April 2023 Market Review
Check out AssetGrade’s review of the markets for the First Quarter 2023. Learn more about what caused the markets to rebound and the economy to slow.
Radio Appearance: Kate Hennessy On Your Money Matters On WGN Radio
Kate Hennessy, Certified Financial Planner with AssetGrade, LLC, joins Jon Hansen to talk financial planning. They break down how listeners can maximize benefits from a Health Savings Account, what a fiduciary is, and many other things to know that may be important for retirement or college savings.
Don’t Sit on the Sidelines
By: Patrick R. Cote CFA, CFP®
When it comes to investing, many people are hesitant to put their money into the stock market or other investment vehicles. Instead, they opt to sit on the sidelines with their cash, waiting for the "perfect" time to invest, driven by concerns that the stock market will fall. This can be even more tempting in the current environment of higher interest rates. While this may seem like a safe strategy, it can actually be detrimental to your long-term financial health.
CREATING INCOME IN RETIREMENT
By: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
You have spent the past 30+ years accumulating assets and saving. But you ask yourself will I have enough money to retire? How can I continue to create income in retirement?
Follow these tips to ensure you have the income you need to enjoy your retirement years:
Maximize Social Security
SECURE ACT 2.0 – What You Should Know
BY: Patrick R. Cote, CFA, CFP®
The SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022, the most recent tax legislation, covers a lot of areas. While most provisions are relatively minor, the changes worth noting are extending ages for RMDs (required minimum distributions), new additional Roth choices and increasing the ability to both contribute and withdraw from retirement plans.
Effective 1/1/2023, the changes for the RMDs are:
SECURE Act 2.0 & 529 Plans
BY: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
A 529 plan is a tax-advantaged account that enables you to save money for education expenses. Do you have unused money in your 529 plan that won’t be needed for education purposes? If so, effective in 2024 you may be able to transfer the money out of the 529 Plan to the beneficiaries’ tax-exempt Roth IRA without incurring any penalties. This would allow money that was earmarked for education to be used for the beneficiaries’ retirement savings.
January 2023 Market Review
Check out AssetGrade’s review of the markets in 2022. Cheers to a new year of health, happiness and prosperity!
Have Extra Cash?
BY: Kate Hennessy, CFP®
Having extra cash on hand may be rare with the holidays around the corner and the rise in inflation. However, if you do happen to have extra cash in a bank account earning a low interest rate, you may want to consider your options for capturing more yield (interest from an investment). As you explore these options and your personal situation, it’s important to remember to keep
Tax-Loss Harvesting – 2022 Edition
BY: PATRICK COTE
Tax loss harvesting is the practice of selling an asset in your taxable investment account that has experienced a loss and replacing it with a similar asset to maintain the overall allocation within your portfolio. By realizing, or “harvesting,” the loss you are able to reduce taxes by offsetting capital gains.
Solo 401(k) Plans – What You Need to Know Today
BY: SUSAN POWERS, CFA, CPA, CFP®, CPFA®
A solo 401(k) plan is a great retirement savings vehicle for self-employed business owners with no employees, other than their spouse. Unfortunately, most folks have never heard about this opportunity and instead are steered toward a SEP IRA. To take full advantage of a solo 401(k) the deadline to establish a plan is December 31st.
How is a solo 401(k) different from a SEP IRA?