INSIGHTS

Plans change because scenarios and conditions change. While you have a strategy for your financial future and legacy, that planning will inevitably have to be adjusted for any number of circumstances, including your personal preferences and needs, market fluctuation and, as we will focus on in this commentary, Washington D.C.Because administrations, legislatures and political philosophies come and go, tax policy changes. In fact, there’s an old saying “tax code is written in pencil.” There is a strong indication that taxes will increase in the future, so including a Roth IRA conversion in your financial plan today may help you protect more of your wealth in your lifetime, and preserve the after-tax value of your legacy for your heirs.  The present situation While you may consider the current top tax bracket of 37 percent high, historically, that percentage is relatively low. For instance, from the late 1940s through the 1960s, the top marginal tax rates were arou...

Medicare beneficiaries can make new choices and pick plans that work best for them during the annual Medicare Open Enrollment Period. Each year, Medicare plan costs and coverage typically change. In addition, your health-care needs may have changed over the past year. The Open Enrollment Period — which began on October 15 and runs through December 7 — is your opportunity to switch your current Medicare health and prescription drug plans to ones that better suit your needs.During this period, you can: Switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage Plan Switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan to Original Medicare Change from one Medicare Advantage Plan to a different Medicare Advantage Plan Change from a Medicare Advantage Plan that offers prescription drug coverage to a Medicare Advantage Plan that doesn't offer prescription drug coverage Switch from a Medicare Advantage Plan that doesn't offer prescription drug coverage to a Medicare Advantage Plan that do...

October is the kickoff season for financial aid. That's when incoming and returning college students can start filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid or FAFSA, for the next academic year. The FAFSA is a prerequisite for federal student loans, grants, and work-study, and may be required by colleges before they distribute their own institutional aid to students.How do I submit the FAFSA?The FAFSA for the 2022-2023 school year opens on October 1, 2021. Here are some tips for filing it. The fastest and easiest way to submit the FAFSA is online at studentaid.gov. The site contains resources and tools to help you complete the form, including a list of the documents and information you'll need to file it. The online FAFSA allows your tax data to be directly imported from the IRS, which speeds up the overall process and reduces errors. Before you file the FAFSA online, you and your child will each need to obtain an FSA ID (federal student aid ID), which you can also do onl...

Recently, Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) announced that they would be converting several existing mutual funds to exchange traded funds (ETFs), and we wanted to share  important information about the conversion. This is their second conversion of existing funds to ETFs. The first successful conversion took place this May.The funds impacted by this change are listed below:Fund Objectives Will Not ChangeIt is important to note that the investment objectives of these funds will not be changing. DFA believes the conversion to an ETF structure will be a benefit to shareholders through potentially greater tax efficiency, which is complementary to the investment objective of the tax-managed funds that are designed to maximize after-tax returns. The funds will also have a lower expense ratio post-conversion (a reduction of 27% on average).Tax Consequences of ConversionThe conversion from mutual funds to ETFs will be organized as a tax-free event for US tax purposes so we anticipate ...

DHG Wealth Advisors LLC (DHGWA) is pleased to announce Bill Laird as its Chief Investment Officer effective June 1, 2021.  Bill has also been promoted to the position of Director at Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP.  Bill has been a member of the firm’s Investment Policy Committee since shortly after joining the firm in 2009 and most recently served as Co-Chief Investment Officer, a title he has held jointly with Paul Harteg since June of 2020.   The expected transition of Bill to Chief Investment Officer after one year of sharing the title was announced by the firm in June 2020.   Paul Harteg will continue to serve clients and manage the Greenville, South Carolina advisory team.As Chief Investment Officer, Bill will lead the firm’s Investment Policy Committee, a team of the firm’s most experienced advisors and research associates, setting the direction for DHG Wealth Advisors’ investment methodology and client solutions. Bil...

Effective May 31, 2021, Paul Harteg will be stepping down from his role as our Co-Chief Investment Officer. He will continue to serve his clients and manage the Greenville, SC advisory team.

Recently, Dimensional Fund Advisors (DFA) announced that they would be converting several existing mutual funds to exchange traded funds (ETFs), and we wanted to share some important information about the conversion.

Recent market performance has brought to the forefront of investors’ minds the darlings of the technology and media sectors: Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, Apple and Google, collectively referred to as FANMAG. Their performance has been noteworthy and matches those of some previous market darlings like Exxon, General Electric or AT&T during their peaks. However, just like previous market leaders, recent results are not predictive of future individual or sector performance versus other available opportunities.

Since the end of January, #YOLO has been a rallying cry on internet message boards where amateur investors have driven up stock prices for video game retailer GameStop and movie theatre chain AMC. While everyone does have opportunities to build wealth via the markets, this particular group of fresh investors are only half-right about their investment strategy.

Attached is a summary of key tax and personal planning numbers for 2021.