They prefer to spend life focusing on their families and careers, rather than sorting through the increasingly difficult and complex world of personal finance. They entrust us to be a part of their team.
We are proud to work with our clients across decades and generations. It’s not uncommon for our conference room to fill with two or three generations, all collaborating, all on the same page.
We work every day to earn and maintain the trust of the clients we are privileged to serve. We actively seek ways to make their lives better and genuinely enjoy helping.
They recognize the value of their time – and our expertise. In our work together, we strive to create clarity through customized planning and empowerment through ongoing education.
We genuinely enjoy and respect our client families. We look forward to seeing them and go out of our way to find opportunities to make their lives easier.
If your income hits a certain level, you may face an additional wrinkle in calculating your taxes: the net investment income tax (also referred to as the unearned income Medicare contribution tax). This 3.8% Medicare tax applies to some or…
Understandably, many people put off planning for long-term care. But although it’s hard to face the fact that health problems may someday result in a loss of independence, if you begin planning now, you’ll have more options open to you…
Buy-sell agreements are very important planning tools that can accomplish many things for a business with two or more owners. Sometimes referred to as a prenuptial or premarital agreement among business owners, a business continuation agreement, a stock purchase agreement,…
On June 8, 2020, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), which has official responsibility for determining U.S. business cycles, announced that February 2020 marked the end of an expansion that began in 2009 and the beginning of a recession.1 This…
More women are working and taking charge of their own retirement planning than ever before. What does retirement mean to you? Do you dream of traveling? Pursuing a hobby? Volunteering your time, or starting a new career or business? Simply…
On Friday, July 17th, the Oregon Employment Department launched a new online form for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) initial claims and weekly certifications. We wanted to pass along some additional information regarding the new form, per David Gerstenfeld, Acting Director…
Are the financial markets (‘Wall Street’) and the real economy (‘Main Street’) disconnected? Although they may appear to be disconnected on the surface, and near-term outcomes are impossible to predict, they’re likely no more disconnected than usual. One of the…
Massive computer hacks and data breaches are now common occurrences — an unfortunate consequence of living in a digital world. Once identity thieves have your information, they can use it to gain access to your bank and credit card accounts,…
Even before your children can count, they already know something about money: it’s what you have to give the ice cream man to get a cone, or put in the slot to ride the rocket ship at the grocery store.…
Most Americans will eventually receive Social Security and Medicare benefits. Each year, the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds release lengthy reports to Congress that assess the health of these important programs. The newest reports, released on…
In 2019, the Oregon Legislature passed Senate Bill 1049 (SB1049). The bill makes some changes to the Oregon PERS calculations in their quest to help keep the PERS system funded for current and future beneficiaries. While the bill was passed…
As more and more women earn college degrees, change in the workplace may be inevitable. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, women now earn 57% of bachelor’s degrees, 58% of master’s degrees, and 53% of doctoral degrees. According…
When it comes to your finances, “go with your gut” might not be the wisest adage to follow. In fact, it may work against you, particularly in periods of market turbulence. Before jumping to conclusions about your finances, consider what…
On April 20, 2020, the price of a futures contract for West Texas Intermediate crude — the benchmark for U.S. oil prices — fell below zero for the first time in history, dropping more than 306% in trading on the…
We all know men and women are different in some fundamental ways. But is this true when it comes to financial planning? Everyone wants financial security. But women often face unique obstacles that can affect their ability to achieve it.…
Most are familiar with the old saying “never mix business with pleasure.” However, for business owners both large and small, keeping in mind the mantra to never mix business finances with personal finances will serve you well.
If you participate in a 401(k), ESOP, or other qualified retirement plan that lets you invest in your employer’s stock, you need to know about net unrealized appreciation — a simple tax deferral opportunity with an unfortunately complicated name.
Over the past two decades significant changes have been made to the taxation of an estate. In this article we take a look at how the federal gift and estate tax, as well as the federal generation-skipping tax have been…
You’ve worked hard your whole life anticipating the day you could finally retire. Well, that day has arrived! But with it comes the realization that you’ll need to carefully manage your assets to give them lasting potential.
You’ve worked hard over the years to accumulate wealth, and you probably find it comforting to know that after your death the assets you leave behind will continue to be a source of support for your family, friends, and the…
The Retirement Confidence Survey conducted each year by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) took a slightly different tack in 2020. After completing its initial outreach in January — the 30th in its annual series — EBRI decided to conduct…
Due to the coronavirus tax filing extension, there’s still time to make a regular IRA contribution for 2019. You have until your tax return due date (not including extensions) to contribute up to $6,000 for 2019 ($7,000 if you were…
With U.S. short-term interest rates again reaching the zero bound (fed funds rate of 0.00-0.25%), debate has surfaced again about moving the target range further—to below-zero territory. Several developed nations, mostly in Europe, moved down this path years ago, and…
Moments of crisis are times for people to come together and help one another. However, with the rise of record unemployment levels, unemployment fraud has taken hold of vulnerable targets.
Have some financial asset prices bounced back too far and too fast? This is never simple to evaluate, as current prices for rates and risk assets have a behavioral component, and appropriate price levels may only be obvious in hindsight.
Fraudsters and scam artists are always looking for new ways to prey on consumers. Now they are using the same tactics to take advantage of consumers’ heightened financial and health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
Market volatility has obviously been ramping up as of late, with one of the catalysts being the announcement of various layers of tariffs by the U.S. administration. This rhetoric has been targeted at China, which has responded with a series…
As we discussed in our special note last week, pullbacks are a normal component in the cycle of any market, with a few steps forward-one-step back pattern being the tendency of stock investments for the past several centuries. Read our…
The 1000+ page tax reform plan, the largest in decades, has been passed by both legislative chambers and signed into law. It moved surprisingly quickly, with initial debate about various components turning into a package that looked very much like…
It’s impossible to speculate on the future prospects of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies that have been gaining significant ground in recent months. But it’s important to remember the risks.
