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Morningstar answers a reader’s question about UGMA accounts

http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=537628 Question: I set up an UGMA for my daughter as a way to help save for college, but now I read that the money in the account could hurt her chances of getting financial aid. Can I cash out the account or move the money to a different type of college-savings plan? If you Read more

February 24, 2012
RMDs – If you turned 70-1/2 in 2011…

RMDs – always a messy topic – are usually a year-end problem. RMDs are Required Minimum Distributions which have to be taken from various retirement accounts once you reach a certain age. If you were given the opportunity to make tax-deferred savings over your lifetime, it’s time to start paying the piper. And for most Read more

January 19, 2012
Choosing a financial planner: 5 red flags

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505144_162-57356132/choosing-a-financial-planner-5-red-flags/ A nice article from CBS’s MoneyWatch site. Summary – Watch out for the following things (notes which follow the bullet points are my own): Variable Annuity pitch – sometimes these may be appropriate, but certainly they are not something anyone should suggest at a first meeting. If they are suitable, they require a detailed Read more

January 18, 2012
(Almost) Everyone can file their federal individual income taxes electronically for free

From the IRS: http://content.govdelivery.com/bulletins/gd/USIRS-266f7f For folks who earn $57,000 or less (and – don’t be surprised – it’s an awful lot of folks — 70% of the nation’s taxpayers!) may use brand-name software and secure e-filing for free. The providers who are participating include H&R Block, TurboTax, Liberty Tax services and others. Start here and Read more

January 18, 2012
Top 10 non-leveraged ETFs over the last year

I saw an article on a financial planning site pointing to the fact that 8 of the top 10 performing ETFs in 2011 were US Government Bond funds. So I just did a quick double check via Morningstar’s ETF screener, though the screener doesn’t let me pick a specific year – it lets me do Read more

January 10, 2012
Waggoner: What we learned from bonds’ victory

http://www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/columnist/waggon/story/2012-01-05/stocks-bonds-diversification/52395986/1 Great column from John Waggoner in USA Today. The headline is a reference to the fact that over the last 1yr, 10yr, 20yr and 30ys periods, bonds (long term treasuries, mainly) have had higher total returns (with dividends all reinvested) than large-cap US stocks (mainly the S&P 500). Some takeaways: the selection of stocks Read more

January 7, 2012