Headlines and market swings capture our attention, but they often lack lasting significance. By stepping back and considering the broader sweep of history, we can gain perspective on patterns of human behavior—resilience, innovation, and recovery—that continue to shape the world today.
Australian Field Marshal William Slim, who commanded troops in World Wars I and II, said, “In battle, nothing is ever as good or as bad as the first reports of excited men would have it.” As a young Army officer, I learned a simpler version: “The first report is always wrong.” This is generally true and something I was guilty of many times. When an event like an enemy attack occurs, subordinates report up the chain of command, but initial reports are often inaccurate.
Today we’ll be discussing donor advised funds and qualified charitable distributions, which are two popular methods of charitable gifting. If you are one of the many individuals that donate to charity on a regular basis, you may find yourself wondering what your options are outside of the usual cash donation. Donor Advised Funds and Qualified Charitable Distributions are two methods of charitable giving that allow an individual to be strategic and thoughtful about how and when their donations are made.
One of the greatest joys of being a financial advisor isn’t watching a client’s portfolio grow or seeing a technical piece of a financial action plan come to fruition—it’s witnessing clients spend their money on things that bring them true joy.
When it comes to saving for college, parents and guardians often search for tax-advantaged options that offer flexibility and growth potential. One of the most popular vehicles for this purpose is the 529 College Savings Plan. Introduced in 1996, 529 plans provide families with a tax-efficient way to invest money for education expenses. In this guide, we’ll dive deep into what 529 plans are, how they are taxed, key strategies to consider, how to change beneficiaries, and how withdrawals are taxed. Personally, I’m a fan of 529 plans. I have three New York 529 plans, one for each of my three boys.
Warren Buffett often says that he wants to be remembered as a teacher. “That would be very flattering, I would feel, if that was on my tombstone,” he said in an interview in 2018. He is the world’s greatest investor, but he has the uncanny ability to break things down in such a way that they can be understood in the living rooms of ordinary Americans. Like my colleague Sarah Swan wrote last week, his wisdom is timeless. At age 94, Buffett recently shared his strategy for how to pass wealth on to the next generation while minimizing family conflicts. His advice is applicable, he says, even if you aren’t a billionaire like he is.
I have a habit of jotting down the lessons I’ve learned along the way, and while they might not always be captivating to others, I find them valuable. I think this habit goes back to my time in the Army, where we carried small, hardcover green notebooks in our cargo pockets. These “green notebooks” became repositories for countless notes, lessons learned, mission plans, and guidance. In fact, carrying a green notebook and a pen was an unspoken expectation for every leader—always ready to capture the insights of the moment.
We are at the time of the cycle where talk turns to the election. If this update is too long, we have a simple message: regardless of who wins the election, don’t bet against America, we’ll be okay.
In long-awaited final rules, the IRS finally “clarified” the controversial 10-year rule for inherited individual retirement accounts (IRAs). The new guidance, set to take effect in 2025, addresses a key question that has puzzled many advisors, accountants, attorneys and beneficiaries since the passage of the original SECURE Act five years ago.
“Return on hassle” refers to the concept of evaluating the time and effort required for a financial decision in addition to its expected financial return. Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has another name for this idea: “Return-on-invested-brain-damage.” If the return isn’t high enough to justify the brain damage or hassle, move on. For real estate investors, this includes the mental and physical labor involved in finding tenants, maintaining properties, and managing debt, among other responsibilities. These are “hassles” that traditional investments like stocks and bonds don’t typically entail. An obsession with tax avoidance is perhaps my favorite topic when considering the “return on hassle.”
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