Direct Indexing

Investors have access to multiple personalized indexing products, a key benefit of which is to allow for tax-loss harvesting (TLH). I analyze when TLH works and how helpful it is to returns.

The only constant in life is change — and Wall Street strategists trying in vain to divine the stock market’s future. After collectively missing the lion’s share of the year-to-date rally in the S&P 500 Index, the Street’s macro soothsayers appear to be getting modestly more bullish again.

Investors with $250,000 or more to spend on municipal bonds are increasingly seeking opportunities to pick and choose what goes into their portfolios.

To find undiscovered investment strategies, financial advisors must perform due diligence that goes beyond track records.

Investors loading up on long-term bonds have a history at their back.

Everyone can stop all the hand-wringing over the “over-concentration” of the Nasdaq 100: The index provider is doing something about it, as expected, in a sign that the system is working as intended after all.

There’s not much you can do about rising college costs, but there are a few tax breaks you can use to help offset the expenses.

Bob was in Las Vegas last week where he spoke at the AICPA conference, and then did some fly fishing in Denver.

While tuition is the main qualified expense you think of when you get a 529, there are other tangential education expenses that will also qualify.

Here are four things advisors get wrong about tax-loss harvesting.

529 plan benefits abound no matter which type of plan you choose. Read on to get a full understanding of what 529 plans can do for you.

The federal Pell grant provides financial assistance to low-income students. Since it’s a grant instead of a loan, it’s essentially free money that students can use to cover their college costs.

Crypto traders are avoiding billions of dollars in tax by taking advantage of wild price swings to “harvest” losses so they can be offset against other profits, according to a paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Readers of my AI articles have asked me for practical examples of how it can positively impact their practice.

The fiercest adversary of investing based on environmental, social and governance (ESG) is Aswath Damodaran. ESG is a failure, its advocates are to blame, and the concept should be retired, according to Damodaran.

Two of the biggest proposals Biden introduced in his recent budget were a big increase to the long-term capital gains tax and a new tax on the wealthiest Americans.

Charitable planning is an important topic to discuss with your clients, especially if they’re facing extraordinary taxable events this year. You can add value to your clients by sharing these tax-smart giving strategies for 2023.

For millions of borrowers, student loan forgiveness will mean the difference between significant relief and ongoing payments. If you’re among them, the question is… what next?

The pitch for an actively managed bond exchange-traded fund can be compelling, especially when there’s market turmoil and uncertainty

My “five-step investment process” provides an ongoing systematic framework for making portfolio decisions, and further incorporating financial planning and tax considerations into overall portfolio construction.

A gold IRA is one way to diversify your retirement portfolio. It can protect your savings from plummeting in the event of a stock market crash or high inflation.

Silver is more volatile, cheaper and more tightly linked with the industrial economy. Gold is more expensive and better for diversifying your portfolio overall.

I have no idea how AI will impact the advisory profession. However, I’m confident it will fundamentally change almost every aspect of what you do and how you do it.

With the consumer price index increasing during the last few years at a rate not seen for nearly 40 years, the investing challenge for the coming year is finding ways to generate real returns during exceptionally high inflation.

There are several ways to include philanthropic giving in your estate plan. Here are five common options.

Like all trusts, a charitable trust is a legal entity that you create for the purpose of holding and managing assets. The trust is wholly separate from you. It owns any assets it holds, pays taxes and requires management just like any other legally recognized entity.

Markets provided investors with a dozen lessons in 2022 (and a bonus one in the postscript).

Commodities may seem like just another one of the bunch, but these products offer a unique way to invest your money in the market.

Build your ladder with multiple target-maturity ETFs representing different segments of the bond market, with different target years.

Great articles don’t always get the readership they deserve. We’ve posted the 10 most-widely read investment, planning and practice management articles over the last two days. Below are another 10 that you might have missed, but I believe merit reading.

Here’s a breakdown of the pros and cons of trading in your traditional bank for a virtual banking experience.

Investors are spurning mutual funds at a record clip, driving a $1.5 trillion gap in the flow of money from the old-school investment vehicles and into ever-popular ETFs.

One thing to consider when opening a 529 plan is whether it should be a custodial or individual account. While both allow you to save for college costs and enjoy some tax breaks, they differ in terms of who has control of the account and the assets in it.

We’ve broken down nine of the best 529 plans.

An index strategy that’s all about customization is expected to grow faster than other investment vehicles over the next four years as investors’ desire for personalization intensifies.

There’s no sugarcoating the stock market’s 20% plunge, but there is a small consolation prize: You have one of the best opportunities in years to lower your tax bill.

Depending on where they live, student borrowers may soon face an unexpected tax burden.

Every year, the IRS offers taxpayers a polite warning in the form of what it calls the “dirty dozen” – 12 of the latest tax-related scams. We introduce “the permissible dozen” – the 12 easiest ways to reduce federal income taxes – legitimately, of course.