Financial “advice” is the latest area where technology seeks to strip humans of personal responsibility – to free us of the “burden” of thinking for ourselves. (Wait, doesn’t government already do that for us?) These so-called “robo advisors” are investment programs constructed through algorithms. Human involvement is not part of the package. The Department of [...]
What’s one way so many retail investors sabotage their savings plans? Recency bias. It’s that ugly state of mind where views are most heavily influenced by what we have experienced most recently. It impedes our ability to see the big picture. We lie to ourselves if we think we’re immune. “How did my investments perform [...]
“If you wait by the river long enough, the bodies of your enemies will float by.” -Sun Tzu The humorously sad side of being in the wealth management business is having listened through the years to the people who want to ignore solid advice and strategies in favor of blindly following the fakakta theories of [...]
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 became public law on Dec 18th. Included therein is the establishment of Qualified Charitable Distributions (“QCDs”) from IRAs as permanent. Previously the QCD provision expired annually and required extension via temporary legislation. What is a QCD? QCDs are direct transfers from an IRA to a qualified charity totaling up [...]
The parable introduces us to a man who refuses to see anything as positive or negative. Why? Because he believes the consequences of good fortune and misfortune are unknowable. Yet this simple truth does not stop us from latching on to whatever guesswork about the future parades as thoughtful insight. Consider some of the things [...]
In an oft-paraphrased 1789 letter to Richard Price Thomas Jefferson wrote that a well-informed electorate is a prerequisite to democracy. The next time we as a society collectively wonder about the political landscape and direction of our country we need look no further than ourselves and the things we deem important. Just what are the [...]
No, we don’t mean this Myra or this Myra. We mean this myRA courtesy of our friends at Treasury. We, um, “sat down with myRA” to get to know her. Let’s see what she’s all about: Apollo: When were you born? myRA: President Obama mentioned me in his 2014 State of the Union address. Apollo: [...]
In an attempt to close a ‘loophole’ they claim is exploited by ‘evil one-percenters’ Congress has done away with a very useful planning strategy – File and Suspend. File and Suspend allows spouse #1 to file for and immediately suspend receipt of benefits until a future date up to age 70. This allows spouse #2 [...]
Last week the IRS told us what’s new in 2016. While some items remain unchanged there are interesting developments with 401(k) contribution limits, income tax brackets and deductions, IRA contributions, the estate tax credit, AGI phase outs and more. More than 50 tax-related items were addressed. A partial summary and some of the more interesting [...]