Blog Posts

Many people often have outsized positions due to appreciation and large pre-tax retirement accounts. You may be looking to reduce portfolio risk and protect gains now, while also aiming to reduce your future income tax burden. Roth conversions and harvesting capital gains are two effective financial strategies that can achieve these goals; however, they accelerate income tax costs. There are current tax consequences associated with each strategy, and the issue becomes whether to accelerate ordinary income, capital gains, or a combination thereof.

By Marc C. Shaffer

A triple tax-advantaged account that many overlook, a Health Savings Account (HSA) is an account for individuals with high deductibles to set aside money on a pre-tax basis to cover qualified medical expenses. If you are able to cover most medical expenses out of pocket, a high deductible health insurance plan may work for you while allowing you to invest through your HSA for tax-free growth.*

By Marc C. Shaffer

While financial market volatility can be stressful for people of all ages, the implications of a bear market generally mean different things for different life stages.

Investors are routinely warned about allowing their emotions to influence their decisions. However, they are not often cautioned that their preconceptions and biases may color their financial choices.

In a battle between the facts & biases, our biases may win, especially when we don’t realize we have them. If we acknowledge this tendency, we may be able to avoid making unexamined choices when it comes to personal finance. It may actually "pay" to recognize blind spots and biases with investing.

Here are some common examples of bias creeping into our financial lives.

Rare collectibles can provide an entertaining form of alternative “investment,” and might seem particularly intriguing when markets are wobblier than Aunt Gertrude’s jello salad. Comic books can sell for millions of dollars, for example, depending on their rarity and condition. We’ve seen a copy of Detective Comics #27 (the first appearance of Batman) sell at $1.5 million.