On March 27th, 2020 the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law by President Trump. This Communiqué will focus on the provisions of the CARES Act that impact many of our clients.
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act (The SECURE Act) was part of the most recent $1.4 trillion year-end spending bill, approved by the Senate on Dec 19th, 2019, and subsequently signed into law by President Donald Trump. The act was part of an end-of-year appropriations bill and accompanied by provisions that impacted the nation’s retirement system. The goal of these provisions is to provide additional opportunities for Americans to save in order to strengthen their retirement base.
December is always a good time to look back on the year, look at what has transpired, and look forward to what might be in store for us next year. If you read the paper or listen to the news, we do not have to tell you what has happened in the markets these last couple of months.
As we certainly all have noticed, today is the second day of significant volatility and losses in the stock markets around the world. Yesterday U.S. markets suffered significant losses, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 3.1%, the S&P 500 down 3.3%, and the tech-heavy NASDAQ down 4.1%. At today’s closing prices, the Dow and S&P 500 closed down an additional 2.1%, and the Nasdaq was off 1.3%. The Nasdaq is now in correction territory, generally defined as a decline of 10% or more from its last high, although it is still approximately 425 points higher than its close at the end of 2017.
The long running economic expansion – now the second longest on record – and the accompanying exceptional returns in the stock market have been very beneficial to all of us. As the economic expansion and accompanying bull market enters its tenth year, this happy anniversary is a good time to reflect on the merits of rebalancing diversified portfolios.
We help our clients achieve financial independence...not necessarily "retirement" but instead, having the ability to have the life you look forward to and knowing you have the financial ability to step away from you job or career - even one that you might enjoy so that you might realize other long term objectives.
This is included in our fee and part of what we offer to every client.
Young couples, and frequently grandparents, ask about planning for the education of children or grandchildren. We regularly/routinely prepare education funding computations so that parents and grandparents can plan for the education of their children.
This is included in our fee and part of what we offer to every client.
Whether it involves long-term care planning, a review of existing life insurance policies or something as mundane as a review of your home and automobile liability coverage, we can assist you in determining whether you have the proper coverages. We are not insurance agents but we do know what to look for in your policies and determine whether or not you need to make changes.
This is included in our fee and part of what we offer to every client.
Are you struggling to understand how the new tax laws impact your family? We can help you determine what strategies can be used to minimize your income taxes and can structure your investments to minimize your tax burden.
This is included in our fee and part of what we offer to every client.
Do you have an up to date estate plan? We regularly work with attorneys to make sure that your plan documents are current and achieve your dispositive objectives and meet all of your concerns.
This is included in our fee and part of what we offer to every client.
Do you use appreciated securities for your charitable giving? Have you considered how a donor advised family fund might actually save you taxes and be used for your annual charitable giving? We can help .... from explaining the concepts all the way through execution.
This is included in our fee and part of what we offer to every client.