Investing Moves to Consider This Fall

Is your portfolio in line with your ability to tolerate risk? As we begin fall, there are some end-of-year investing moves that can help tune-up your holdings.

Life Insurance: Consider Your Options

Life insurance* proceeds can provide a financial lifeline for loved ones if something were to happen to you. The type of policy you choose may depend on the length of time you’ll need coverage and the policy’s cost.

Should You Consider a Backdoor Roth IRA

A backdoor Roth IRA offers a way for high earners to potentially circumvent income limits on Roth IRA contributions. But before you leap on the bandwagon, weigh your decision carefully.

The "New" Identity Theft

As if stealing your personal information to access your bank accounts or open credit in your name isn’t enough to worry about, there’s another form of identity theft taking hold. Deed theft is a type of identity theft that targets your residence, second home or other property.

Selling Your Home?

Investing for Retirees

Retirement is a time to kick back and enjoy doing all the things you didn’t have enough time for when you were working. What retirement isn’t, though, is a time to forget about investing. Continuing to invest throughout your retirement years can help protect your nest egg from the effects of inflation, rising healthcare costs and other threats to your financial well-being.

Take Advantage of Higher Exemptions

Lifetime exemption limits for transferring wealth are historically high, but their end may be on the horizon. Current lifetime exemption amounts are set to expire on December 31, 2025, unless Congress acts to extend them. Reviewing your wealth preservation strategies with your financial, tax and legal professionals will help ensure you’re taking full advantage of the opportunities available to you. Consulting your tax professional can help prevent unwelcome surprises.

Life Insurance: Its Many Uses

You may think of life insurance* as financial protection for loved ones if you or your spouse were to die unexpectedly. The policy’s death benefit can help provide money to pay expenses or be used in legacy planning so that your family can pay any taxes due on your estate. Although both term and permanent life insurance provide a death benefit, term typically covers the policyholder only for a specified time (usually 10 to 30 years), while permanent insurance remains in effect indefinitely and builds cash value.

Is Retiring Abroad on Your Bucket List?

A warmer climate, a lower cost of living, a charming locale — there are many reasons Americans choose to spend retirement living in a foreign country. If retiring outside the U.S. appeals to you, plan your move carefully and consider the impact living abroad may have on your daily life.

Calming Your Money Fears

Whether you’re retired or just thinking about it, feeling as if you have no control over future events can cause stress that affects your well-being. Developing a strategy with the aid of your financial professional to address your concerns can help mitigate your fears.

Millennials in the Workplace

Born in years 1981 through 1996, Millennials are currently the largest group in the workforce now that Baby Boomers, with their years of experience, are retired or retiring. Employers looking to attract and retain Millennials should pay close attention to the work culture and benefits they value most.

Preserve Wealth with an FLP

A family limited partnership (FLP) is a business or holding company owned by two or more family members. It is designed to preserve a family’s wealth and pass it from one generation to another through tax-free transfers of assets, including cash, real estate or the family business.

Understanding Beneficiary Designations

Your will is an important document for passing assets to loved ones when you die, but it doesn’t apply to everything. Life insurance proceeds, retirement accounts, annuities and similar accounts pass through beneficiary designations and are not governed by your will.

Saving for a Child's Education

It may seem like a long way off, but before you know it, the toddler playing in the dirt will be headed to college. With college costs rising all the time, saving for a child’s education should be a priority. Here are a few ideas that can help you get started.

The Paycheck Next Door

Everyone views wealth in a very personal way. Life experiences often influence those views. Many studies have been done on the subject, and here are some of the findings.

Generosity Reaps Tax Savings

Charitable giving has positive effects on both recipients and givers. One way to feel those positive effects and potentially save taxes is to make your gift with a life insurance policy you no longer need.* You might:

Election Year Stock Performance

Investors often fear investing in election years because the stock market generally dislikes uncertainty, and election years foster it. That’s why it’s good to know that over the past 90 years, regardless of which party has won, the stock market (as measured by the S&P 500) has been down only two election years, 2000 and 2008. Primary season tends to be more volatile, but once the primary elections conclude, the market typically returns to an upward trajectory.*

Minimize The Estate Tax Bit with an IDGT

The current favorable estate tax exemption amount is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2025, unless Congress acts to extend it or make it permanent. Without action, the exemption amount will revert from $13.61 to $5.6 million per individual, adjusted for inflation.

A Decade of Home Sales

U.S. home sales are projected to pick up slightly in 2024 and 2025, following a decade low in 2023. High mortgage interest rates and high inflation are considered major factors in the current U.S. housing market.