By Yann Kostic from the March 2016 Edition If the income from your individual retirement accounts (IRAs) turns out to be more than you actually require in retirement, and you’re looking for ways to pass on some or all of your IRA assets to your heirs, you’ll need to make some choices. The first required minimum […]
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By Yann Kostic from the January 2016 Edition Despite market volatility, 2015 was a good year for many investors. As a result, you may find that the start of a new year is a good time to get together with your financial advisor to review your investments and make any necessary changes. Here are five […]
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By Yann Kostic from the December 2015 Edition Investing always necessitates balancing risk and return, and that challenge becomes even greater as you near retirement: you have to invest aggressively enough to build a nest egg that can support you for the rest of your life, but also insulate yourself from market turbulence that could set […]
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By Yann Kostic from the November 2015 Edition International markets can offer high potential returns, but it’s important to remember that more return potential means more risk potential: as we’ve seen in recent months, China’s currency and production challenges have had negative repercussions around the world. Currency fluctuation is a significant risk. The value of […]
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By Yann Kostic from the October 2015 Edition Investors who don’t recognize the big performance potential of small-cap stocks could be missing some compelling investment opportunities. Market capitalization, a measure of a company’s size, is the total dollar value of all outstanding shares of stock. (It’s calculated by multiplying the number of shares by the […]
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By Yann Kostic from the September 2015 Edition The last time the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) raised interest rates was more than 10 years ago. Now economists expect it will happen again soon. And it’s likely to affect your investments. When the Fed raises its benchmark interest rates, other interest rates such as those on […]
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By Yann Kostic from the August 2015 Edition Life expectancy has increased significantly in the past 100 years: The life expectancy of a person born in 1900 was age 47, compared to 79 for a person born in 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But when it comes to retirement planning, it […]
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By Yann Kostic from the July 2015Â Edition If you’re lucky enough to inherit assets, the amount you receive may be less than expected, depending on taxes and other factors. An estate tax may be leveled at both federal and state levels. At the federal level, the 2015 exemption is $5,430,000, so you won’t owe any […]
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By Yann Kostic from the June 2015Â Edition Now that tax time has passed, many Americans are looking toward the next tax year, and they have a lot of questions about individual retirement accounts (IRAs). One big question: “If I turn 70 1/2 in January 2016, can I still make deposits into my traditional IRA?” (As […]
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By Yann Kostic from the May 2015 Edition Foreign stocks had a losing year in 2014, with the MSCI EAFE Index, a wide benchmark of international stock markets, losing 4.90 percent. That’s far worse than the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 Index, which gained 13.69 percent. But that doesn’t mean you should avoid foreign stocks. First, non-U.S. equities […]
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