Advisors

Many of the nation’s top companies, including Amazon, Goldman Sachs, Ford, Google and Walmart, are calling on the new administration to address climate change and come up with long-term solutions in response to concerns from investors, customers, communities and employees. In a letter to President-elect Joe Biden and the new Congress, 42 corporations urged the government

Joel Angel Juarez/Bloomberg via Getty Images Amid the season of giving — not to mention an ongoing pandemic — donating to charitable causes may be on your mind. While the need for assistance is tremendous, experts say, it’s important to be sure your money goes to legitimate organizations that will use your donation as you

PeopleImages | E+ | Getty Images Back in March, a couple who had recently sold their business called me to express concerns about their decision to sell and retire. With Covid-19 raging, the stock market quickly dropped in value and their retirement savings were in decline. They asked a straightforward question: Did they need to

Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) speaks as bipartisan members of the Senate and House gather to announce a framework for fresh coronavirus relief legislation at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Dec. 1, 2020. Kevin Lemarque | Reuters Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle were able to hash out another rescue bill that includes

If you’re cashing in some of your Bitcoin this year, the IRS wants to know about it. On Monday, the cryptocurrency’s value hit new heights, surging beyond $19,800 for a unit of Bitcoin. The asset’s appreciation has skyrocketed this year, rising by 160% in 2020. Understand that if you want to take a few of

SDI Productions | E+ | Getty Images Some taxpayers are just now receiving a scary letter from the IRS: a warning that the federal taxman will seize their state income tax refund. As recently as this fall, the IRS has issued a so-called “notice of intent to levy” to taxpayers with an outstanding balance. The

TommL | E+ | Getty Images With sustainable investing, you cannot only use your money to make the world a better place, you can also use your money’s voice. Such is the job of shareholder advocacy, a primary strategy under the umbrella of sustainable/socially responsible investing. A small, but dedicated number of financial advisors, along

shapecharge | E+ | Getty Images With the number of deaths from the coronavirus continuing to mount, your own mortality may be more on your mind than usual. In fact, The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a rise in estate planning, according to certified financial planner Stacy Francis, president and CEO of Francis Financial.  Pandemic or

Westend61 | Westend61 | Getty Images Remote workers — especially those who have been hopping to different states — could be on the hook for additional taxes when they file their returns next spring. It’s been nine months since the coronavirus pandemic first gripped the U.S. and led to many workers punching in each day

VioletaStoimenova | E+ | Getty Images Occasionally, a financial advisor grabs national attention by swindling clients out of millions, evading arrest via a bizarre escape plan or, sometimes, both. Luckily, there are ways investors can guard against high-profile cons or more under-the-radar criminality, according to financial experts. “These guys are very convincing in a very

AJ Watt | Getty Images Are you stocking up on cold and flu meds for the winter? Buying an at-home Covid-19 test kit? If so, you are running out of time to use this tax-advantaged account for those purchases. Health-care flexible spending accounts, which may be available at your job, allow you to stash pre-tax

Vladimir Vladimirov | E+ | Getty Images The role of a financial advisor can encompass areas that many people might not expect. The truth is a financial advisor is not just someone who helps with investments. Quite often, the job is to assist with every aspect of a client’s financial life. Advisors use their expertise

Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | DigitalVision | Getty Images Don’t let the holidays distract you from last-minute opportunities to reduce your 2020 tax bill. There are about five weeks left in the year, which means the clock is ticking on tax-planning strategies. Some tactics are only in play for 2020, thanks to the federal CARES

South_agency | E+ | Getty Images The value of Bitcoin is skyrocketing. If you’re planning on selling now and pocketing the gains, Uncle Sam is going to want his share. This week, the cryptocurrency hit price it hasn’t seen since 2017, climbing toward $18,000 for one unit of Bitcoin. Over the course of 2020, it’s

LeoPatrizi The IRS has signaled it will bless a workaround that allows small-business owners to skirt the $10,000 cap on state and local income tax deductions. Ever since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act took effect in 2018, high-tax states have sought ways to help individual taxpayers who itemize on their returns deal with the

GYRO PHOTOGRAPHY | amana images | Getty Images Growing rapidly within the socially responsible investing landscape is the world of so-called impact investing, which deploys your money more directly toward solving societal problems. Largely executed through direct investing platforms, this approach addresses specific problems, such as alleviating poverty in certain communities or reducing pollution. These

Nitat Termmee | Moment | Getty Images The good news is that surging markets have boosted investor portfolios this year. Now for the bad news: Some of those people will be owing the taxman. That’s because mutual funds distribute capital gains to their shareholders near the end of the year. At this point, fund providers

Shapecharge It’s not uncommon to want to move money from a workplace savings plan to an individual retirement account when you leave the company. Yet if you’re not careful while doing that rollover, you can make costly errors or lock yourself into something that can’t be easily undone. The key is to avoid any tax

Martin Barraud | OJO Images | Getty Images When introducing clients to the idea of sustainable, or socially responsible, investing, financial advisors’ questions often spark a revelation. “Our first question to any potential client is about values,” said certified financial planner Mitchell Kraus, co-founder of Capital Intelligence Associates in Santa Monica, California. “What do you

AJ_Watt | E+ | Getty Images Forget volatility. The thing that keeps certified financial planner Neil Waxman on edge is clients’ cybersecurity practices and the threat of identity fraud. “It’s not the markets that keep me up at night,” said Waxman, managing director of Capital Advisors in Shaker Heights, Ohio. “This is the thing that

Nes | E+ | Getty Images When the Covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. in mid-March, there were three types of financial advisory firms: high-tech, low-tech late adopters and firms somewhere in between. The overnight shift to work-from-home was vastly different for each type. Low-tech firms transported printers and fax machines to their homes and scrambled

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris at the transition team’s Covid-19 advisory board Nov. 9, 2020 meeting in Wilmington, Delaware. Joe Raedle | Getty Images Joe Biden may have won the presidency, but there’s no guarantee his tax plan will come to fruition intact. President-elect Biden campaigned on a series of sweeping changes

Eric Audras | ONOKY | Getty Images So you finished your estate plan. You finalized a will, made sure beneficiaries are named on financial accounts, signed all other pertinent documents and picked an executor to carry out your wishes when you die. You might have overlooked one consideration: whether you should share the details of

Lorado | E+ | Getty Images “It’s increasingly a computer-based global work environment,” Minott said. “People can travel from country to country or stay where they like.” The benefits are plentiful. You get to live in a vacation destination, improve your quality of life and possibly reduce your cost of living. Just make sure you

Clerkenwell | Vetta | Getty Images Socially responsible, or sustainable, investing — investing in ways to make the world a better place — continues to surge, driven by increasing consumer demand and the recognition that sustainable funds provide returns comparable to traditional funds in addition to lower risk. The first half of 2020 saw a

Peathegee Inc | Tetra images | Getty Images You have just a few weeks to tap the money you’ve been saving for medical needs — or risk losing it. Health-care flexible spending accounts, which your employer may offer, allow you to store pretax dollars in a special account. In 2020 and 2021, you can contribute

A man walks to cast his ballot at an early voting center at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on October 27, 2020 in Washington, DC. Sarah Silbiger | Getty Images Don’t let Election Day anxiety drive your tax decisions. There are still plenty of chances to trim your 2020 tax bill — regardless of who wins

andresr | E+ | Getty Images Covid-19 has disrupted tax and retirement planning for small-business owners, especially those who focused on saving their businesses from the pandemic’s fallout earlier this year. With some hard work, however, there is still time to get back on track by Dec. 31. Here’s a great example. After his business

David Rea in Chobe National Park in Botswana. Source: David Rea For two years in a row, something hasn’t changed on CNBC’s ranking of the top 100 financial advisors in the U.S.: Salem Investment Counselors has come in at No. 1. CNBC spoke recently with Salem’s president, David Rea, about why he believes his firm

krisanapong detraphiphat | Moment | Getty Images Health-care coverage and costs are top of mind in this election year, and one of the loudest arguments between Republicans and Democrats is the claim they will protect people with pre-existing medical conditions. What does this really mean and why is it so important for your personal finances?