January 14, 2019

By: John Zeltmann

At year-end, mutual fund companies often distribute gains to shareholders in the form of capital gains distributions. Even if the fund is down for the year, shareholders may have a tax liability in their taxable accounts. These distributions are sent to investors via check, automatically deposited as cash to their brokerage account, or reinvested into the issuing mutual fund.  For those investors receiving the cash distributions, many see them as welcome arrivals - year-end bonuses, if you will.  But as with many things in life, it's not that simple.

December 31, 2018

Whether we’re driven by the season, the holidays, or a new year, this is often the time of year for reflection. As long-time readers of Stan’s World can attest, I’m a big fan of volunteerism. Numerous studies have validated the physical, spiritual, social and emotional benefits of volunteerism, and I’ve been a beneficiary.

December 31, 2018

While the last time there was a significant change to the rules when selling a home occurred in 1997, many people seem to mix the old and ‘new’ rules when trying to figure out whether the sale of their home is taxable or not. Here is a brief refresher, compliments of Tim Steffen writing in Investment News¹.

December 31, 2018

If your health insurance is through Medicare, you might be paying too much for prescription medications.

Consumer Reports¹ conducted a study in six cities that involved three Part D prescription drug plans. In each of the six cities, they “looked at two pharmacies and checked prices for generic versions of five common drugs.”  In Denver, “Someone filling prescriptions for the five drugs we looked at, plus paying a $16 monthly premium, could pay as little as $524 for a full year. But another person – at the same store with the same prescriptions but a different plan – would pay $1,686.”

Source: Direxion Funds

December 31, 2018

November 15, 2018

I recently read an article in an industry journal¹ titled: “You Can’t Win if You’re Afraid to Lose.” The tagline was: “To experience higher potential gains, clients need to be willing to tolerate occasional losses.”

November 15, 2018

By: John Zeltmann

Since my Dad's passing earlier this year, my Mom and I have spent countless hours wrapping up his finances.  I thought I'd share my impressions from the past several months, highlighting lessons we learned from bumps in the road they managed to avoid (as well as some they didn't).

November 15, 2018

The short answer is “There isn’t one answer for everyone.” The long answer is: “It depends.”

November 15, 2018

MONEY Magazine recently had an article¹ on the “growing number of people (who) are facing retirement by themselves.” Please click through to find a few tips on how to “live life to the fullest when it’s a party of one.”

Source: Direxion Funds

November, 15 2018

• A greater percentage of Millennials have all of their pre-tax retirement money invested in cash and bonds (20%) than those that have all of their pre-tax retirement money invested in stocks (19%). 2,593 Millennials (ages 20-36 in 2017) were surveyed in the 4th quarter 2017.

• 47 investment bankers worldwide received jail time as a result of the 2008 global recession, including 25 bankers from Iceland. Just 1 American investment banker went to prison, receiving a 30-month sentence for “fraudulently inflating” the prices of mortgage-backed securities.

• 618 US employers surveyed in the 1st quarter 2018 anticipate offering a starting base salary of $65,000 to college graduates with a bachelor’s degree, $85,000 to workers coming “direct-from-industry” and $105,000 to MBA graduates.