George Hosfield, CFA, discusses Ferguson Wellman's quarterly strategy titled, "Inflation's Flame Flickers," which addresses the narrow market leadership, the impact of higher interest rates on inflation and how assets are priced at this stage of the economic cycle.
George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the firm's quarterly strategy titled "Stalemate," which highlights the Fed's ongoing battle to tame inflation along with our views on the health of the banking industry and capital market expectations for the balance of the year.
Director and Chief Investment Officer George Hosfield, CFA, discusses the Fed raising interest rates, peaking inflation and our view on equities and volatility across all asset classes in our Investment Strategy titled, “Balancing Act.”
There are a myriad of important numbers related to personal financial and tax planning that change every year. To help ensure you are up to date with all and to hopefully simplify your individual financial planning efforts for the year ahead, we are sharing the 2023 Annual Limits Guide from the College for Financial Planning®, which outlines many of the most important numbers that may apply to you.
In this video, Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, chair of our wealth management department, highlights changes for retirement savings and charitable gifting in regard to tax planning.
On December 23, 2022, Congress passed the SECURE Act 2.0. This new legislation builds off its predecessor to further improve the U.S. retirement system. Included in the provisions are changes to required minimum distributions (RMDs). Most notably, the new law further pushes back the age at which RMDs must begin.
Wealth Management Insights publication for first quarter 2023 titled, “Planning for Incremental and Potentially Substantial Changes.”
Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA®, provides an overview of planned philanthropic donations and the tax benefits associated.
Taxes … just the word alone increases blood pressure and elicits a fight-or-flight response. As such, most people outsource their tax preparation. Whether you manage your taxes or outsource the task, there is still a good amount of work we are all responsible for.
Have you ever looked at something you've had for a long time and thought to yourself “Do I still need this?” or "I paid a lot for this … do I keep it?" This happens frequently when evaluating life insurance purchased in prior years.
Read our fourth quarter 2022 Wealth Management Insights publication in which Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA® and Chris Bixby, CFP®, EA share their thoughts on tax and charitable planning and strategic Roth IRA conversions.
Scott Christianson, CFP®, discusses the complexities of Social Security benefits and what our clients should understand before they file.
Samantha Pahlow, CTFA, AWMA®, discusses the basics of Medicare and how it fits into retirement planning.
Charissa Anderson, CFP®, CDFA®, explains the various aspects of Social Security spousal benefits and how it fits into retirement planning.
Wealth Management Chair Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, discusses strategies to maximize the most of your benefits from private insurance options to Social Security and Medicare.
For those with many years before retirement, social security appears to be a straightforward arrangement: once you retire, you will receive a monthly check for the rest of your life. However, there are several complexities to be aware of as you approach retirement. For example, the timing of when you begin to take benefits can greatly alter the size of your benefits. The options you choose are impactful, and importantly, are mostly irrevocable. Carefully reviewing your options beforehand can ensure that you put yourself in the best position to maximize benefits.
Read our third quarter 2022 Wealth Management Insights publication in which Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, Charissa Anderson, CFP®, CDFA®, and Casia Chappell, CFP®, CPWA® share their thoughts on life insurance ownership, social security spousal benefits and long-term care insurance.
Casia Chappell, CFP®, CPWA®, discusses 529 college savings plans and their details that oftentimes confuse savers and students and how to best utilize these plans.
If you have college bound children or grandchildren, you are likely aware of the benefits of 529 accounts, which include but are not limited to tax-free growth of investments, tax-free withdrawals when funds are used for qualified education expenses, potential state income tax benefits, expanded gifting options with superfunding and the flexibility for the owner to transfer funds to family members.
In the second quarter 2022 Wealth Management Insights video, Mary Lago, CFP®, CTFA, discusses the importance of account ownership and beneficiary designations when planning wealth transitions.
Parents and grandparents often ask how they can set up an account for minor children, to help them build good saving habits or to make financial gifts, while also delaying access until a future point in time. One common approach is to open a Uniform Transfer to Minors Act account (UTMA) or Uniform Gift to Minors Account (UGMA).
