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Market Commentary

• Weekly Market Commentary | December 16, 2024
• Outlook 2025 | Pragmatic Optimism
• Weekly Market Commentary | December 9, 2024
• Weekly Market Commentary | November 15 2024
• Weekly Market Commentary | November 18, 2024
• Weekly Market Commentary | November 11, 2024
• Weekly Market Commentary | November 4, 2024

Estates & Trusts

• What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?

  Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.

• How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?

  A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.

• How Can My Gift Benefit Me and the Charity?

  To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.

• What Gifting Strategies Are Available to Me?

  Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different gifting strategies available for planned giving.

• Could My Family Benefit from a Family Limited Partnership?

  One estate planning strategy that families with closely held businesses could consider is the family limited partnership.

• What Is the Best Form of Property Ownership for Me?

  Sole ownership, joint tenancy, tenancy in common, and community property have special benefits for property owners.

• What Is the History of the Federal Estate Tax?

  Careful estate planning is still one of the most important ways to manage and protect your assets for your heirs.

Retirement

• Why Do People Buy Annuities?

  Annuities, an insurance-based financial vehicle, can provide many benefits that retirement investors might want.

• How Much Do I Need to Save?

  Many realize it’s important to save for retirement, but knowing exactly how much to save is another issue altogether.

• What Does the Changing Pension Landscape Mean for Retirement?

  With the changing pension landscape, it is important to take charge of your own retirement security.

• What Is a 1035 Exchange?

  A Section 1035 exchange is a tax-free exchange of an existing annuity contract or life insurance policy for a new one.

• Should You Bank Your Retirement on Your Business?

  Allocating too much of your retirement investments to one company, even your own, can be a risky proposition.

• What Are My Retirement Planning Options?

  There are a variety of retirement planning options that could help meet your needs. Here are some of the most popular.

• How Can I Estimate My Future Social Security Benefits?

  The Social Security Administration’s retirement estimator gives estimates of your future benefits based on your actual Social Security earnings record.

• What Are My Retirement Plan Distribution Options?

  When receiving money accumulated in your employer-sponsored retirement plan, you have two options: lump sum or annuity.

• What Is a Roth IRA?

  Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren’t included in gross income.

Tax Planning

• What Is the Gift Tax?

  The federal gift tax applies to gifts of property or money while the donor is living.

• How Much Money Can I Put Into My IRA or Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plan?

  IRAs and employer-sponsored retirement plans are subject to annual contribution limits set by the federal government.

• What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?

  Required minimum distribution is the annual amount that must be withdrawn from a qualified retirement plan/account.

• What Happens If I Withdraw Money from My Tax-Deferred Investments Before Age 59½

  Tax-deferred retirement account withdrawals before age 59½ generally triggers a 10% federal income tax penalty.

• How Can I Benefit from Tax-Advantaged Investments?

  Many traditional tax-advantaged investment strategies have gone away, but there are still some alternatives.

• What Is the Most Tax-Efficient Way to Take a Distribution From a Retirement Plan

  Consider a trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA versus a lump-sum distribution from a workplace retirement plan.

Investing

• What Are Dividends?

  It is important to understand how dividends (taxable payments to shareholders) fit with your long-term goals.

• What Is an Exchange-Traded Fund?

  ETFs have unique attributes and attempt to track all types of indexes, industries, or commodities.

• How Are Growth and Value Stocks Different?

  The labels growth and value reflect different approaches that can be used when making investment decisions.

• How Are Mutual Funds Taxed?

  Mutual fund taxes can be cumbersome, but there are ways to help mitigate the amount of taxes you may owe.

• What Is Stock?

  Before investing in stocks, it is important to understand some of the basics and the risks involved in owning stocks.

• What Is Diversification?

  An important element to successful investing is to manage investment risk while maintaining the potential for growth.

• What Do Bond Ratings Mean?

  Bond ratings gauge a bond issuer’s financial ability to repay its promised principal and interest payments.

• How Do Mutual Funds and Stocks Differ?

  The difference between purchasing an individual stock versus shares in a mutual fund to potentially earn dividends.

• What Is an Annuity?

  An annuity is a flexible financial vehicle that can help protect against the risk of living a long time because it provides an option for a lifetime income.

• What Investment Risks Should I Know About?

  Understanding different types of investment risk can help investors manage their money more effectively.

• What Is Asset Allocation?

  Asset allocation is a method used to help manage investment risk; it does not guarantee a profit or protect against investment loss.

• What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?

  Dollar-cost averaging involves investing a set amount of money on a regular basis, regardless of market conditions.

Cash Management

• How Long Will It Take to Double My Money?

  Before making investment decisions, it is helpful to determine the real rate of return on the investment.

• How Can I Better Manage My Short-Term Cash?

  There are numerous investment alternatives available to help provide liquidity.

• What Savings Alternatives Are Available?

  There are a number of savings alternatives that could help you earn a reasonable rate of return.

• How Does Inflation Affect Me?

  Historically, one of the best ways to fight the effects of inflation has been to utilize growth-oriented investments.

• Is a Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit Right for Me?

  Shifting some debt to a home equity loan, which typically allows interest payments to be tax deductible, could have its advantages.

Risk Management

• Why Purchase Life Insurance?

  If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.

• Why Are Annuities Considered an Insurance Product?

  An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company to pay you future income in exchange for premiums you pay.

• What Is Property and Casualty Insurance?

  Property and casualty insurance can help protect a variety of assets. Find out what it does and doesn’t cover.

• Do I Need a Business Owner Policy?

  A business owner policy is an insurance package that assembles the basic coverages required by a business owner in one bundle.

• What Is Disability Income Insurance for Business Owners?

  As a business owner, a disability can create an economic hardship putting both your personal finances and business at risk.

• How Do I Make a Property Insurance Claim?

  When it is time to make an insurance claim, it helps if you are familiar with your policies and the steps you should take to file a claim.

• How Can I Protect My Home?

  Since your home is one of your greatest assets, you should make sure it is adequately protected. That's where homeowners insurance enters the picture.

• Do I Need Disability Income Insurance?

  Knowing the basics of a disability income insurance policy is a good first step toward protecting your family.

• How Can I Determine the Financial Strength of My Insurance Company?

  Using a financially sound insurance company is an important part of ensuring your family’s financial security.

• Am I Prepared for Long-Term Care Expenses?

  The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.

• What Does Medicare Cover?

  Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those persons age 65 and over. But what does it cover?

• What Are the Basic Types of Life Insurance?

  When selecting a life insurance policy, examine all your options, as well as the positives and negatives of each type.

Weekly Market Commentary

• Weekly Market Commentary | September 30, 2024