In a previous post, we highlighted the fact that the 2017 tax law may affect the ability of some taxpayers to receive a tax deduction for their charitable donations, because the law (a) eliminated or reduced many deductions previously available, and (b) significantly increased the standard deduction, making it more difficult to exceed the standard […]
Do Charitable Gifts Still Make Sense Under the New Tax Law?
The 2017 tax law resulted in some important changes to how deductions work for federal taxes. Under the new tax law, many deductions have been eliminated or reduced, while at the same time the standard deduction was nearly doubled – to as much as $26,600 for a married couple filing jointly. As result, it is […]
Intel’s SERPLUS Election Window is Open
Every year at or near the beginning of November, certain Intel employees are provided the opportunity to participate in the company’s deferred compensation plan, called SERPLUS. It should be noted that, technically speaking, a deferred compensation plan can refer to any program through which employees can elect to have a portion of their income paid […]
2019 IRS Retirement Plan Limits Announced
The 2019 retirement plan limits have recently been announced by the IRS. These new limits are effective January 1, 2019. If you are an employee and a retirement plan participant, be sure to contact your employer as soon as possible if you wish to change your retirement plan salary deferrals for 2019. Of course, if […]
Sailing to Hawaii
Imagine that you’ve decided to sail to Hawaii from the West Coast. It’s something you have been thinking about for many years. You can imagine watching the coastline disappear behind you as you begin your trip, the starry nights out at sea, the encounters with whales and other sea life, the occasional sighting of another […]
American Retirees Finally Get a (Small) Raise
The US Social Security Administration recently announced that beneficiaries – including retirees, disabled workers and their eligible dependents and surviving family members – will receive a 2.8% increase in their benefits in 2019. This will be the largest annual inflation adjustment since 2012. The cost of living adjustment (or COLA) for 2018 was 2.0%, and […]
The Pull Back
Well, that was a bit unnerving. Last week the stock market took a pretty good dive and investors were shaken alert. The drop, as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average, was about 1,300 points or 5%. That qualifies as an official “pull back.” The market quickly stabilized and closed Friday with a modest gain. […]
Why This Year’s Medicare Open Enrollment Period May Be Extra Important
If you’re younger than 65, you probably don’t understand all the commotion. Why are there all these advertisements for Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans all over the TV, radio and print media? Medicare is the federal government program that provides health care coverage (health insurance) if you are 65 or older, under 65 and […]
Springwater’s Q3 2018 Market Commentary
Click here to read our third quarter market commentary. PLEASE SEE important disclosure information at www.springwaterwealth.com/blog-disclosure/.
B is for Beta
A few weeks ago, we provided a brief introduction to the concept of investment “alpha.” Now that school has resumed across the country, we’ll turn our attention to the next letter in the Greek alphabet, “beta.” You’ll recall that alpha (denoted by the symbol α) is a measurement of an investment manager’s ability to generate […]