Category Uncategorized
Sally Krawcheck: The 5 Real Reasons to Hire a Financial Advisor
From her article posted on LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130326054847-174077701-the-5-real-reasons-to-hire-a-financial-advisor Summary follows. Please visit the site to read the actual article. She adds important details. 1. Press you to answer questions you don’t want asked 2. Put together a financial plan 3. Identify risks in your portfolio that you might look right past 4. Talk you through […]
From American Public Media (NPR) – Explainer: how to choose a financial planner
From American Public Media (NPR) – Explainer: how to choose a financial planner “Fee-only advisers are a bit like the Holy Grail of financial helpers. There aren’t that many of them out there, and they can be tough to find.” Unfortunately, I find that the article was too short to be very helpful, and that […]
Great explanation of the ObamaCare taxes kicking in
Great explanation of the ObamaCare taxes kicking in Two new taxes which are part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPA, also called ObamaCare) have taken effect as of January 1. The first is the new 3.8% Medicare “surtax” on investment income. Until recently, while investment income was subject to either […]
2012 Year-End Special Report: Charitable Gifts, Medical Expenses, Capital Gains, ObamaCare and Other Tax Uncertainty
2012 Year-End Special Report At year end, traditionally, financial planners recommend to clients to consider doing things like accelerating tax deductions such as charitable gifts, and doing capital-gains management in their investment accounts such as tax-loss harvesting. With the impending new ObamaCare taxes, and the potential expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts, these issues have […]
RIP Warren Rudman, “the last American politician who could count”
RIP Warren Rudman. As a friend of mine pointed out, “the last American politician who could count”. From the NY Times article linked to below: In his memoir he wrote: “The Republican Party is making a terrible mistake if it appears to ally itself with the Christian right. There are some fine, sincere people in […]
Distinguishing Investment Management from Financial Planning
One of the things I found vexing about the financial planning business is the assets-under-management model. Most fee-only financial planners charge some percentage of the assets they manage, and for that payment, they will manage a portfolio of investments as well as provide comprehensive financial planning services. The vexing part is this: the fee they […]
Make the Most of Your First Meeting With a Financial Adviser
Wall Street Journal article published Monday, November 5, 2012: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443686004577635963452298248.html A really helpful article discussing what folks may expect at a first meeting with a financial adviser. Unfortunately, the article doesn’t shed very much light on some essential issues – the differences between a Registered Investment Adviser and a representative of a Broker/Dealer, for example. […]
5 Questions a Financial Planner should ask YOU
From Jacoba Urist at Today.com – http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2012/10/14/14201615-five-questions-a-financial-planner-should-ask-you?lite Summary: 1. What is it you hope to accomplish by visiting a financial planner? 2. What is your current income and do you expect any changes to it? 3. Do you have a formalized household budget? 4. How involved would you like to be in the process? 5. […]
AMT Patch proposed for 2012 and 2013
“The Family and Business Tax Cut Certainty Bill of 2012 (Sen 3521 ) would patch the alternative minimum tax (AMT) for the 2012 and 2013 tax years for an estimated revenue loss of $132.2 billion.” Full text of the bill: http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s3521/text It also extends several other popular tax provisions: the deduction for teachers who buy […]
Simpson and Bowles on Meet the Press
http://www.fixthedebt.org/blog/meet-the-press-alan-simpson-and-erskine-bowles-on-the-federal-debt_1 The video is a little long, but it’s well worth watching. Some straight up stuff from a pair of guys – Simpson and Bowles – who have nothing political to lose. And it’s refreshing to see how folks from the two parties *could* work together. There are no immediate financial planning implications, inasmuch as […]
Meyers Wealth Management 