Ten years ago (September 15, 2008), Lehman Brothers, a prominent Wall Street investment bank filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The financial system had been deteriorating for months and the federal government had already stepped in on several occasions to provide support. But the government decided to allow to Lehman to fail. That decision helped to […]
Big Changes to Oregon’s 529 College Savings Plan
With school back in session for Oregon’s students, it’s time for parents to respond to recent changes made to Oregon’s 529 education savings plan. TIAA CREF has been replaced as the Plan Administrator by Sumday Administration, LLC, a subsidiary of BNY Mellon. As a result, current Oregon 529 plan account owners are temporarily unable to […]
Insuring for Care Later in Life
It’s a subject most of us would rather avoid. What if one day you’re no longer able to safely move around, feed yourself, bath yourself, or complete other activities of daily living? What if you find you need care just to live your life? Those who reach a point where they can no longer perform […]
A Bear Lurks Ahead
If you have ever gone hiking or backpacking in a remote wilderness, the thought probably wasn’t far from your mind. An encounter with one might be exciting, but possibly dangerous or even deadly. A bear. The US stock market reached another major milestone on Friday, when the S&P 500 index closed at another all-time high […]
Fund Expenses Hit Zero
We have been waiting the major investment management companies to announce this for a few years now. The fees these companies charge investors to their manage mutual funds and exchange-traded funds have been declining for some time. Investment management companies like Vanguard, BlackRock, and Dimensional Fund Advisors have been able reduce their fees for several […]
Revisiting the Alphabet
Summer is beginning to wind down and kids will be returning to school over the next several weeks. It’s probably a good time for those of us no longer in school to review the alphabet. However, we will do so in the context of investing. We will start at the beginning with “A” or “Alpha” […]
Financial Planning – Springwater’s Role
For most of our clients, Springwater has developed a comprehensive financial plan. The plans address the core areas of financial planning: budgeting and cash flow management, risk management (i.e. insurance), tax planning, estate planning, retirement planning and investment management. Other important planning areas that may be addressed include education planning, debt management, Social Security planning, […]
The “profession” of financial planning
The field of financial planning has existed for almost 50 years. It emerged when a small group of advisors working for banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies decided to band together to provide planning services to their clients rather than just selling them financial products. In December of 1969, these financial services industry leaders gathered […]
How will the new tax laws impact divorce settlements?
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December 2017 included new alimony tax rules that apply to divorce or separation agreements executed after Dec. 31, 2018. The changes can dramatically affect each spouse’s finances, and so are expected to increase the contentiousness of the divorce process. Beginning on January 1, 2019, the ex-spouse that […]
Selling Your Nike Options
The tax legislation that became law in December 2017 reduced the mandatory federal income tax withholding on certain types of compensation, including non-qualified stock options (NQSOs), restricted stock units (RSUs) and cash bonuses, from 25% to 22%. If you’re a Nike, Inc. employee who own NQSOs – which have a vesting date approaching – the […]