Earlier in the year, we wrote about how the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will affect your income tax planning. The new tax bill also impacts estate planning by increasing the federal estate tax exemption to $11.2M for individuals and $22.4M for couples. While this high federal exemption level means that very few will need…
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In the second quarter volatility waned and performance decoupled as divergent backdrops created variances in returns for assets classes and markets across the globe. The winning trades for the second quarter were in the U.S. energy sector, U.S. small companies, and a select group of technology and consumer discretionary stocks. Energy thrived on a rising…
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Executive Summary To fulfill their intended purpose in supporting saving for retirement, Congress grants the Individual Retirement Account (IRA) certain tax preferences, from tax-deductible contributions (as in the case of traditional IRAs) to tax-free growth (for a Roth IRA). But to curtail potential tax abuse, the Internal Revenue Code also limits the range of permissible…
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The 2017 tax season is mostly in the books (if you filed an extension, you have until October 15th, 2018 to complete your return), but if you became your own boss last year or this year, it might be wise to set-up a retirement account for your business and make pre-tax contributions that can grow…
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My client, Alice, came in for her semi-annual review meeting recently and said (as many clients do), “I don’t like paying taxes.” Good news: You only pay taxes when you’ve made money. But that does not mean you should not try to minimize your taxes as much as possible. In Alice’s case, she was transitioning…
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Over forty million families are acting as primary caregivers for their aging parents. This generation of adults in their 40’s and 50’s is called the “sandwich generation” because they are caring for their children and their aging parents at the same time. The number of family care givers will continue to rise as our aging…
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2017 was another busy and successful year for Pinnacle Advisory Group, as the company continues to excel in providing comprehensive wealth management services to clients looking for high quality financial planning and risk-managed investing. Please join us in taking a quick look back at all the exciting new developments that took place here at Pinnacle…
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The beginning of the first quarter was serene and pleasurable, as equity markets levitated on the back of increasing earnings expectations and solid world economic underpinnings. But the market euphoria didn’t last long. February saw volatility awaken from its slumber with a jolt, kicking off a long-anticipated correction that reminded investors there is never a…
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One considerable (and common) challenge for clients is to focus on the goals they ought to focus on from a purely financial perspective, despite the psychological and behavioral biases which may direct their attention elsewhere. For instance, many households overemphasize accumulating assets (when they should be paying down debt), or overemphasize paying down debt (when they…
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On Saturday, March 17, 2018, Pinnacle Advisory Group’s investment team offered their thoughts on the market, outlined upcoming investment trends and wealth preservation strategies, and explained our approach to risk management. Here’s what they covered: 0:00 – Ken Solow: Volatility and Risk 20:56 – Rick Vollaro: A Time of Gradual Transition 39:08 – Sauro Locatelli:…
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