Hedge Funds Can Add Value to Portfolios
This summer the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates, and the yield curve inverted, leading many to fear that the next recession is imminent.
Elder Trusts Can Give You & Your Heirs Peace of Mind
QUESTION: I’m getting up there in years, and I’m worried that I might make a bad financial decision in the future and squander my children’s inheritance, or impair my ability to take care of my own needs. Should I establish an elder trust that safeguards my assets while giving me a fixed monthly allowance? ANSWER:…
Pick a Trustee You Can Trust
QUESTION: I want to set up an irrevocable trust to take care of my needs as I age, and I need to pick a trustee. What should I consider? ANSWER: A trustee has many responsibilities, one of which is making distributions from the trust to you, the beneficiary. Many people want their children or a…
Post-Retirement Feelings of Insecurity
QUESTION: I have a big retirement fund, so why don’t I feel secure now that I’m in retirement? ANSWER: Retirement can be difficult for productive people who have been saving and investing most of their lives. Taking money out of savings, instead of putting it in, feels irresponsible. It can take several years to get…
Supreme Count Ruling Positive for Trust Beneficiaries in NC
The taxpayers won this one—at least in North Carolina. That was the result of a rare unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision on June 21, 2019, that rejected North Carolina’s claim that it can tax the undistributed income from a non-grantor trust based in another state if the beneficiary is a North Carolina resident. A New…
Considering a Move to Save on State Taxes?
Now that the federal deduction for state and local taxes is gone, should I consider changing residency from my high income-tax state to one with lower or no state taxes?
Opportunity Zones Offer Big Benefits & Big Challenges
The Opportunity Zone investment program ushered in by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provides an unprecedented ability to reduce capital gains taxes. If an investor realizes and rolls a capital gain into a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF) this year and holds the investment for 10 years, he or she gets a step-up in…
Has The Next Bubble Arrived?
Recently, the AMG team was asked by a client to address a recently published opinion article by Robert J. Samuelson of the Washington Post titled “Has The Next Bubble Arrived?” The article references the work of Eugene Steuerle of the Urban Institute and his warning “that the economy might be on the edge of a…
Beating The Benchmark Takes Patience and Discipline
QUESTION: Can you beat the S&P 500 and other top index funds? ANSWER: It depends on the time frame. While it’s possible to outperform the S&P, research shows that the outperformance will be lumpy with some significant periods of underperformance. To understand why, here is a brief history lesson. Decades ago Wall Street spread the…
The Secret to Investing: Deducing Tomorrow Today
Investing in last year’s hot stocks, indexes or managers is a sure way of underachieving in tomorrow’s financial markets. Exceptions exist, but academic studies verify this time and again. So what is the secret to better investment performance? Don’t invest for the short run, and anticipate the future. We at AMG spend considerable time and…