How Goals-Based Financial Planning Can Help You Achieve What Matters Most
What do you want to accomplish with your wealth? This question lies at the heart of goals-based financial planning, a strategy that helps you develop your goals and direct your financial decisions toward achieving them. With this approach, your money works in service of what matters most to you. Maybe you have short-term plans,…
How Do Elections Impact Your Wealth?
Another election cycle has begun, and you may feel a looming anxiety about how your wealth and investment portfolio will be affected. Recent surveys show how heavily the 2024 election outcome is weighing on investors. A retirement study by Nationwide showed that 45% of respondents believe it will significantly sway their portfolios—more so than financial markets.1 This bipartisan concern spans 68% of Republican and 57% of Democratic investors surveyed. To that end, 33% of pre-retirees have already started to manage their investments more conservatively due to election uncertainty.2 Each time an election cycle revs up, people start to get nervous about their finances. In 2016, for example, 47% of investors with at least $1 million in assets3 considered reducing their market exposure around the…
How To Navigate the Rising Costs of Long-Term Care Insurance
If you own a standalone long-term care (LTC) insurance policy, you may have received troubling notices from your provider flagging drastic premium increases in the coming years—to the tune of 100% to 200%—unless you reduce your benefits. After purchasing a policy many years ago, diligently paying your premiums and building plans around a certain amount…
8 Types of Trusts for Owners of High-Net-Worth Estates
Think of trusts as the Swiss Army knife of financial and estate planning. With their adaptability and wide range of structures, trusts can cater to a variety of financial needs. Whether you want to avoid probate, reduce your tax liabilities, guard your assets from potential claims, set guardrails around large monetary gifts, or facilitate the…
Should You Embrace Alternative Investments?
Are you hearing more about alternative investments? Alternatives include assets like private equity, private credit, hedge funds, real estate, art and luxury goods. The global value of alternative assets under management (AUM) surged from $4.1 trillion in 20101 to an estimated $16.3 trillion2 by the end of 2023. The value is projected to reach a…
How to Minimize Estate Taxes and Maximize Your Legacy
Take a hard look at your estate plan. Does it show considerable tax exposure? Given the substantial increase in estate tax exemptions—rising to nearly $26 million for married couples1 in 2023—there are ample opportunities to avoid heavy taxes in today’s environment. In fact, in recent years only 0.2% of estates2 have been subject to taxation…
11 Advanced Strategies for Tax-Efficient Charitable Giving
Your wealth has the potential to change lives and communities for the better through charitable giving. With a thoughtful donation strategy, you have the potential to save a lot of money in personal and estate taxes. This strategy can help you protect and grow generational wealth. As of 2024, you can generally deduct charitable cash…