Domicile vs. Tax Residency: What is domicile and how do you change it?
As a CPA and financial advisor, clients often ask me for ways to reduce taxes. Since the enactment of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that limited state and local tax deductions to $10,000, many clients, particularly residents of high-tax states such as New Jersey, New York, [...]
New York Passes Best Interest Regs for Life Insurance
The financial services industry is attempting to move away from harmful sales practices toward more customer-friendly standards. Much has been written about the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation Best Interest adopted in June 2019 that governs the sale of investments. In the annuity and life insurance markets, New York Department [...]
Developing a Pension Maximization Strategy
This paper is the second part of a two-part series. In the first part, we discussed the considerations involved in evaluating different pension options. As follow-up, this second part will discuss whether there is a benefit to including life insurance as part of the [...]
Single Life vs. Joint & Survivor Pension Payout Options
This paper is the first part of a two-part series. In the first part, we discuss the considerations involved in evaluating different pension options. As follow-up, the second part will discuss whether there is a benefit to including life insurance as part of the [...]
The PFIC Problem
Whether you are a young executive planning your first move overseas or a high-net-worth individual retiring in another country, there are many financial matters to consider when moving abroad. No matter how many years someone has spent outside the United States, a U.S. citizen or a current green card [...]
International Estate Planning: Five Key Issues to Consider
In today’s interconnected world, cross-border estate planning is an important issue for global families. This is especially true when one or more individuals is a U.S. citizen or green card holder. A coordinated international estate plan is essential for families that face the possibility [...]
Serving as a Trustee – What to Know
With a growing number of trusts being created every year in the United States, the possibility that you may be named as a trustee may also be increasing. Maybe you were chosen by a sibling, a parent, a colleague or a friend to serve as trustee of the trust [...]
The Hidden Tax Consequences of Mutual Fund Investing
As bull markets develop, many investors are lured by the low volatility and cheery market sentiment. However, as rallies stretch over a number of years, as they have recently, a hazard emerges for investors seeking to invest in mutual funds. First-time investors purchasing shares bear the risk of inheriting [...]
UBTI: The Hidden Tax for the Tax-Exempt
With the recent increases in interest rates, many investors begin to question their allocations to fixed income. These questions and doubts are not without reason: bond values move in the opposite direction as interest rates, so if rates continue to increase, it is only natural to assume that bond [...]
Life Insurance Problems and Solutions: A “Non-Agent” Perspective
Life insurance can be an important component of a comprehensive financial plan. However, problems related to life insurance can arise for a variety of reasons: client needs and tax laws may have changed; policy performance may not have met expectations; or the client may have purchased policies without fully [...]
The Quarter Million Dollar Question: Wealth Transfer & College Savings Strategies
For children born this year, the expected cost of attending four years at a public university has reached a staggering $250,000, and that projection continues to rise at a rate of almost twice that of inflation. 1 For many wealthy families, funding a child’s or grandchild’s college education [...]
Marriage Equality: The 10 Most Significant Changes in Planning for Same-Sex Couples
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) ruled in a 5-4 decision that the right to marry is a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment.1 In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Court states that “[t]he limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have [...]
Quarterly Review – First Quarter 2018
First quarter market gyrations demonstrated the extremes of investor sentiment from the “fear of missing out” tothe “fear of losing.” The former was evidenced in January, with a 5.8% rise in the S&P 500 followed by the latter inFebruary with an intra-month market correction of over 10%. While the February [...]
Quarterly Review – Fourth Quarter 2017
Happy New Year! But to be honest, 2017 was pretty great! Nearly every asset class and global market was positive for the year. Looking forward, we don’t think the clock has struck midnight on this market just yet, and that’s not the champagne talking either! Corporate earnings in both [...]
Quarterly Review – Third Quarter 2017
A market in motion stays in motion…unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.1 We suspect this is how Sir Isaac Newton, as a 21st century market strategist, would view the current capital market trends. Global equity and fixed income markets continued their 2017 upward trajectory during the quarter. The [...]
Quarterly Review – Second Quarter 2017
Is Goldilocks back in town? During the previous economic cycle (2003-2007), Wall Street referred to the U.S. economy as the “Goldilocks Economy” …not too hot, not too cold, just right. It was also during this time that market risk metrics, such as volatility, were low. Presently, investors find themselves [...]
Quarterly Review – First Quarter 2017
The “Trump Rally” continued through the first quarter with most asset classes, both domestic and international, generating strong, risk-adjusted returns. The rally’s underlying support is in part due to investors “pricing-in” near certain approval of Trump’s stated policy initiatives (healthcare, tax, foreign profits, infrastructure and military). But the rally [...]
Quarterly Review – Fourth Quarter 2016
The year 2016 will be remembered as an example of the need to always consider the unexpected – from BREXIT to the Trump victory to the ensuing market rally that wasn’t supposed to happen. We began the year with the S&P 500 declining approximately 10.5% through February 11. Several [...]