This blog post is meant as an introductory primer for community planners and local small business owners. Investors are encouraged to seek their own professional counsel. The Cumberland County Improvement Authority has a program planned for bankers and Realtors on May 3 that will discuss the local Opportunity Zones. Following the passage of the federal […]
The financial world has changed dramatically over the past decade in ways we could not have imagined before the financial crisis. My investment banker training was suddenly not only useless; it was exposed as a liability. I remember trying to relate the shock I felt in October 2008 to my then teenage children. I said […]
(This blog post is an outline of an upcoming webinar. Comments, questions and feedback during this planning stage is welcome). Understanding the benefit of tax free stocks The difference between tax-free investments and tax-deferred investments The difference between tax-free stocks and tax-free bonds Compared to alternatives like HSAs and life insurance Examples of ending value […]
A decade ago I probably would have said that there is little value to a small business adviser in attempting macroeconomic and political forecasts. But over this most recent decade I’ve watched shifting macroeconomic conditions wipe out over two million dollars of personal net worth and put one of my businesses into idle for over […]
Update: This article was updated to reflect the news that for or the 90 days of fall (9/21 – 12/21) the S&P 500 was down 17.5%. The market correction happened sooner than I expected. The advice I’ve dispensed for the past 30 years since leaving my early career on Wall Street is timeless, except for […]
Bitcoin has lost 80% of its value since I wrote this pessimistic prediction “Turned Sour on Bitcoin” a year ago. Last week the cyber currency market dropped $700 Billion. Of course this does not happen in a bubble. The overall stock market appears to have peaked and may be entering an extended bear market. Real estate […]
Over the past few days I’ve spent time communicating with other financial writers online and skimming published articles on the topic of tax-free investments. In a world where most topics, especially most investment topics, are covered redundantly, it is surprising to learn that this topic has holes in media coverage and that much of the […]
I’m convinced that most people don’t know about vast array of alternative investment options available to them including through tax-advantaged individual retirement accounts. Consider the broad environment of alternative investments that we face today: We’ve been brainwashed1 to think that alternative investments are not safe while investments in the US securities markets are safer. Financial […]
The two big personal stories for me in 2017: #1 – Stress Handled I became stressed by the lack of respect for fact, truth, science, logic, law and education expressed in our everyday lives. I became stressed by the observation that other people abandoned traditional core values of charity, sharing, open doors, open borders, nondiscrimination, […]
As great as this tax bill is for CPAs who offer tax planning services, it is just as bad for investment advisers. Here’s why: RIAs do not benefit from the 20% deduction of pass-through entity income. RIAs tend to have high state, local and property taxes. Limiting this deduction, along with elimination of the personal […]