The traditional IRA and the Roth IRA both will grow without income taxes reducing returns. The difference is that contributions to a traditional IRA may be tax deductible (depending upon income), and all distributions during retirement are taxable as ordinary income, while contributions to a Roth IRA are not deductible, but withdrawals are potentially free…
Author: gstc

Factors Beyond the Fundamentals
In recent weeks there have been calls by Ukrainian officials for companies to take a stand against the Russian invasion, and many companies have responded beyond the government sanctions. This is not the first time that companies have taken a stand on political issues. Some companies make a point to embrace social issues as well,…

Smaller RMDs in 2022
It is normal to think that once you retire, you no longer need to save or invest for retirement. Although many may switch from an accumulation to a distribution mindset when retirement starts, it is important to keep your money working for you as much as possible. One consideration is managing distributions from tax-favored accounts,…

The Explosion of IPOs and New Investment Choices
Not all companies are available to be purchased by ordinary investors. Many companies, even very large ones, are held in private hands, and have no desire to change that anytime soon. In 2016, CreditSuisse compiled a report of the listed companies on major U.S. stock exchanges over the last four decades. Although the value of…

Scams Are Becoming More Elaborate
Although we may know of various scams and how to avoid them, we can’t know them all because they are changing all the time. Sometimes we can spot these changes as they happen. When the Nigerian prince scam changed from being mailed to being emailed, it wasn’t that hard to tell it was the same…

Trusts and Philanthropy
Americans are some of the most generous people in the world. Although one might have expected charitable giving to have decreased in uncertain times during a global pandemic, Americans donated a record $471 billion dollars to charity in 2020, according to a recent report in Giving USA. One wealth management strategy for a substantial gift…

Social Security Basics
Social Security may be about to experience one of its largest increases for cost of living since the 1980s, due to the recent increases in inflation. Some estimates show an increase as high as 6%, and the actual numbers will be released later in October. Although Social Security is for all workers, it is complicated.…