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3 Estate Planning Documents Everyone Should Have
Do you have these 3 necessary documents in your estate plan? Learn how to account for each area in your estate plan and ensure your loved ones are taken care of with these tips and considerations.
3-Step Financial Planning Strategy for Tech Professionals
No matter who you are or which tech company you work for, everything about your financial situation will be unique based on you, your goals, and even your family. In other words, "one-size-fits-all" advice just won't work for tech professionals – especially when Amazon, Google, and other tech giants have unique compensation plans compared to other industries.
Top 4 Ways to Improve your Retirement Score
There are many forms of THE question. What’s my retirement number? Can I retire based on what I’m doing? How much money to do I need in the bank? How long do I have to work? Retirement is not the end-all, be-all for financial planning, but these are the types of questions we hear from clients who are new to the practice of financial planning.
The Moment We No Longer Talk Inflation
The market will have already rallied by the time inflation is tamed because of the market’s forward-looking nature. On the minds of investors will be a possible recession or the next big thing. There’s always something on the horizon.
Bear Market Rally or Bottom?
October and November were great performance months so far in 2022. Is it sustainable or more of a relief rally? No one knows but based on data, it looks like a possible trend.
Will This Year Make Us Better Investors?
We can’t assume market movements are tied to the narrative of the moment. There’s a lot of noise trying to find answers to the volatility. Let’s reflect on 2022.
Update to the Update on Series I Bonds
Dropping from a 9.62% interest rate, Series I Bonds have been reset to 6.89%. Bondholders are getting a lower rate because inflation growth is slowing.
Retirement Spending in Perspective
This year has been tough for most retirees who aren’t earning wages to invest more. Diversification hasn’t worked because both stocks and bonds sold off. Exacerbated by easy money policies over the past decade, savers had to stretch their risk budgets to earn meaningful yield.
Managing Concentrated Stock Positions
Lots of companies offer stock options, stock awards, or match 401k contributions with stock. Employees will build these positions over time and may not realize how much of their worth is tied to a single company.
Maximizing Microsoft’s Charitable Giving Program through a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF)
Microsoft has led the tech industry by consistently improving the benefits that it offers employees. One such benefit is the Microsoft Giving Campaign. This provides a one-to-one match up to $15,000 per year, to a non-profit 501(c)(3) of your choice. This means that an employee can donate $15k to a charity that they care about, and Microsoft will match the full donation, dollar for dollar.
How Today’s Bond Pain can be Viewed as Future Gain
Interest rate risk is the component that bondholders are experiencing now. The Fed is currently raising rates to slow spending, therefore, reducing inflation to more acceptable levels.
4 Steps to Make the Most of Your Stock Refresher
These grants are broadly similar to RSUs, but they are typically given out after an initial RSU package to keep compensation levels consistent over time. They’re also offered to encourage employees to stick with their current job (aka “golden handcuffs”).
What’s the End Game for the Fed?
The Fed hiked rates by 0.75%, as expected, in its September meeting. The market all but rolled out the red carpet for another jumbo hike (jumbo because a normal hike is 0.25%). The futures market priced in about an 80% probability that it would happen before it was announced.
Why You Should Review Your Beneficiaries
Many people are unaware of the impact updating beneficiaries can have on their financial plans. A beneficiary is a specific person(s) that can be listed on the account, by the account owner, who will inherit assets upon the passing of the owner.
4 Facts About RSU Vesting You Should Know
To get the most out of your RSUs, you’ll need to understand the nitty-gritty of this form of compensation, including when and how your units will vest. Read on for four facts about RSU vesting everyone in the tech industry should know.
In This Economy?
Whatever “this” is in 2022—the post-pandemic inflation where things are good, but also not so good. We’ll look back at this period and say, “I should’ve done this,” because we’ll benefit from hindsight. “In this economy?” covers so many things, and I won’t be able to use it forever.
What Recession Means to You
There’s a saying, “It’s a recession when my neighbor loses his job, it’s a depression when I lose my job.” Technically a recession is six months of falling GDP (gross domestic product).
Stock Market vs Real World
It might seem odd that stocks do well when the real-world economy looks ugly. The divergence is more common than you might think. Both the stock and bond markets rebounded during a slew of bad news.
Reaching Previous Highs
Money tends to find a home. When financial conditions are loose, those homes go from strong and sensible to shaky and speculative. When financial conditions tighten, the shaky investments tend to go first.
What is Direct Indexing?
Direct indexing is a strategy that involves purchasing the individual stocks that make up an index, rather than buying the index fund or ETF to track that same index.
Your Cheat Sheet To Meta (Facebook) RSUs
Many tech companies use restricted stock units (RSUs) to compensate their employees. This form of compensation can present meaningful upside over traditional cash if the company’s underlying stock performs well.