As the calendar rounds past summer toward autumn, it’s high time to start considering year-end financial actions.
“We always appreciate an opportunity to think ahead to what’s coming, to what we might want to be thinking about,” Kyle Tetting says in a special Money Talk Podcast. “The kind of dog days of summer that we get into now are a great opportunity to think through what we should be doing next. So, it’s a good opportunity just to plant some of those seeds.”
Recorded Aug. 11, the podcast features Kyle, Adam Baley and Dave Sandstrom discussing steps investors can take now to facilitate an array of moves affecting investors’ allocations, tax liabilities and estate plans.
Click here to listen to the Midyear Planning Podcast.
Among other considerations is the value of cash in portfolios, with lower-risk vehicles such as bank certificates of deposit returning their highest yields in more than 15 years. With stock funds broadly rising since last October, the advisors say, investors can think about taking some gains off the table and rebalancing their holdings, setting aside enough cash to cover their spending needs for the next six to 12 months.
“We were conditioned for 10 years that holding cash was a penalty because it was yielding nothing,” Dave says. “And now you have to realize that no, you’re not being penalized anymore for having cash in the portfolio.”
Learn more
Halfway through 2023, outlook improving, by Kyle Tetting
When Should I …rebalance my portfolio? by Art Rothschild
Investor upsides as interest rates rise, a Money Talk Video with Kendall Bauer
Beginners Guide to Asset Allocation, Diversification and Rebalancing, from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Year-end tax planning also benefits from thinking ahead and talking with advisors and accountants sooner than later. Among the podcast conversations:
- Kyle says investors can explore how they might benefit from converting money saved in traditional IRA accounts to Roth IRAs, which have different tax rules for withdrawals.
- Dave talks about the advantages of gifting highly appreciated assets to charities.
- Adam explains how investors can use qualified charitable distributions to help causes while also fulfilling IRA withdrawal requirements.
“The qualified charitable distributions are really meant for sizeable gifts,” Adam says. “Maybe not just 50 bucks here, 100 bucks there. I mean, we’re talking a few thousand here and there. That’s when you get money out of the IRA and do so tax efficiently.”
Learn more
Bigger bang from charitable contributions, a Money Talk Video with Art Rothschild
Money Talk Giving Podcast
Retirement investing: Consider Roth, by Joel Dresang
Deciding which retirement accounts to tap, a Money Talk Video with Dave Sandstrom
Capital gains distributions, by Tom Pappenfus
IRAs 101: What you need to know, from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
The podcast also covers the ongoing urgency for investors to provide for the distribution of their estates when they die.
“It’s always a tough subject,” Dave says. “You’re talking about our mortality. You’re talking about our declining health. Those are subjects that aren’t a lot of fun to discuss.”
But in Dave’s experience, planning ahead pays: “The point is, if you make plans ahead of time, then you’re in charge of the decision.”
Learn more
A testament to update before you’re late, by Joel Dresang
Naming beneficiaries: Communicate clearly, a Money Talk Video with Mike Hoelzl
Keeping family in the financial loop, a Money Talk Video with Isabelle Wiemero
Inevitable as taxes, yet rarely planned for, by Joel Dresang
Estate Planning FAQs, American Bar Association
Estate Planning: Power of Attorney, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority
(initially posted Aug. 31, 2023)
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