In the early 1970’s, China and the United States seemed like an unlikely match. No formal communication or diplomatic ties had existed for 25 years. Henry Kissinger laid the groundwork for formal ties with a series of secret meetings in 1971. Richard Nixon then formally ended the public silence with a historic visit to China [...]
In our annual investment outlook, we reflect on the year that was. This includes a stock market that soared more than 60% off March lows and a 10-year government note with a yield that remained below 1% most of the year. Certain segments of the market embraced three to five years of technology advancements in [...]
The IRS has released its annual inflation adjusted tax numbers for 2021. Below we have highlighted some of the most relevant updates for tax brackets, retirement contributions, and estate and gifting limits, as compared to 2020 figures. Individual Income Taxes Income Tax Brackets – Single Tax Filer 2021 2020 10% Up to $9,950 Up to $9,875 [...]
The topic of estate planning naturally leads to thoughts of how property and assets will be distributed after death. A visit with an estate planning attorney may begin with a discussion on establishing or updating a will or trust. A will outlines your wishes for probate assets, not held in a trust, to be distributed [...]
The Ship of Theseus There is an ancient thought experiment centered on The Ship of Theseus. Greek Historian and writer Plutarch paints the scene based on Theseus, the King and founder of Athens. After many famous conquests on a ship, Theseus returns to Athens, where his ship becomes a museum piece. In the coming years, [...]
March 24, 2020 Earlier this month, the Federal Reserve announced some measures to support certain segments of the money market fund sector. This raised investor concerns about the safety of money market funds. As a result, we wanted to provide some clarity on the money market funds we use for our clients. For a little [...]
In our annual investment outlook, we reflect on the performance and market drivers of 2019. The equity market of 2019 produced its third strongest performance of the past 25 years as the S&P 500 was up 31.5%. This was within 2% of the highest annual return during this period (see table on page 2). Fixed [...]
The SECURE Act and Your Retirement As part of the approval of a recent spending bill, the House and Senate have also approved the SECURE (Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement) Act. In general terms, the goal of the legislation is to expand and preserve retirement savings programs. All changes became effective on January [...]
