Tony Novak CPA

Category: Financial Planning

  • Changing expectations of wealth management clients

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    This excerpt comes from an Accenture publication under the sub-title “Changes in client expectations”, annotated by me: In an earlier time, the client/advisor relationship was based on the advisor’s near-monopoly on financial information (as when I started in the industry for Drexel Burnham in the early 1980s). “Do it yourself” options for portfolio management and securities…

  • Tax planning notes for 2013

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    Following are unformatted meeting notes from a Presentation by Al Klingan JD, LLM, CLU, ChFC in a meeting 11/8/2012 hosted by First Financial at the Philadelphia Union League. CURRENT LAW FOR 2013 (if no congressional action) All brackets rise CG rise to 20% Dividends 39.6% Deductions phase out Exemptions phaseout Social Security to 6.2% Additional 3.8%…

  • Employers may be legally required to reduce 401(k) plan fees

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    This excerpt on “What Plan Sponsors Can Learn from Tussey v. ABB, Inc.” comes from a marketing email from the 401(k) Coach Program. “The importance of understanding and upholding fiduciary duties is more critical than ever as recently demonstrated by the Tussey v. ABB, Inc. verdict. A judgment against ABB and its record keeper, administrator…

  • Considering using Brand Advocates to market professional financial services

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    This excerpt comes from Zuberance: “Brand Advocates are people who frequently recommend brands and products without being paid. Brand Advocates are a company’s most engaged, loyal, and valuable customers. Size: About one in four adults in the U.S. – about 60 million people – are Brand Advocates. Influence: Advocates are about 3X more trusted and influential than…

  • Only 1% of financial advisers completely embrace fee-only service

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    PriceMetrix research consultants report that only 1% of financial advisers have completely converted to fee-based services. 99% cling to the older commission-based approach despite overwhelming evidence that clients are surging to fee-based approach. I am quite surprised by this study; other indicators led me to believe that as much as 5% of financial advisers, especially…

  • Comments on “Know Who to Trust” editorial about financial advisers

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    Today I had an email exchange with a CPA who commented on the editorial I recently posted in CBSPhilly on the issue of establishing a basis of trust with a financial adviser. Sometimes these little bits of encouragement make all the difference so I compiled and re-posted the email conversation here as an ego reward…

  • Repeal of estate taxes in 2013?

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    This excerpt comes from an email from Jeff Reed at KestlerFinancial about the possibility of a capital gain tax replacing the estate tax. My gut reaction is to respond with an argument on the impact of these taxes on social policy but that clearly misses the point of the discussion. He is absolutely correct in…

  • The value of financial planning

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    New study reveals significant differences between “planners” and “non-planners” This except that I’ve annotated below comes from “Accounting Today” July 23, 2012 article titled “Families with Financial Plans Manage Money Better” includes some powerful data in support of the value of financial planning across all income levels: Families who have prepared a personal financial plan report more…

  • notes / updates on 412(i) pension plans

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    Following is an unformatted dump of research notes. For a few complete articles see www.tonynovak.com/articles IRS code: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/412 http://zingleandassociates.com/papers/412i/shutdown.pdf  links to applicable Revenue Rulings http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/db_lrm.pdf 1_412e3 – Beyond the Basics.ppt https://www.allegisadvisorgroup.com/Content/Content/63/Documents/1_412e3%20-%20Beyond%20the%20Basics.ppt downloaded MassMutual powerpoint presentation Requirements for “Separate Agreements” for §412(i) Pension Plans This article discusses the information that must be included in the “separate agreements”…

  • Medicare premiums are tax-deductible

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    Medicare premiums are officially tax-deductible. Portions are highlighted for implication in tax planning. (The grammatical error in the final paragraph is reproduced as found). This excerpt comes from Journal of Accountancy: “Explaining a recent reversal of a long-held IRS stance, the Office of Chief Counsel advised IRS attorneys on Friday that self-employed individuals may deduct…