether he can call it quits at 60, while Vicki, Diane and Helen are trying to manage their money more effectively, either with the help of an advisor or on their own.

Joe from Hawaii asked about whether he had too much in emergency reserves. My answer is even if you make a lot of money, maintaining 6 to 12 months of expenses in a safe place can protect you against a variety of unforeseen circumstances.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world, who was alone while Christina the intern was on vacation. If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney

Despite the heat wave, listeners are keeping cool when it comes to their money. Interesting questions about when to claim Social Security prove once again, that the answer depends on your unique circumstances.

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Steve from MN is in his early 60s and is concerned about preserving his $3 million nest egg. Is he better off in an actively managed fund or a passive index? Similarly, Bill from Maine needed help allocating his assets.

Helen, David and Ed are all trying to balance the risk of reaching for yield and the need to have access to money, while Henry (a 404 fan) has trimmed his risk by using a bond fund and target date fund in his 401 (k) – should he do something else?

When to claim Social Security is a vexing question, because there is no clear-cut response. At least I could reassure “K” that the system will still exist when she reaches 62. Although I don’t usually advocate claiming SS at age 62, in Nancy’s case, it makes sense. However, for Linda, waiting until age 70 may be a better a bet.

Not everyone needs long term care insurance-really! Listen to my conversation with Nikki from WI to find out who should consider coverage and who can skip it.

Thanks to everyone who participated and to Mark, the BEST producer in the world and Christina, who is vying for "Intern of the Year". If you have a financial question, there are lots of ways to contact us:

• Call 855-411-JILL and we'll schedule time to get you on the show LIVE 

• Send an email: askjill@jillonmoney.com 

• Tweet me: @jillonmoney