Planning for accumulation is the initial stage of all but a few financial plans. This beginning phase in the decades-long process of accumulating wealth to provide for educational needs, housing, retirement and family support is a decades-long process. Accumulation strategies are also the basis for most personal finance writing. The distribution phase of a financial […]
Read MoreUpdates
Philanthropy and your IRA
Making a direct transfer from an IRA to a charity, a long-time valuable planning strategy has become even more valuable following the enactment of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This is because the higher standard deduction coupled with the $10,000 cap on the deduction for state and local taxes effectively means there will […]
Read MoreDiversification of Focus and Assets
Stocks rebounded from their summer correction which, to date bottomed in mid-August after a decline of around 6% (fall officially begins on September 23rd). The S&P 500 was up nearly one percent for the week, finishing about one-half percent under its all-time high of 3,025.86. The real action lately has been in the normally sleepy […]
Read MoreEveryone Needs a Will
As important as estate planning is, it often gets neglected. A 2017 survey by Caring.com revealed that only 42% of U.S. adults have a will or a living trust in place. In part, it is an age thing, as the table here shows. Source: www.caring.com/articles/wills-survey-2017 When asked why they have not completed their estate planning, […]
Read MoreRetirement Account Tax Planning
Angela Malley returns this week with more tax-focused thoughts in, How to Avoid Early Withdrawal Penalties, available on our web site. The tax code includes some well-intended tax penalties for certain withdrawals from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA). The penalty is meant to encourage workers to postpone tapping into such balances until retirement or at […]
Read MoreHow to Avoid Early Withdrawal Penalties
To increase the likelihood that tax-preferred savings actually will be used for retirement, Congress included a 10% penalty tax on IRA and 401(k) distributions before the account owner reaches age 59½. The penalty applies in addition to the regular income tax on the distribution. For example, someone in the 15% tax bracket who takes a […]
Read MoreInterested in Interest Rates?
In the United States, there is not a single Treasury bond which currently pays more than 1.96%. The dividend yield on the S&P 500 currently exceeds the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond and those dividends will increase over time. The recent decline in interest rates means an increase in bond prices. In the month […]
Read MoreAsk a Trust Officer: Falling Interest Rates
Dear Trust Officer: When the Fed cut interest rates at the end of July, the stock indices fell. I thought lower interest rates were good for stock prices? What’s going on? Should I be worried about my portfolio? — WORRIED INVESTOR DEAR WORRIED INVESTOR: Two factors seem to have been at work to produce this […]
Read MoreCorporate Earnings and the Economic Outlook
Four-hundred fifty of the S&P 500 companies have reported second quarter earnings. To date, earnings were reported at a rate of 5.7% above estimates while aggregate revenue was 0.8% above expectations. Results relative to expectations will generally have an immediate impact on market prices and in the cases of individual companies may have long-term implications. […]
Read MoreSotheby’s Valuation of Two Paintings Not Good Enough
Jeffrey Hyland was the executor and residuary beneficiary of Eva Kollsman’s estate. At her death in August 2005, Eva owned two 17th century Old Masters paintings: Village Kermesse, Dance Around the Maypole by Pieter Brueghel the Younger and Orpheus Charming by Jan Brueghel the Elder. Soon after Eva’s death, Hyland was approached by George Wachter […]
Read More