Tag Archives: Tacoma
2012 tax changes and contribution limits
EMPLOYER RETIREMENT PLANS Participants in employer retirement plans such as 401ks and 403bs will be able to contribute an extra $500 as the limit moves up to $17,000 in 2012. Catch-up contributions, allowed above the $17,000 level for people over … Continue reading
Why choose a Registered Investment Advisor instead of a broker?
Visit riastandsforyou.com to discover the difference of working with an independent Registered Investment Advisor. RIA firms accept a fiduciary standard to act in your best interest. A Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) is a professional advisory firm that offers personalized financial advice … Continue reading
European debt crisis presents difficult challenges
The government debt situation in Europe has been the largest driver of market volatility over the past two months. Concern continues to grow that select European countries are close to defaulting on their loans. European banks may have catastrophic exposure … Continue reading
GET unit price takes huge leap
As a follow-up to my September 8 column in The News Tribune (see below), here is some more detail about the new unit price to participate in Washington’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program. The 2011-12 purchase price for one GET unit … Continue reading
What we look for when picking a mutual fund
In theory, picking a good mutual fund should be easy. Just find a fund with an experienced portfolio manager who has consistently outperformed the fund’s relevant benchmark and buy some shares. Then repeat in each portion of the market so … Continue reading
Slow economy is a drag on standard of living
Economists who aren’t predicting a double-dip recession are at least expecting a low-growth U.S. economy for an extended period of time. What is the impact of an economy that doesn’t grow at it’s historical annual rate of approximately 3% year … Continue reading
Bonds less incredible than you think
Here is Gary Brooks’s column from the October 5 Tacoma News Tribune.