Everyone by now is aware of the great year that the S&P 500 had in 2013, returning more than 32%, its best performance since 1997. We thought this might be a good time to review the overall performance of our clients’ portfolios for the year, not least…
What Happened to DOMA and What’s Next? On June 26, in United States v Windsor, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional, declaring that, if the citizens of a state voted to recognize and protect a class…
Who? Participants in employer-sponsored retirement plans [401(k), 403(b), 457(b), profit-sharing plans] and/or IRA owners ([traditional, rollover, SEP, SIMPLE]. What? This is the minimum amount you are required to withdraw from your account each year. When? Distributions must start by April 1 of the year…
What Happened? On June 26th, in United States v Windsor, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was unconstitutional ab initio (from the start). The court decided that if the citizens of a state voted to recognize…
We made a few changes to our portfolios this week that we thought we’d share. These adjustments are technical in nature and constitute fine-tuning more than anything else. Bond Allocation Updates As we discussed last month (Managing Risk When Rebalancing Into Bonds), we believe that…
College Graduation For many people around the country, May means cap and gown, graduation ceremonies, and having or witnessing the experience of the slightly fearful but exhilarating realization that one chapter in life has ended and a new one is about to begin. As always, this should be a time…
Elissa’s “Confessions of a Cobbler” You know the saying about the cobbler’s children having no shoes? I have to confess to being a bit of a cobbler. Okay, my children have shoes – real ones and the financial planning version: ROTH IRAs. But I was…
All beneficiary designations are the same, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The language adopted by the financial institution that holds your IRA or other retirement account might cause you to unintentionally disinherit your grandkids. Most financial institutions treat multiple beneficiaries “per capita” rather than “per stirpes”…
Last Call: Tax Day is Next Monday, April 15th While we normally take care of all of our clients’ account servicing needs, including IRA and retirement account contributions, end of business today (5:00 pm ET for the Vienna office and 5:00 pm PT for the…
PR Newswire Press Release SAN FRANCISCO, CA, APRIL 1, 2013 John Wiley & Sons has just published the first-of-its-kind Financial Planning Competency Handbook. Elissa Buie, CFP® and Dr. Dave Yeske, CFP® of Yeske Buie contributed 30 chapters to the Handbook as members of a select team…