With the arrival of the New Year it’s time to start thinking about tax filing. The federal government estimates that about 60% of taxpayers use paid preparers to calculate and file their returns. It is never too early to start organizing your receipts, forms and other tax documents. You and your tax preparer will benefit […]
Before considering anything, it is important to know what a Roth TSP is. A Roth TSP, or Thrift Savings Plan, is a tax-deferred retirement savings and investment plan specifically for federal employees and members of the uniformed services. A Thrift Savings Plan is similar to a 401(k) plan, which is a retirement savings plan offered […]
It’s never too early to start estate planning. Having a plan in place at an early age is always preferable to finding you don’t have one when you really need it. If you’re a little lost on what you should be doing first start with these few steps: Make a Comprehensive List of All […]
What do you look forward to the most when you retire? Is it perfecting your golf game, or having the time to take the grandkids to Disney World? Your time opens up when you retire – how do you want to spend it? For those of you who want to travel the world, we couldn’t […]
When it comes to simplifying your personal finances consider consolidating your accounts. Consolidating your Financial Accounts Over the course of a career it is very possible for individuals to accumulate multiple checking, savings, brokerage, and retirement accounts. The likelihood for this increases as we get married, move, change jobs, etc., but it can unnecessarily impede […]
One recognizable allocation in the portfolios of endowments and experienced investors is that they have a percentage of their assets in real estate. Real estate investment may offer several key benefits to your portfolio, and these include: Income – dividends, distributions, rent, etc. Appreciation – increase in valuation Inflation Protection – assets like real estate […]
As more lawsuits are filed against Plan Sponsors and Plan Fiduciaries, many companies and nonprofits are taking steps to evaluate their current defined contribution plans. Here are seven criteria we suggest should be used to evaluate your current plan. 1. Fund Suite How many investment options do you have? Does your plan allow for […]
For yield-starved investors, preferred shares have been beneficial. The problem is many have chased yield and many preferred shares are overvalued. A careful look reveals there are many preferred shares trading in excess of their call price Lastly, many preferred share ETFs are skewed towards REITs and Financials – understand your sector exposures It’s been […]