2020 Estate Tax Considerations

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2020 Estate Tax Considerations

Is now the right time to consider estate lifetime gifts? Yes, we believe proactive estate strategy management leads us to encourage individuals to pause and consider the following.

Wealth Management includes planning for tax expense risks which arise when one considers different policy paths over the coming years. There are always known laws and unknown possibilities. This summary is not meant to predict what may or may not happen following this election season; however, it is intended to raise awareness regarding planning opportunities which should be considered.

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Outlook 2020 - Mid Year Update

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Outlook 2020 - Mid Year Update

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate our lives, the economy and capital markets. Our base case for the economy and markets presented in our Outlook 2020 report, published just last January, has been wiped out by the COVID outbreak. We must now reconstruct our expectations for the balance of the year – while assessing a recovery that will likely stretch into 2021 and 2022.

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The Driven Fiduciary - Precautions for Young Traders

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The Driven Fiduciary - Precautions for Young Traders

Market displacements over the past 4 months have led to a massive boom in American trading activity. The extreme volatility, unusual amount of free time due to working from home, and availability of trading apps has led to more Americans day trading than ever before. According to popular mobile trading app Robinhood, they have added more than 3 million users year to date. More than half of these users are millennials who are opening an investment account for the first time. Everything considered, I think this is great for the world of finance that younger investors are getting involved. However, I think there are some important precautions I would like to raise to this generation of traders.

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The Apex Advisor - IRS Releases RMD Reversal Guidance for 2020

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The Apex Advisor - IRS Releases RMD Reversal Guidance for 2020

Retirement savers were given the opportunity to forgo Required Minimum Distributions (RMD) for 2020 as part of the CARES Act, which was passed into law in March of 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This RMD relief applies to all types of IRAs (except Roth IRAs which do not require RMDs in the first place), 401(k), 403(b) and even includes inherited accounts. This benefit allows account holders to reduce their taxable income for calendar year 2020 and to preserve the tax deferred growth offered by these accounts for a bit longer. Of course, those that need the funds for living expenses are permitted to still take distributions as normal.

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May We Live in Interesting Times - Private Client Letter

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May We Live in Interesting Times - Private Client Letter

To say that we are living in “interesting times” would not do justice to what we all have experienced since the COVID-19 outbreak made headlines in February. What began as a serious health crisis quickly turned into an economic collapse as government leaders issued lockdown orders and essentially brought large parts of our economy to a standstill. Never before has the United States shut off its economy by proclamation. Interesting times indeed!!

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How COVID19 is Affecting College Planning

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Over the last month or so, the Coronavirus outbreak has reshaped our world. As we come to terms with our new normal, there are still many financial planning considerations that need to be addressed within this new context. One of those topics for individuals with children is College Planning. While Universities across the nation have either shut down intermittently or shifted to online coursework, the question is how this change will impact your plan. While there are College Planning related legislative changes that have been enacted to soften the blow of this market downturn, a large factor to consider is the timeline of when funds are needed. This post will explain the coronavirus effects on College Planning by period of time until college begins.

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The Apex Advisor - You Can't Win a Race by Going Backwards

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The CARES Act rule changes giving easier access to retirement funds will certainly act as a much needed lifeline for many Americans in desperate need. For those that are not in dire need for short term funding, however, taking advantage of the ability to access retirement funds without penalty can be expected to have tremendous negative effects on a retirement savings plan. It would amount to shifting a race car into reverse during a race.

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Jeff DeHaan

Jeffrey DeHaan, CFP® is a Partner with Clearwater Capital Partners. Jeff primarily works with a select group of successful business owners and professionals, along with their families, to achieve their unique visions of their financial futures. Focusing on the interdependence between portfolio management, retirement planning, gift planning, estate planning and risk management, Jeff endeavors to give his clients a clear path to their goals and a solid framework for decision making.

The Apex Advisor - Turbo Charge Your Savings Plan

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Investing in turbulent markets is much like Driving on Ice. The feeling of loss of control is scary, and our brains don’t like that feeling. Therefore, it prompts us to remove that feeling through action. Unfortunately, just like when our car is sliding on ice, our initial financial reactions are often the wrong ones. One such example is the desire to suspend contributions to retirement savings during down markets.

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Jeff DeHaan

Jeffrey DeHaan, CFP® is a Partner with Clearwater Capital Partners. Jeff primarily works with a select group of successful business owners and professionals, along with their families, to achieve their unique visions of their financial futures. Focusing on the interdependence between portfolio management, retirement planning, gift planning, estate planning and risk management, Jeff endeavors to give his clients a clear path to their goals and a solid framework for decision making.

The Apex Advisor - Managing Cash in a Crisis

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Strenuous market environments often shine a light on one of the more challenging aspects of personal finance, cash management.  How much cash is too much? How much is not enough?  If you have excess cash, where should it go?  If the answer is financial markets, when is the right time to do that?  These questions are universal whether you are at the start of your career and just beginning your accumulation plan or a seasoned saver near the end of your career, and everyone in between.  Let’s review these in sequence.

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Jeff DeHaan

Jeffrey DeHaan, CFP® is a Partner with Clearwater Capital Partners. Jeff primarily works with a select group of successful business owners and professionals, along with their families, to achieve their unique visions of their financial futures. Focusing on the interdependence between portfolio management, retirement planning, gift planning, estate planning and risk management, Jeff endeavors to give his clients a clear path to their goals and a solid framework for decision making.

CARES Act - What you need to know about your IRA

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In order to combat the many economic implications of the coronavirus pandemic, a monumental emergency funding bill has been passed. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) aims to provide relief to American citizens and businesses through a variety of financial measures. One particular focus of the bill is on how Americans can use their retirement accounts during a potential time of need. This post will focus on 3 measures related to IRA accounts; Required Minimum Distributions, early distributions, and special tax treatment of distributions. The first of the provisions apply to all Americans while the second and third apply only to those directly affected by the virus (defined below.)

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Lessons from a Correction

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For many investors, Monday felt like a slap in the face. Following news over the weekend of a oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia, the S&P500 traded down over 7% at the open. A move so swift, it actually triggered the 1st circuit breaker measure - a system put in place in 2013 to prevent these types of flash crashes. Its a strange day when almost everyone can be heard discussing the markets. In the gym, in the line at the grocery store, in the lobby of my building, yesterday was one of those days.

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Beware of Behavioral Biases

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The coronavirus (COVID 19) breakout has been a fascinating real life case study of behavioral finance and the effect it can have on investors, particularly those operating outside of a trusted advisor relationship. Behavioral finance is the field of study that looks at investor psychology as it relates to money. It reveals the many pitfalls and fallacies the brain is vulnerable to when dealing with decisions specifically relating to money or investments. It is no secret that people, in general, are not great at investing. Emotions can be powerful and counter productive. Separating one’s feelings from the facts is a high hurdle for many Americans, leading many to doing the exact wrong things at the worst times.

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