Make 2019 Your Year of Financial Clarity
January is the time where you can’t avoid those articles and conversations discussing the best New Year’s resolutions and how to make this year your greatest. This article is different in that we would like to offer you the tools, support, and partnership to get started with financial independence [...]
Investing as an American Expat
Increasingly, American citizens are moving overseas to advance their careers, to retire abroad, or for family reasons. Living in another country is exciting but brings forth many new challenges. This includes adapting not only to a new culture, but also a new financial, tax, and legal system. Just like [...]
A Pitfall of the “Backdoor” Roth IRA Conversion
Every few months, a reputable financial news website like MarketWatch, CNBC, or The Wall Street Journal releases an article about the benefits of contributing to a non-deductible IRA and converting that contribution to a Roth IRA (a “backdoor” Roth IRA contribution). However, these articles seemingly gloss over the complexity [...]
Guide to Giving: When to Give
You have reached a point in your life where philanthropy is important to you. Financial success has been achieved and you now want to give back. You may not be sure, however, how much you can afford to give during your lifetime and/or through your estate. In your estate, [...]
Five Simple Year-end Tax Planning Strategies:
The end of 2018 is fast approaching. Thanksgiving flew by, and now it’s time to make sure holiday presents and plans are set as we gear up for cold weather and special times with family and friends. It’s a busy time, but don’t forget – your finances can use [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Using Mortgage Interest to Fund Investments: The Interest Tracing Rules
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 [...]
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 – 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 [...]
Quarterly Review – Third Quarter 2016
Perhaps one thing that we can all agree on, and that which doesn’t need debating is the strong performance of risk assets during the last quarter. The S&P 500 was up 3.9%, non-U.S. developed markets were up 6.4%, and emerging markets were a top performer, up 9.2%. Not to [...]
Quarterly Review – Second Quarter 2016
The morning after the Brexit referendum confirmed the “Leave” victory, Bloomberg News ran an article titled, “Can we talk about last night?” And as funny as it is to compare the referendum decision to a one-night stand, the implications of Brexit will last far longer than until the new [...]