Let’s face it, in today’s world, managing your personal financial affairs can be complex. There are many decisions that need to be made on a weekly or even daily basis. For a large and growing segment of the population, who are trying to help (often unwilling) aging parents with their finances, this can be incredibly frustrating, stressful and burdensome.
With nationwide college costs continuing to rise, it has never been more important for parents to develop a savings strategy to help cover these costs.
In our office, we celebrated privately the passing of the four year anniversary of what would be a 13 year stock market low point.
That’s right, it has already been four years since March 9, 2009 when the S&P 500 Index closed at 676—a level last seen in the summer of 1996. As of the date of this article, the S&P 500 Index has surpassed its all-time high of 1565, which was achieved in October 2007!
Even in the face of what many consider sizable headwinds, the markets continued the advance which began in 2009.
How is it even possible for both the stock and bond markets to advance so meaningfully in the face of so much adversity and doom and gloom? Consider the following:
When it comes to structuring a tax-efficient investment portfolio, we believe it is important to consider “asset location.” That is—which types of investments should be held in which accounts? Conventional wisdom would reason as follows:
Kiplinger magazine has partnered with a nationwide network of financial advisory firms, including Beacon Financial Strategies, to provide pro-bono financial advice on Thursday, February 7th and Tuesday, February 12th from 9am to 5pm. Click here for more details.
For the last several weeks, the media spent a great deal of time covering the fiscal cliff and the upcoming changes in the tax code. At the eleventh hour, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 that seeks to solve some of the tax questions that have been hanging over our heads for the last several months.
An adequately planned and properly executed estate plan can ensure that your assets will pass directly to your intended heirs with the least amount of cost and hassle. Here are 7 essential elements when establishing a sound estate plan:
Even with the backdrop of many unresolved problems, the financial markets continued strong performance in 2012. Many of the major domestic stock indexes experienced returns in excess of 10% for the year, with the S&P 500 advancing by 16%.
Contribution limits to IRAs and other employer-sponsored retirement plans have changed for 2013. Here are the most recent deferral limitations: