As you advance in your career and hold jobs at various companies, you may discover at some point that you’ve left behind valuable cookie crumbs: a trail of employer-sponsored retirement accounts. One major benefit of consolidating your retirement accounts into one account is that there’s less information to track.

A trust is a legal arrangement in which assets are held for the benefit of someone else (the beneficiary). There are many types of trusts for various goals, and complex trust law makes it necessary to hire an experienced attorney to help you establish one. First, though, it’s important to understand the basics to help you figure out whether a trust is right for your planning needs; here, your financial advisor can help guide you in the right direction.

Want to pay less taxes? If given a way to legally reduce tax liability, most Americans would welcome that opportunity with open arms. But methods for doing so aren’t always obvious—and may be tricky in certain circumstances. Two such situations include working in the gig economy and navigating required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts.

How can you get closer to achieving your financial goals? Depending on your income, assets, investments, and personal knowledge of finance, you may feel you can do a great job managing your money on your own. Why are more clients seeking help, how can a financial advisor make a difference, and is the advice worth the cost? This blog explores the answers to these questions.

It was a strong start to the second half of the year for markets, with all three major U.S. indices experiencing gains in July. The S&P 500 rose 9.22 percent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) notched a 6.82 percent return. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite led the way with a 12.39 percent return, marking the best month for the index in more than two years.

For the economy, what really matters are jobs, consumer and business confidence, and whether the Federal Reserve is stimulating. These are the real signals, which is why I track them every month, most recently on Tuesday. While you can learn from some of the other data, much of it is just noise.

The past few weeks have been unusually turbulent. North Korea has tested what is reportedly a hydrogen bomb and launched a missile over Japan; as a result, the U.S. is openly considering war. Hurricane Harvey has been the most damaging storm ever, devastating both Texas and Louisiana. And now we have Hurricane Irma, the most powerful Atlantic storm in history, approaching Florida. Given these events, there are certain questions that investors should be asking themselves. That is, should we be doing something different? If so, what?

The good news is that many Equifax executives sold their stock shares after they knew what happened, but before the public knew…..whew….now we can all rest easy knowing they won’t miss the loan payments on their yachts. However, for the rest of us who may be negatively affected by having some of our most valuable information exposed, here are some steps to take to protect your personal info.

Yesterday, I was down in Nashville speaking at the Financial Planning Association’s national meeting. It was an interesting time! Speaking with the young man at the coffee shop, our conversation went something like this: “I’m from Alabama.” “How did you get here?” “Like everybody else, music.” Clearly, this is a one-industry town, from the convention center (the Music City Center) to the signs for the Grand Ole Opry.

For many couples, retirement assets represent a significant portion of net worth. During a divorce, in order to split assets equitably, most couples divide the benefits available in their employer retirement plans and the money they invested in their individual retirement accounts.

On March 1, 2018, President Trump announced that the U.S. plans to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. Markets around the world were shocked by the news, with major U.S. indices declining more than 1 percent just when it looked like they were recovering from the February downturn. Why did markets react so strongly? Is this a more serious threat going forward? In a word, yes.

Eligibility for medical and monetary benefits depends on your discharge status. Generally, a veteran will satisfy the discharge requirement if his or her classification is “honorable” or “general under honorable conditions.” A veteran with a discharge classification of “other than honorable conditions,” “bad conduct,” or “dishonorable” may not be eligible for VA benefits.

After the performance we saw last year, we had high hopes for the economy and markets in 2018, but the first half of the year was disappointing. Expectations softened as the stock market pulled back early in the year, economic growth slowed, and risks—largely in trade—rose. As we hit midyear, though, those initial hopes appear to be more realistic than they were even a month ago.

With the recent two-day drop in the stock market, there is increasing fear that this is it—the big one that will take us back to the depths of 2008. Although that level of concern is certainly understandable, a closer look at the real economic and market situation around the world suggests that the volatility we are now seeing (and may well continue to see) is perfectly normal. Over time, this kind of turbulence is why stocks can yield the returns they do.

Still, how do we know whether this decline is normal and whether we’re headed for another 2008? Is there a way to tell?

Caring for aging parents can be a difficult planning aspect to balance. If you are among the “Sandwich Generation,” you may be trying to support your aging parents as well as your own children. Today, individuals are living longer than before, so it is better to be prepared.

Not for the first time, October was a difficult period for the stock market. With the drop seen over this past month, there is increasing fear that this is it—the big one that will take us back to the depths of 2008. Although that level of concern is certainly understandable, a closer look at the real economic and market situation around the world suggests that the volatility we are now seeing (and may well continue to see) is perfectly normal. Over time, this kind of turbulence is why stocks can yield the returns they do.

Why is everyone so worried? Why do people think a recession is looming? I don’t have that answer, but just because we haven’t had a recession in ten years doesn’t make it any more likely.
It’s okay to feel nervous and it’s okay to ask your advisor what’s going on with your accounts, but making a change because of non-quantifiable worries vs. quantifiable facts is likely going to be a mistake.

It’s another one of those days. Everything sells down on the market and bad news seems everywhere. Today the sell off was a result of Apple lowering guidance. I guess for some odd reason the Chinese are buying fewer phones because they are pissed off at America about the tariff and trade issues.

Last autumn, the worries were in full force are we nearing a recession, is inflation coming, is this the big market correction, will the trade war escalate, will we have a lasting government shutdown, and many more.  Consequently, the market had a big drop in Q4 of last year, bottoming on Dec 24 with a drop of about 20% in 3 months. 

A relatively new option for clients, transfer on death (TOD) accounts offer a unique beneficiary feature. Unlike similar non-retirement accounts, TOD accounts allow investors’ assets to transfer directly to their designated beneficiaries when they pass away, circumventing the probate court process. The TOD registration, which is available for both individual and joint accounts, not only streamlines the account disbursement process, it also lets account holders rest assured that their beneficiaries will receive the intended amount of assets.