Financial Planning
Q4 2025 U.S. Market Commentary: Strong Returns, Higher Valuations, and Why Discipline Still Matters
Overview U.S. equity markets closed out 2025 in positive territory, capping another year of healthy returns. After strong gains through much of the year, the final weeks of the fourth quarter were marked by modest profit-taking as investors weighed elevated valuations, mixed economic data, and evolving Fed policy expectations. Major indices finished the year with…
Read More2025 Annual Tax Planning & Strategy Guide
We are pleased to announce the delivery of our 2025 Annual Tax Strategy Guide. This comprehensive guide is designed to help you navigate the current tax landscape, optimize your tax & financial planning, and identify key strategies now and for the year ahead. In this guide, you will find important updates you can do now on:…
Read MoreIRS Releases Standard Mileage Rates for 2025
The IRS has increased the optional standard mileage rates for computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for business purposes for 2025. However, the standard mileage rates for medical and moving expense purposes remain the same for 2025. The standard mileage rate for computing the deductible costs of operating an automobile for charitable purposes…
Read MoreQ4 2024 Market Commentary: A Year-End Rally Caps Off a Robust Year
As we closed the books in 2024, the financial markets have delivered an impressive performance, defying early-year skepticism and rewarding patient investors. The fourth quarter saw a continuation of the year’s positive momentum, with major stock market indices reaching new heights and the broader market participation expanding. We’re reminded that steering away from the negative…
Read More2024 Annual Tax Planning & Strategy Guide
2024 Annual Tax Planning & Strategy Guide We are pleased to announce the delivery of our 2024 Year-End Tax Planning and Strategy Guide. This comprehensive guide is designed to help you navigate the upcoming tax landscape, optimize your tax & financial planning, and identify key strategies now and for the year ahead. In this guide, you…
Read MoreThe Fed Finally Cut Interest Rates. What Could It Mean for Your Finances?
On September 18, 2024, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered the benchmark federal funds rate one-half percentage point to a range of 4.75% to 5.0%. It was the first rate cut since the Fed raised the funds rate aggressively from March 2022 to July 2023 to help control inflation.¹ The long-awaited policy…
Read More2024 Year-End Tax Tips
Here are some things to consider as you weigh potential tax moves between now and the end of the year. 1. Defer income to next year Consider opportunities to defer income to 2025, particularly if you think you may be in a lower tax bracket then. For example, you may be able to defer a…
Read MoreRequired Distributions: Changes You Need to Know
The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (SECURE Act) changed the rules for taking distributions from retirement accounts inherited after 2019. The so-called 10-year rule generally requires inherited accounts to be emptied within 10 years of the original owner’s death, with some exceptions. Where an exception applies, the entire account must…
Read MoreMorning Market Commentary Q1 2024
The last quarter of 2023 was marked by a sudden turning point in the interest rate rhetoric of the Fed, a resilient economy led by a strong consumer, and a normalization of inflation. At the end of Q3, the Fed continued to raise interest rates as investors continued to wonder when the hikes would come…
Read MoreMorning Market Commentary Q3 2023
Investors began the third quarter of 2023 focusing on the potential peak in interest rates, the robust rally from the bottom of the stock market, and renewed optimism of a soft landing derived from trends of cooling inflation and economic growth. However, as rates continued to rise from a hawkish Fed, both the bond…
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