Are Bonds Risky?

Why are there bonds in my portfolio? Over the weekend, Berkshire Hathaway released its 2017 annual report along with Warren Buffett’s annual letter to shareholders. One section of Mr. Buffett’s letter addressed the risk in owning bonds and has folks questioning diversification. Investing is an activity in which consumption today is foregone in an attempt […]

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IRA Assessment

The earlier that you make your IRA contributions, the longer they will grow.  So, under that theory, you should have made your IRA contributions for tax year 2017 some 12 months ago! But if you didn’t, it’s still not too late. The IRA was born in 1974, in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA).  […]

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Earnings Growth and Moderate Inflation

As of Friday, 80% of companies in the S&P 500 have reported fourth quarter 2017 results. The blended earnings growth rate for the quarter has been 15.2% year-over-year and is the highest reported since 2011. FactSet reports 2018 earnings per share growth estimates have increased by 7%. In addition, from Dec. 31 through Feb. 15, […]

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The Trouble With “Portability”

Frank died in 2012.  His estate elected the deceased spousal unused estate tax exclusion (DSUE), in an amount of $1.2 million—or the “portable” estate tax exemption, as it is more commonly referred to by non-lawyers.  An estate tax return was filed showing no estate tax due, and the IRS sent a closing letter to the […]

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Just Another Pullback

Historically, 10% stock market pullbacks are annual occurrences. Aside from some interesting intraday fireworks due to automated trading and the implosion of various derivatives created to track market volatility, the last several weeks have not been unusual. The financial media, whose main incentive is to generate revenue from advertising dollars, wants readers and viewers to […]

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Someone to trust

How could someone who earned $650 million over 17 years be broke? That’s the question the actor Johnny Depp recently put to a team of forensic accountants and his new business manager, according to a Vanity Fair article (“How Did Johnny Depp Find Himself in a Financial Crisis?,” August 2017).  The team determined that Depp’s […]

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Healthy Adjustments in the Capital Markets

The economic reports for the week were overwhelmingly positive. The Fed decided to hold rates at current levels for the time being and confirmed its previously stated intent to raise short term rates slightly and gradually as the year progresses. Market interest rates responded to the continued strength by rising. Interest rate markets are beginning […]

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Review Estate Plans in 2018

DEAR TRUST OFFICER: I heard that the exemption from the federal estate tax has doubled. What does this mean for my estate plans? — Following Up DEAR FOLLOWING UP: Whenever there is a major change in the federal taxation of estates and gifts, that moment is a good one for the review of estate plans […]

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