Why DIY Investment Management Is Such a Risk
Jan 8, 2020
If you ever have the inkling to manage your investments on your own, that inkling is worth reconsidering. Do-it-yourself investment management can be a bad idea for the retail investor for myriad reasons.
Getting caught up in the moment.When you are watching your investments day to day, you can lose a sense of historical perspective. This may be especially true in longstanding bull markets, in which investors are sometimes lulled into assuming that the big indices will move in only one direction. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Investment Planning
Earnings for All Seasons
Jan 6, 2020
While nature offers four seasons, Wall Street offers only one – four times a year. It’s called “earnings season,” and it can move the markets. So, what is earnings season, and why is it important?
Earnings season is the month of the year that follows each calendar quarter-end month (January, April, July, and October). It is the time during which many public companies release quarterly earnings reports. Some public companies report earnings at other times during the year, but many are on the calendar year that ends December 31. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Financial Help, Investing
Do Our Biases Affect Our Financial Choices?
Jan 3, 2020
Investors are routinely warned about allowing their emotions to influence their decisions. They are less routinely cautioned about letting their preconceptions and biases color their financial choices.
In a battle between the facts & our preconceptions, our preconceptions may win. If we acknowledge this tendency, we may be able to avoid some unexamined choices when it comes to personal finance; it may actually “pay” us to recognize our biases as we invest. Here are some common examples of bias creeping into our financial lives. (more…)
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Taking Charge of Your Financial Life
Dec 27, 2019
When you are putting together a household, it isn’t unusual to delegate responsibilities. One spouse or partner may take on the laundry, while another takes on the shopping. You might also decide which one of you vacuums and which one of you dusts. This is a perfectly fine way to divvy up household tasks and chores.
One household task it’s valuable for both partners to take part in, however, is your shared financial life. It’s important, regardless of your level of wealth or stage of life. Counting on one spouse or partner to handle all financial decisions can create a gap for the other partner. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Financial Planning
Pension Plans & De-risking
Dec 25, 2019
A new term has made its way into today’s financial jargon: de-risking. Anyone with assets in old-school pension plans should know what it signifies.
De-risking is when a large employer hands over its established pension liabilities to a third party (typically, a major insurer). By doing this, the employer takes a sizable financial obligation off its hands. Companies that opt for de-risking usually ask pension plan participants if they want their pension money all at once rather than incrementally in an ongoing income stream. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, retirement, Retirement Planning
The Major Retirement Planning Mistakes
Dec 23, 2019
Much is out there about the classic financial mistakes that plague start-ups, family businesses, corporations, and charities. Aside from these blunders, some classic financial missteps plague retirees.
Calling them “mistakes” may be a bit harsh, as not all of them represent errors in judgment. Yet whether they result from ignorance or fate, we need to be aware of them as we plan for and enter retirement. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Financial Help, retirement, Retirement Planning
A Retirement Facts Sheet
Dec 16, 2019
Does your vision of retirement align with the facts? Here are some noteworthy financial and lifestyle facts about life after 50 that might surprise you.
Up to 85% of a retiree’s Social Security income can be taxed. Some retirees are taken aback when they discover this. In addition to the Internal Revenue Service, 13 states currently levy taxes on some or all Social Security retirement benefits: Colorado, Connecticut, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, and West Virginia. (West Virginia, incidentally, is phasing out such taxation.) (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Retirement Planning
Creating a Retirement Strategy
Dec 11, 2019
Across the country, people are saving for that “someday” called retirement. Someday, their careers will end. Someday, they may live off their savings or investments, plus Social Security. They know this, but many of them do not know when, or how, it will happen. What is missing is a strategy – and a good strategy might make a great difference.
A retirement strategy directly addresses the “when, why, and how” of retiring.It can even address the “where.” It breaks the whole process of getting ready for retirement into actionable steps. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, Retirement Planning
Measuring the Value of a Financial Advisor
Dec 4, 2019
What is a relationship with a financial advisor worth to an investor? A 2019 study by Vanguard, one of the world’s largest money managers, attempts to answer that question.
Vanguard’s whitepaper concludes that when an investor works with an advisor and receives professional investment advice, they may see a net portfolio return about 3% higher over time. (more…)
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Can You Put Your IRA into a Trust?
Dec 2, 2019
Can your IRA be put directly into a trust? In short, no. Individual retirement accounts (IRAs) cannot be put directly into a trust. What you can do, however, is name a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA. The trust would inherit the IRA upon your passing, and your beneficiaries would then have access to the funds, according to the terms of the trust.
Can you control what happens to your IRA assets after your death? Yes. Whoever was named the beneficiary will inherit the IRA. But you also can name a trust as the IRA beneficiary. In other words, your chosen heir is a trust. When you have a trust in place, you control not only to whom your assets will be disbursed, but also how those assets will be paid out. (more…)
Tags: financial advisor charlotte nc, ira
More Insights
Jan 17, 2020
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act is now law. With it, comes some of the biggest changes to retirement savings law in recent years. While the new rules don’t appear to amount to a massive upheaval, the SECURE Act will require a change in strategy for many Americans. For others, it … Continue reading “The Secure Act”
Jan 15, 2020
For most, creating an estate strategy is important to make sure your loved ones are taken care of after you’re gone. But it may be just as important to have an estate strategy for your business. Whether you’re a sole proprietor who will be passing on your business to your heirs or your business partners … Continue reading “Buy Sell Agreements for Businesses”
Jan 13, 2020
Financially, many of us associate April with taxes – but we should also associate April with important IRA deadlines. April 1, 2020 is the deadline to take your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from certain individual retirement accounts. April 15, 2020 is the deadline for making annual contributions to a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and certain … Continue reading “2019 IRA Deadlines Are Approaching”
Jan 10, 2020
You may have seen this statistic before or one resembling it: the average 65-year-old retiring couple can now expect to pay more than $250,000 in healthcare costs during the rest of their lives. In fact, Fidelity Investments now projects this cost at $285,000. The effort to prepare for these potential expenses is changing the … Continue reading “Healthcare Costs are Cutting into Retirement Preparations”
Jan 8, 2020
If you ever have the inkling to manage your investments on your own, that inkling is worth reconsidering. Do-it-yourself investment management can be a bad idea for the retail investor for myriad reasons. Getting caught up in the moment.When you are watching your investments day to day, you can lose a sense of historical perspective. … Continue reading “Why DIY Investment Management Is Such a Risk”
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