A late month selloff in January saw the S&P 500 Index close marginally lower for the month. But stocks have taken off in February, with the S&P 500 up nearly 4% this month, as US economic data remains strong and fears over the worst-case scenarios for the coronavirus appear overblown. Historically, February has been a … Read more
The Gift Tax Exemption Explained. The IRS collects taxes on estates valued at $11.4 million or more per individual. Gift taxes exist to ensure that estates can’t evade taxes by giving money away to reduce or eliminate the estate tax bill. You can, however, use annual and lifetime gift tax exemptions to legally reduce your … Read more
Qualified Charitable Distributions: Using Your IRA to Gift. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act roughly doubled the standard deduction ($12,200 for single filers and $24,400 for married taxpayers filing jointly in 2019) and indexed it for inflation through 2025. As a result, far fewer taxpayers will itemize deductions on their tax returns, and some people … Read more
It’s nice to own stocks, bonds, and other investments. Nice, that is, until it’s time to fill out your federal income tax return. At that point, you may be left scratching your head. Just how do you report your investments and how are they taxed? Is it ordinary income or a capital gain? To determine … Read more
I have investment property. What does basis mean and how do I determine the basis of my property? To determine your basis in an asset for purposes of calculating capital gain or loss upon the sale or other disposition of the property, you need to understand two terms — initial basis and adjusted basis. Often, … Read more
Savvy investors have long realized that what their investments earn after taxes is what really counts. After factoring in federal income and capital gains taxes, the alternative minimum tax, and potential state and local taxes, your investments’ returns in any given year may be reduced by 40% or more. For example, if you earned an … Read more
When it comes to portfolio construction and asset allocation – not all risk is equal. You’ll often hear different standard allocations – for example 60/40, 80/20 etc., but even in a set investment mix – the risk doesn’t remain constant. Nor is the risk of similar allocations (for example, two different 60/40s) equal, simply because … Read more
The age old argument continues – should I invest passively, or actively? The answer – well, there’s not always a right answer and you should be wary of someone telling you one strategy always applies. An astute investor weighs the market conditions, the industry and index, fees, and risk before determining which strategy to employ … Read more
Why is risk correlation important in your portfolio? Having a well-diversified portfolio with appropriate allocations means you’re probably not going to love everything you’re invested in all the time. When deciding to invest or add something your portfolio or investment mix it should do one of two things. Watch the video to find out
Right out the gate, you can see how confusing Medicare can be! Many people feel that you must sign up for Medicare when you turn 65 (even though you are still working or your spouse is, etc.). One of the many myths that we work to combat on a daily basis! Let’s back things up … Read more
If you’re interested in learning more about how we use analysis to construct a portfolio or how current market conditions affect our positioning – check out our recent video with Sam & Steve How is a stock priced? We were recently asked by a client how we make stock selections or decide to move forward … Read more
In our AdvisorTalk series, we come together to discuss different investing and planning topics conversationally. In this edition, Steve and Sam discuss portfolio construction. There’s a lot of strategies out there about how to evaluate whether or not a company or position is a worthwhile investment. Though you need greater context to ultimately determine if … Read more
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