In more than a decade of working with clients, I’ve discovered that one thing tends to do more damage to financial plans than any other.
Index funds are popular investment tools for good reason. They are low cost, effective ways to capture market return. Choosing to use index funds is only half the battle though; you must use them correctly to truly benefit.
Barbells work great at the gym because they put weight on a bar in such a way that it’s balanced, leaving room in the middle for someone to use it to workout. We often see portfolios that are designed like a barbell at the gym: lots of risk in one account and lots of cash or very short-term securities in another. In aggregate, it might produce some balance, but the reality is that it can create some real challenges.
While executive benefits such as stock options, other equity compensation, and deferred compensation can be powerful accumulation tools, knowing how they fit into your overall financial picture can be challenging.
What is true wealth? That’s a question we ask our clients at Foster Group. It’s a question we ask ourselves. I’d like to share a story that reminded me of what this means to me.
I certainly would argue that building a business is more than just a dice game, but both involve risk. How you fill out your scoresheet in Yahtzee is a good example of what business owners might decide to do with their business profits.
It is the taxpayer’s responsibility to keep records of distributions made to charity and contributions to their IRA and account for those on their tax return.
One of the things married couples often do not consider in their planning is what I like to call the “Invisible Tax.”
