William S. Patzer, CFA
Proactively managing the impact of taxes on your investment portfolio may be the single best action you can take to enhance your investment returns.
William S. Patzer, CFA
Rachel DeIeso
Building and Understanding Your Credit
You hear a lot about your credit score, which is very important when you think about making substantial financial decisions. Achieving and maintaining a high credit score will help make some of life’s major financial goals easier. This article will explain how your credit score is determined and what you should do to increase it.
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Jonathan Dunham, Client Service Associate
Millennials are entitled. Millennials are lazy. Millennials don’t work hard. These are just a few of the stereotypes associated with millennials. Are these stereotypes true? Of course not. Millennials (generally defined as people born between 1982 and 2004) are anything but. In fact they have to work harder and smarter than previous generations to achieve financial wellbeing.
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Barbara C. Attardo, CFP®, AEP®, CDFA®
Are you a baby boomer? Are you thinking of retiring sometime in the not too distant future? If so, your friends are probably starting to talk about Social Security benefits. Do you understand the conversation? This article attempts to explain some of the basics. For such an important topic, it’s best to have accurate information rather than risk picking up incorrect information based on a friend’s mistake. You may even be able to impress your friends with your newfound knowledge.
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Darlene R. Dahl, CPA/PFS, AEP®, CDFA®
Once the difficult decision to divorce has been made, the parties must consider whether or not to litigate or use Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). Deciding whether a family’s unique circumstances are best suited for litigation or ADR will determine the time expended, emotional toll taken, and financial cost of a divorce. Other factors to consider in the decision include the ability to retain more control over the process, privacy, finality, and the impact on preserving relationships.
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Darlene R. Dahl, CPA/PFS, AEP®, CDFA®
Family trustees often struggle with balancing their fiduciary duty of informing younger beneficiaries about trusts established for their benefit with their concern that the information would distract them from the experiences of learning, earning a living, and establishing their own independence.
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Alex J. Gross, CPA/PFS, CFP®, MST
Are you maximizing the benefits of your charitable giving? According to Giving USA, an annual report on American philanthropy, charitable giving in our country reached a record $373.3 billion in 2015. There are a variety of reasons why people are motivated to give to charity. Philanthropy provides psychological and financial rewards to the donor. It can be used as a platform for teaching children the importance of giving back to their community, and serve as a means for leaving a legacy to future generations. Charitable giving is also an important component of income tax planning. Using a donor advised fund (DAF) can facilitate multiple giving strategies and increase the impact of your giving so that your charitable dollars can go further.
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Lauren N. Desforge CFP®, CPA/PFS, CDFA®, AEP® and Mary M. Shahian CFP®, ChFC, CDFA®
Is someone you know planning to divorce in the near future?