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Slick TV ads often make financial planning and wealth management sound simple, but it’s usually not. Managing wealth requires knowing a lot about highly technical topics, like taxes, government regulations, and finance as well as history, psychology and how to communicate with loved ones about sensitive issues. This article highlights some of the knowledge needed to manage wealth and why it’s often so daunting without the help of an independent personal financial advisor who is familiar with your situation.
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Understanding The Federal Reserve Mandate To End Inflation
The Federal Reserve System, the nation’s central bank, has a dual mandate to pursue maximum employment and maintain price stability. These two priorities are currently treated equally, but that was not always the case. In fact, the Fed’s bias toward maximizing employment was a critical driver of the stagflation that plagued the U.S. in the late 1960s and 1970s. Recognizing the need to balance price stability and maximum employment, in 1977, Congress revised the Federal Reserve Act.
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Fed Governor Kugler Details Inflation And Economic Outlook
The 12-month inflation rate, as measured by the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) index, was 2.6% in December, down from its peak of 7.1% in June 2022, and the six-month rate for PCE inflation was even lower, at 2%, which is the target rate set by the Federal Reserve.
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Why Rates May Not Be Cut Until June
The cost of a loan to buy a home, car, college education, and achieve the American Dream is staying the same for now. As expected, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank did not lower loan rates following the Fed’s Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024, policy meeting.
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Practical Suggestions For Achieving Your 2024 Resolutions
New Year’s resolutions usually fail because they‘re often too hard to achieve. After six months, only 10% of people who make resolutions achieve them or remain committed to them, , according to a study by Dr. Mark Griffiths, a Chartered Psychologist and Distinguished Professor of Behavioral Addiction at the Nottingham Trent University. What can you do to make financial, medical, or other personal resolutions more likely to be achieved?
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A Sign Of Progress In Solving U.S. Economic Problems
The Federal Reserve appears to be pulling off a feat most experts did not believe it could: ending its aggressive inflation-fighting campaign of 11 interest rate hikes without tipping the U.S. economy into a recession.
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Fed Keeps Rates Unchanged; Expects Easing In 2024
To promote transparency and free markets, the Federal Reserve System began publishing the opinions of the 19 U.S. central bankers that decide interest rate policy.
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Have You Logged Into Your Social Security Account?
Have you logged in to your Social Security account? Creating an online account at SSA.gov is an important first step in understanding your retirement income situation. However, only about 60 million of the 160 million individuals in the U.S. labor force who have Social Security accounts have created a way to access the Social Security Administration’s website.
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The Great Fake Out Of 2023 Is Poised To Extend Into 2024
All year long, the economy and stock prices have fooled experts and consumers, outperforming expectations month after month.
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Test Your Financial Planning IQ
The five questions below are a challenge meant to allow you to assess your knowledge of investing, tax and financial planning. If you have been following our news stream, this quiz draws on familiar ground. The answers are below.
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Planning Briefs
Amid The Coronavirus Crisis, Nine Tax And Investment Tips
Published Tuesday, March 24, 2020, 7:30 p.m. EST
The stock market lost about a third of its value before rebounding 9.4% today on news that Congress was closer to an agreement on a $2 trillion economic stimulus package. The coronavirus crisis has reshaped the financial economic landscape and the situation is changing fast. Here are nine financial focal points for your immediate consideration.
CARES Act. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) would include direct payments of $1,200 to many American adults and $500 to children. It would pay for $850 billion in loan and assistance for businesses, states and cities. It also allocates large spending increases for unemployment insurance, as well as for hospitals and health-care providers.
Immediate Issues. Hunkered down across the country, practicing social distancing, you may not be at all ready yet to talk about the financial implications of the epidemic. However, if your family is in the throes of a medical crisis and has any tax or financial planning issues, please do not hesitate to contact our office.
What’s Ahead. The pending CARES Act will, if enacted, allocate hundreds of billions of dollars to individuals as well as businesses. Once the new law is signed by the President, its impact on your personal situation will be clearer. There will be no shortage of questions about qualifying for tax relief in specific situations.
Virus-Related. CARE waives the 10% early withdrawal penalty on retirement account distributions for taxpayers facing virus-related economic challenges. According to The Tax Foundation, withdrawals are taxable over three years, but you can recontribute for three years without affecting retirement account maximums.
Business Owners. CARES allocates $350 billion for Small Business Interruption Loans, to help small businesses (fewer than 500 employees) make payroll and other expenses, according to The Tax Foundation, a non-partisan tax policy research group with a business-friendly reputation. "Notably, small businesses may take out loans up to $10 million and cover employees making up to $100,000 per year," according to the group. "Loans taken for this purposes are forgiven if the business does not lay off its employees (forgiveness is scaled down as layoffs rise)."
•Employer Social Security payroll tax payments may be delayed until January 1, 2021.
•Companies with tax credit carryforwards and previous alternative minimum tax (AMT) liability can claim larger refundable tax credits than they otherwise could.
Charity Encouraged. CARE creates a $300 above-the-line charitable deduction, even for filers taking the standard deduction and expands the limit on charitable contributions for itemizers.
Education Loans. The Department of Education today announced that all borrowers with federal loans will have their interest rates automatically set at 0% for at least 60 days, giving borrowers with federal loans the option to suspend payments for at least two months without accruing interest.
Team Up. Your family and your business are likely to be impacted financially by Covid-19 and now is a good time to plan how you can efficiently communicate with your team. While clients can depend on our firm as part of their team, your team might also include members of your family as well as other professionals. If you own a business, your team might include key employees responsible for operations or accounting. Ideally, you have a way to meet and collaborate online.
Keep In Touch. The public health crisis is rapidly changing. So, too, is the financial, investment and tax planning situation. This update is a way for you to stay on top of the latest financial, tax and investment news. Please let us know the best way to keep in touch with you with updates.
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