In legal terms, a fiduciary is an individual or organization that has taken on the responsibility of acting on behalf of another person or entity with honesty and integrity. For example, bankers, attorneys and officers of public companies are all fiduciaries, meaning they must act in the best interest of their customers, clients or shareholders. […]
Article Highlights: Planning for a Child’s Post-Secondary Education Tax-Favored Plans Tax-Free Earnings Coverdell Accounts Qualified Tuition Plans Have Others Contribute Gift Tax Issues Tuition Gifts A common question among parents is, “How might I save for a child’s post-secondary education in a tax beneficial way?” The answer depends on how much the education is expected […]
Tax Benefits When Saving for College Education
When you decided to start your own company, you likely focused on the products or services you were selling, along with your amazing customer service and marketing skills. While running your own small business offers plenty of upsides, it also means you’re responsible for every aspect of operations, including the parts you think are beyond […]
Intimidated by Accounting? Five Simple Steps Are All You Need
If you shop online, you might have noticed a growing number of buy now, pay later (BNPL) services that offer the option to spread out the payments on your purchases. Buyers who make one partial payment upfront and agree to several additional interest-free installments can receive their orders right away. This is a key difference […]
When Buying Is Easy, Paying Later Can Be a Problem
Green bonds are debt instruments that corporations and governments can use exclusively to finance major climate-related or environmentally friendly initiatives. Global issuance of green bonds reached a record $523 billion in 2021, and is expected to exceed $775 billion in 2022.1 The growth in green bonds is closely tied to a broader investment trend that […]
Going Green: A Fast-Growing Corner of the Global Bond Market
A 2021 Gallup poll found that only 46% of U.S. adults have a will — similar to the results of other Gallup polls over the last 30 years. It’s not surprising that older people are more likely to have a will, as are people with higher incomes.1 Regardless of age or income, having a will […]
If You Don’t Have a Will, You Probably Should
An estimated 102.5 million investors — representing almost 46% of U.S. households — owned mutual funds at the end of 2020 (most recent data). These individual retail investors held about 89% of the $23.9 trillion in assets invested in U.S. mutual fund companies.1 Mutual funds offer a convenient way to participate in a broad range […]
Mutual Funds: Do You Know What’s in Your Portfolio?
You’ve been doing the right thing financially for many years, saving for your child’s education and your own retirement. Yet now, as both goals loom in the years ahead, you may wonder what else you can do to help your child (or children) receive a quality education without compromising your own retirement goals. Knowledge Is […]
When Two Goals Collide: Balancing College and Retirement Preparations
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has drawn condemnation and punitive sanctions from the United States, Europe, and their allies. The humanitarian cost of war cannot be measured, and the long-term economic effects could take months or years to unfold. However, the early stages of the conflict pushed oil prices upward and sent the U.S. stock […]
Colliding Forces: Russia, Oil, Inflation, and Market Volatility
Article Highlights: Pay-as-You-Earn System Safe Harbor Payments Situations Triggering Underpayments True Safe Harbors Congress considers our tax system a “pay-as-you-earn” system. To facilitate that concept, the government has provided several means of assisting taxpayers in meeting the “pay-as-you-earn” requirement. These include: Payroll withholding for employees; Pension withholding for retirees; and Estimated tax payments for self-employed […]