Posted by Richard on December 18, 2013
Expecting a bundle of joy and wondering if you will be able to afford sending him or her off to college? Fortunately, you have a number of tax-advantaged federal and state college savings vehicles at your disposal, including the 529 plan, which comes in two varieties: the prepaid tuition plan and the savings plan. […]
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Looking for a way to invest in alternative investments not normally issued through a bank or brokerage, such as real estate or a business? Consider a self-directed IRA. A self-directed IRA can be an effective way to add diversification to your retirement portfolio. But it’s a strategy that takes careful planning and due diligence. […]
Read More →Posted by Richard on November 13, 2013
Hedge funds are a diverse class of investments that use aggressive investment strategies to seek greater-than-average total return with lower levels of risk.1 Hedge funds may use many investment tactics not ordinarily available to the managers of regulated mutual funds, including unlimited short-selling, margin trading to leverage price movements, and the unfettered use of […]
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Market cap — or market capitalization — allows investors to understand the relative size of one company versus another. Market cap measures what a company is worth on the open market as well as the market’s perception of its future prospects, because it reflects what investors are willing to pay for its stock. It […]
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College graduates are increasingly learning a new lesson: one in debt management. And many of them are failing. Student debt is widely understood to be a serious and growing problem in the United States. According to the Department of Education, 10% of college graduates defaulted on their loan repayments within the first two years […]
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If you are retiring soon and looking into your options to start drawing down your savings from your employer-sponsored plan, you may have the opportunity to purchase an annuity. Annuities, simply put, help you ensure that you’ll have enough income to last a lifetime. Understanding Annuities Annuities are contracts offered by insurance companies that […]
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Living the single life no longer is an anomaly: According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly 40% of households nationwide are maintained by a single person.1 Being single affects many areas of financial planning, including retirement, financing health care later in life, and other key issues. If you are single, or expect to be […]
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As the end of the year draws near, the last thing anyone wants to think about is taxes. But if you are looking for ways to minimize your tax bill, there’s no better time for tax planning than before year-end. That’s because there are a number of tax-smart strategies you can implement now that […]
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Investing is too often driven by emotion. Even the most seasoned investors can make bad decisions based on “gut instincts” or something they heard around the water cooler. Here are some of the more common investment mistakes and how you can avoid them. • Go with the herd. If everyone else is buying it, […]
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Beginning in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will greatly expand the health care benefits for the millions of Americans with no health coverage or who are underinsured. The ACA has identified 10 “essential health benefits,” which must be covered by non-grandfathered health plans. Even those with “full” insurance are expected to benefit from […]
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