While meeting with a prospective client earlier this week, he asked about a key differentiating factor in the world of financial advisors. Specifically, he asked what makes a financial advisor a fiduciary (which Windermere and its advisors are). This is an excellent concept for everyone to understand so let’s dive in What is Fiduciary Duty […]

A client reached out this week inquiring asking for help to decipher the various types of fees being charged by another financial advisor to a family member. I thought it was a great topic to cover as there can be lot of confusion (and not much clarity) on this topic. While this may be a […]

A lot of the questions I receive from clients are triggered by newspaper articles or stories on the business news channel that they come across. That was the case this week when a client asked about a tax mentioned in the Wall Street Journal – the Net Investment Income Tax. Let’s take a look What […]

If you have federal student loans (like my client’s son does), you may be wondering when (or if) payments will resume after a three-year pause (originally put in place during COVID) This pause also included a moratorium on interest accruals. The short answer – payments are coming back – and soon. Recently, the Department of […]

I received a question from a client this week, sparked by a recent job change. He has a 401k plan (at his now former employer) and was wondering what to do with that account. With today’s job market strength and the tendency of people to change jobs more frequently, this is a relatively common question […]

When it comes to income taxes, there is no shortage of rules, acronyms, and best practices. One such “tax term” came up this week as I worked thru a retirement plan distribution for a client. Find out what “safe harbor” means in terms of estimated income tax payments and why it’s a strategy you should […]

Undoubtedly, our clients are free to do what they choose with their invested funds. However, it is not uncommon for them to seek my advice when it comes to withdrawals – especially those that are above and beyond their planned/recurring distributions. Taking funds out of savings runs contrary to what our actions have been most […]

I onboarded a new client this week, and within minutes of looking at his pre-existing Roth IRA and tax returns for the given years, I realized he had made improper contributions to his account (due to exceeding the income limit). While he had an advisor helping him, that individual did not confirm my new client’s […]

In reviewing a portfolio with clients this week, we were discussing a particular holding that was under water (valued at less than they paid for it). We had a good discussion about how to approach positions in an unrealized loss status and I thought it would be worth sharing Investing in public markets is a […]

Every once in a while, I have a topic come up in multiple client conversations in a given week – and this week that happened with life insurance. I’m taking that as a sign that it’s a good time to cover a few considerations with this topic! Please note that I’m not going to address […]