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Reaching Your Goals Vs. Spinning Your Wheels
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... enjoy additional net gains every year of around 3%. Whether it's retirement, college funding, a big purchase or another important goal, your advisor will be able to tell you exactly how much money you ...
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The Biggest Mistakes Investors Make
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... or nothing for retirement, but that only the top 10% of households had savings greater than $310,000. Even $300,000 or $400,000 isn't enough for a comfortable retirement for many people. What's going ...
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The Investment Outlook Is Changing
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... volatility making a comeback. overly aggressive bets could derail your retirement and other long-term goals. As we cycle into a new market environment, it's critical to make sure you're prepared. Your ...
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A Smart Investing Move to Start the Year
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... Here's why it makes sense: Any investor working toward funding retirement or other big goals should have balanced portfolios. These portfolios contain a mix of stocks, bonds and possibly other asset ...
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Why a Year-End Financial Checkup Is Smart
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... about reaching your financial goals. 1. Plan to avoid retirement-account withdrawals that will trigger taxes. Often, end-of-year distributions from IRAs and other retirement accounts will cause Social ...
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When You Can't Trust Your Financial Advisor
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... a Finra-registered broker. The second is a fiduciary advisor. If you're investing for retirement or any other important goal, you can't afford to work with someone who's allowed by law to shear you like ...
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Be Smart About Your Tax Windfall
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... extra money, there's a good chance that you'll spend it impulsively. That's why now is the time to review your retirement plan and your investments to make sure you're saving enough. Here's why doing ...
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Choosing the Right Advisor
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... hand, an advisor in his 60s may be focused more on retirement than on you. Finally, understand that a long list of credentials doesn't necessarily make for a great advisor. More and more credentialing ...
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How to Get (and Stay) on Track for Retirement
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... for retirement merits the extra effort. Investors should sit down around now and take a close look at how much money they're making. They also need to understand how much of their income—after taxes, ...
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Will Wall Street Clean Up Its Act?
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... decreed that anyone giving advice about retirement assets will soon have to meet a higher ethical standard. The bad news: The new rules are riddled with loopholes that will make it possible for much of ...
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An End-of-Year Financial Checklist
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... they don't receive the full payout. For that reason, it's important to make sure a fund has already made its yearly distribution before you buy shares. Max out retirement contributions. You can stay ...
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How Much Should You Save For Retirement?
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One of the most common questions I hear from my clients is: "How much do I need to retire?" The earlier a person asks that question, the better—because if retirement is relatively far away, you have ...
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The Best Ways to Take Required Minimum Distributions
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Tax-deferred retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)'s are a great way to help build a nest egg—but you can be sure that Uncle Sam will expect to get his cut eventually. That's the idea behind required ...
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A Checklist That Could Save You Thousands
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... for large, lump-sum withdraws from retirement accounts for major purchases like cars, home additions, vacations, etc. These IRA withdrawals count as 1099-R income. Reviewing tax status and current IRS ...
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Choosing the Right Advisor
(Main Content/blog)
... hand, an advisor in his 60s may be focused more on retirement than on you. Finally, understand that a long list of credentials doesn't necessarily make for a great advisor. More and more credentialing ...
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Annuities or an Income Portfolio?
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Many retirement-age clients have asked me for my view of annuities as a vehicle for converting their savings into a lifetime income stream. My view is that, while specific annuities may be part of the ...
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Time to Lock in Gains?
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... They might see that their account balance is growing, but not pay enough attention to whether it's getting out of balance. Obviously, this is important because their retirement plans are at stake. Most ...
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Beware of Retirement Benefit Pitfalls
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Many of us look forward to the freedom of retirement with great anticipation. But to have peace of mind about retirement, it's critical to do proper tax and estate planning for your retirement benefits. ...
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Resolve to Achieve Financial Success in 2014
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... a certain amount of credit card debt. Long-term goals often benefit from a fresh review as well. Take another look at how much money you’ll need for retirement, and make sure that you’re contributing ...
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Think Twice About Direct Real Estate Investing
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Many of my clients are interested in investing in rental real estate. They see it as a reliable source of retirement income and believe it may be a good alternative to historically low CD and annuity rates, ...