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Investment Challenges of the Affluent Investor
Investment Challenges of the Affluent Investor High net worth investors face investment challenges that some would consider unique to their financial status. The fundamental tenets of investing apply equally to them as with any other...
Read MoreGeneral Observations on Inflation
What Is Inflation—And Why Is Everyone Talking About It? What is inflation, and is it something to worry about? A lot of the thinking surrounding inflation has changed over the years, and economists disagree on what causes it and...
Read MoreRetirement Ideas
Retirement Seen Through Your Eyes I thought the following thoughts where worth sharing relative to current or upcoming retirement. How do you picture your future? Some see retirement as a time to start a new career. Others see it as a...
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How the Federal Reserve Works
How the Federal Reserve Works Have you ever taken a close look at paper money? Each U.S. bill has the words “Federal Reserve Note” imprinted across the top. But many individuals may not know why the bill is issued by the...
Read MoreKids Baseball and Investing
What Kids Baseball Teaches Me About Investing: I watched my eight-year-old grandson’s baseball game last night. All the kids had on a game face and were focused during the first few innings. They then scored several runs and...
Read MoreDividend-Paying Stocks: A Potential Source of Income
If you're looking for an investment-income source, you may want to consider adding dividend-paying stocks to your portfolio. They may be especially appealing to retirees or investors who aren't comfortable with a lot of risk. Going...
Read MoreTax Identity Theft Awareness - Protecting Yourself From Tax Identity Theft
Tax identity theft is when someone steals your Social Security Number, files a tax return with your number, and directs a refund to their own bank account. In other cases, this type of identity theft may involve a scam artist calling...
Read MoreAdvanced Tax Planning Ideas - Lumping Charitable Gifts
If you are one of the 90% of taxpayers who don't itemize deductions, you cannot claim a federal deduction for charitable donations. To get past this issue, some people lump their charitable gifts together. Wondering how to claim a...
Read MoreWhat Investors Should Know About Private Equity
Entrepreneurs know that even the smallest of small businesses can be expensive to operate. In many cases, obtaining private equity through an "angel investor" or another source of business capital can help a nascent business grow into...
Read MoreIs the Roth 401(k) an Option for You?
Use your best comparison-shopping skills when choosing a financial advisor Many financially successful people are comparison shoppers. If you’re one, you pore over ratings in consumer magazines, read websites for reviews and...
Read MoreManaging Your Retirement Plan When Switching Jobs
To maximize your savings, understand your options — if any — for your retirement plan when you switch jobs. Changing jobs can impact your retirement plan. To minimize disruptions to your contributions and the vested portion...
Read MoreHow to Manage Your 401(k) When You Switch Jobs
In the past, boomers and generation Xers often held on to jobs for 10 or more years. Some professionals stayed with the same company for most of their working lives. The Great Recession changed this for many. Now, people have become...
Read MoreCOVID-19 Stimulus, Round Two: What Should You Know?
After months of intense debate, the House and Senate voted to pass a second COVID-19 economic stimulus bill and the President has signed it into law.1 At a total cost of $900 billion, this 5,600-page bill[1] contains everything from...
Read MoreHow Financial Planning Helps You Work Towards Your Self-Improvement Goals
Many self-improvement goals focus on stability and personal growth — and financial goals are often no different. From buying your first home to saving for retirement, planning your finances can also help you work toward your...
Read MoreAppropriate Checklists for Year-End Tax Planning
What are appropriate checklists for year-end tax planning? Tax planners often develop checklists to guide taxpayers toward year-end strategies that might help reduce taxes. Typically, suggestions are grouped into several different...
Read MoreHere is how Charitable Giving: can affects You Financially as Well as Personally
The holiday season is just around the corner and many charitable organizations are in desperate need of donations to help provide the vital services needed in the community. You are most often inundated with a number of charitable...
Read MoreEnd of Year Planning: Set Goals and Reduce Taxes
By the last third of the calendar year, you're likely to have a pretty good idea of what your annual income will be and whether any major expenses or big life changes await you. This can allow you to engage in more robust tax planning,...
Read MoreHow to Protect Your Wealth as You Get Older
As you get older and closer to retirement, your financial practices need to shift slightly as you transition from working and saving to relying on your nest egg. As you approach this stage of your life, you need to take steps to...
Read MorePreparing for Healthcare Costs in Retirement
For many Americans, navigating the maze of health insurance options—from employer-based plans to individual policies—can be dizzying. Much of that changes at 65. That’s when individuals generally are eligible for...
Read MoreWhat You Need to Know About Investing During an Election
Elections can move the market, but that doesn’t mean you should change your approach Like any big news event, U.S. presidential elections can cause ripples and even waves in the stock market. In November 2016, for example, Donald...
Read More3 High-Net Retirement Savings Mistakes You Want to Avoid
When it comes to retirement savings, the goal is quite simple for most. To accumulate as much wealth as possible so that they are able to retire in comfort and style, while they enjoy the fruits of years of labor. For those with a...
Read MoreUnderstanding Retirement Income Tax
When you retire, you’ll likely draw your income from several sources—such as retirement accounts, taxable investment accounts, and Social Security Benefits. Each of these sources is taxed according to its own rules. So, in...
Read More3 Estate Planning Strategies You Should Consider Now
Today's low interest rates are a far cry from the double-digit rates seen in the 1970s and 1980s when even a certificate of deposit (CD) could yield up to 20 percent per year.1 But there are some distinct advantages to a...
Read MoreHow Different Generations Invest
Each generation comes of age during different economic circumstances, and this can have a major impact on their later money habits. Financial professionals have identified some investing tips for certain generations that can help make...
Read MoreLeaving a Legacy
Leaving a Legacy You've worked hard over the years to accumulate wealth, and you probably find it comforting to know that after your death the assets you leave behind will continue to be a source of support for your family, friends,...
Read MoreRetirement Plans and Estate Planning
When you die, what will happen to your retirement plan benefits? In general, your retirement plan benefits pass to the beneficiaries you designate on the plan beneficiary designation form. Your benefits will generally be subject to...
Read MoreInvesting for Your Later Years? Think Asset Preservation but Don't Forget Growth
After years of investing for retirement and other goals, you may have accumulated a substantial portfolio. If you're approaching or already enjoying retirement, there are important steps that you can take to help ensure that your...
Read MoreReducing Risk with Diversification
Diversification is a basic concept that's critical to building a portfolio able to withstand the test of time. It is the process of spreading your money among a variety of securities to reduce exposure to any one investment or asset...
Read MorePlanning Your Distributions After Retirement
Assigning Your Money to "Buckets" Many investors who are getting closer to retirement may worry about the impact of a sudden stock market drop. But while it's important to protect some funds from major market moves once you've left...
Read MoreThree Tips for Planning Your Income in Retirement
If you've been diligently saving for your retirement, you may often find yourself wondering when you can afford to set an official retirement date. The answer to this question can often depend on how much monthly or annual income your...
Read MoreNonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans - Pros & Cons of Contributing to These
Non-qualified deferred compensation plans (NQDCs) allow an employee to earn wages compensation, and bonuses in one year while deferring the income tax payment on them to be settled in a later year.1 Pros of Contributing to an NQDC As...
Read MoreSocial Security’s Future Is Safe
Social Security is the bedrock of Americans’ retirement income security. So you may have been concerned by the news that the federal government needed to dip into the Social Security’s trust fund to pay for the program this...
Read MoreHow to Develop a Money Mindset That Aligns with Your Goals
Financial goals are essential. Setting them will help you to obtain the things you want out of life as well as live the lifestyle you desire, both during your working years and in your retirement. But obtaining these goals isn't always...
Read MoreBalancing a Retirement Portfolio Asset Allocation
The combination of investments you choose is as important as the individual investments themselves. In fact, many experts argue that it's even more important, since the mix of various types of investments accounts for most of the ups...
Read MoreIRS Offers Relief to Retirement Plan Participants
New guidelines for retirement loans and distributions due to COVID-19 On June 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service announced new guidelines to help those affected by COVID-19 gain more access to retirement plan distributions and...
Read MoreCompanies are Saying Goodbye to Dividends
Will dividends go the way of the Dodo Bird or the Small Elephants of Java? The COVID-19 crisis has forced companies around the world to suspend dividend payouts to their investors. In fact, through the first quarter of 2020 alone, over...
Read MoreCountdown to Retirement: Strategies for Saving in Your 50s
Strategies for saving in your 50s Many retirees today are redefining the “golden years.” Forget about endless days of leisure. Retirees seek adventure, travel, and new business pursuits. While these changes may redefine...
Read MoreAssessing Your Retirement Resources
How resourceful can you be during your retirement? Determining where your retirement money will come from is an integral part of planning for retirement. Most people draw on three main sources of income: Social Security,...
Read MoreRetirement Assistance Within the CARES Act
In late March 2020, as the number of novel coronavirus cases in the U.S. surged past 100,000, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed into law.1 The CARES Act provides around $2.2 trillion in aid to...
Read MoreWhat To Do with Your Retirement Plan During Lay-Offs Or Furloughs
In an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the government has shut down numerous businesses throughout the country, and others have drastically cut hours. As a result, over 10 million workers filed for unemployment in March...
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