1Q 2017 Quarterly Investment Letter: Slow Growth Recovery
The period just after the beginning of a New Year is traditionally a good time to reflect on and be grateful for the past year. Financially speaking, 2016 was a good year for stocks and a decent year for bonds.…
Notes from a Nonprofit Storytelling Conference: Developing compelling stories that will strengthen our donor relationships.
I recently attended the Nonprofit Storytelling Conference in Chicago in search of speakers and content for our upcoming Neighborhood Nonprofits Symposium. There were over 600 attendees from across the US and around the globe, with a wide diversity of mission…
It’s Not Too Late for Year-End Tax Savings: Five Tax Planning Strategies
As excitement around the holiday season and the possibilities of 2017 fall upon us, shopping, baking, and decorating take the forefront. The annual chaos makes it easy to push aside any thoughts pertaining to financial planning. However, with the change…
What All Business Owners Should Be Aware Of And Thinking About
It’s natural for business owners to be focused on the daily operations of their company, and not think about transitioning out of their business until they are actually ready to proceed. Working with mid- to small-businesses owners every day, I…
Funding Your Charitable Goals with Your Business
Authors: Matt Masterson and Brent Beene Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) are a simple and flexible way for individuals to donate appreciated securities and direct those funds to their favorite charities. In addition to contributing public securities or cash, investors can…
Qualified Longevity Annuity Contracts: Can They Protect You from Outliving Your Assets?
Authors: Alex Coriddi and Alicia Wall Many retirees worry about running out of money before they run out of life, and the insurance industry has come out with a product to alleviate this concern: the Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract (QLAC). QLACs…
Explaining the Social Security Earnings Test
Social Security is an excellent source of retirement income for individuals and is generally incorporated when creating a retirement plan. However, it comes with a number of limitations. One of the larger limitations is an earnings cap, which places a…
Time to Put Succession Plans into Motion – Potential Reduction or Elimination of Valuation Discounts
By the end of 2016, it’s likely that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will amend a taxpayer’s ability to take valuation discounts on Limited Liability Company (LLC), Limited Partnerships (LP), and S-Corps. These discounts have commonly been used as a…
Is Your Halloween Holiday Haunted with Liabilities
There are plenty of things that scare us at Halloween. Horror movies that feature ghosts, zombies, vampires, and werewolves come to mind immediately. What about the horror of being on the receiving end of a lawsuit? While Halloween can be…
Social Security and Medicare Changes for 2017
The Social Security Administration (SSA) announced a number of changes for 2017 that will affect high income earners in the workforce as well as those that are retired. For those in the workforce, the maximum amount of earnings subject to…
