Tag Archives: wealth management
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
Challenges facing bond investors, reasons to hold them
The following chart from Natixis Investments demonstrates how interest rates impact bond markets, particularly long-term government bonds. Over the past 30 years, generally declining interest rates have fueled bond returns that have easily outpaced inflation (6% real return). But go … Continue reading
You Get What You Pay For … Financial Planning Edition
Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig, one of our favorites in the personal finance space, wrote an article August 7 about a new service for delivering low-cost, yet “comprehensive” financial planning to the masses. Certainly, there are millions of people … Continue reading
U.S. Stocks, Municipal Bonds Generate the Best Real Returns
Thornburg Investment Management recently released an annual report analyzing real returns. It is always interesting reading. Thornburg reviews returns for several types of investments and then subtracts expenses, taxes and inflation to determine which investments allow investors to keep the … Continue reading
Managing Risk; The Most Important Part of the Plan
Each of us thinks about the risks that we take in our own way. Some people have no difficulty taking risk in their personal lives but are more risk averse in their financial decisions. Others are just the opposite. We … Continue reading
Student loan relief likely will lead to even higher tuition
File this in the unintended consequences folder. President Obama’s October 26 announcement of student loan reforms to “ease the burden” of education debt may provide relief to some but could ultimately cause the damaging pace of tuition inflation to increase … Continue reading →