The Cautious Investor

Sometimes being an investor feels like driving on a congested freeway. Changing lanes when you’re stuck in a traffic jam never works out – the lane you choose always slows down and the lane you left speeds up after you change. Patience pays off just as it does when you invest. Sometimes investments may look…

Insurance companies always win, right? Well, that hasn’t necessarily been true when it comes to Long-Term Care insurance carriers. What began in the late 1970’s as “nursing home only” products, LTC insurance increased in popularity in the 1980’s and 1990’s as contract language broadened to cover assisted living, adult daycare, and in-home care. However, actuarial…

Since the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has doubled the standard deduction starting in 2018, few individuals are expected to itemize.  However, if you are an IRA owner over age 70 ½ and have a charitable intent, you can utilize Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) to maximize the new higher standard deduction, in effect getting…

Many Investors seem to know their approximate rate of return, but probably don’t know how much risk they are taking to garner the return they receive.  The goal for most is to get the highest return while taking the lowest amount of risk.  This can be much easier said than done, and it’s important that…

The snow is flying, and thoughts of a warm weather vacation are heating up. This leads some to the debate over whether to buy or rent. The decision can be confusing but must be what is right for you. So, let’s pause a bit and go through the advantages and disadvantages of owning. When you…

Imagine this; your friend is preparing his tax returns and is confused as to why he owes taxes on a mutual fund position that he hasn’t sold, and it went down in value from the purchase price. He bought $100,000 worth of a mutual fund on October 1st at $10.00 per share in a taxable…

This is the “Age of Accelerations,” according to Tom Friedman in his new book Thank You for Being Late. In the book Friedman is referring to the dramatic pace of change in the age of the internet and cloud technologies. As most of us have noticed, the dramatic pace of change is affecting everything in…

The IRS Tax Code is, as you know, not a small document, nor is it one that remains static year over year.  Given the rapid pace of regulatory changes, many people elect to employ a tax professional to annually help navigate the process and make sure that deductions afforded to you are being taken advantage…

I think that wealth, much like temperature, is relative. One person might feel wealthy making a certain amount of money while another person, making the same amount of money, might feel like they’ve only got pennies to their name. Some of us might scoff when a doctor or lawyer says they don’t make enough money…

“Pride of opinion has been responsible for the downfall of more men on Wall Street than any other factor.” –Charles Dow     Society places a high value on confidence and most people identify it as a key element for success in life. But does it necessarily hold true for successful investing? In daily life…