Glossary – Asset Management
and Retirement Planning Terms
529 Savings Plans
By electing to save for your child’s education in a tax-advantaged 529 investment account, you can prepare children for education expenses they will incur. This account allows your money to compound over time if appropriately invested, and you don’t have to pay taxes on the earnings if the money is used for qualifying education expenses….
Advance Healthcare Directive
An Advance Healthcare Directive and a Power of Attorney form are key legal documents that help resolve what should happen in the event you are very ill or become incapacitated. The first involves medical decisions and the second involves financial decisions.
Alternative Investments
Alternative investments are all assets outside the traditional portfolio mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and cash. These investments have advantages and disadvantages that are important to analyze and understand. These kinds of investments differ from traditional investment types because they aren’t easily sold or converted into cash. It’s also common for…
Asset Allocation
How you allocate your investments between asset categories as well as within categories (and in addition the types of accounts you choose to use) will also play a very large role in your future success. Asset allocation is an investment technique that is used to balance risk profile (upside and downside) by dividing a portfolio’s…
Beneficiary Designations
One of the easiest ways to make sure your assets go to the people you intend is to list them as beneficiaries. We recommend reviewing all account beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries. These are important as your will or trust does not necessarily govern how your investment accounts will be distributed. If you die without naming…
Budgeting Analysis
Our experienced financial planning team can help you implement a budget and financial plan that is specific to your cash-flow needs, family circumstances, investment goals, and financial and tax situations. We can help create a plan to protect and grow your wealth.
Business Life Insurance
If you own a small business and are self-employed, you can use life insurance for business continuation planning. Using the correct amount of life insurance (including specialized policies for small business owners) is very important with respect to both your business and loved ones.
Charitable Gift Annuities
Charitable gift annuities are similar to other annuities in that a lump sum is exchanged in return for a series of payments. However, instead of involving an insurance company there is a contractual agreement between the donor and nonprofit that manages the charitable gift annuity. The funds are invested, and while the donor is living…
Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRT)
A charitable remainder trust (CRT) is a gift of cash or other property to an irrevocable trust. The donor receives an income stream from the trust for a term of years and/or for life and the named charity receives the remaining trust assets at the end of the trust term. The donor receives an immediate…