November 2018

Target date funds have become quite popular, and many physicians have them as available investment options in their employer sponsored retirement accounts such as their 401(k)s and 403(b)s. The first Target Date fund was introduced in 1994 in response to retirement plan participants’ relative lack of knowledge about investing and how to approach managing their …

Target Date Retirement Funds: Great for Some but Not All Read More »

Many physicians have very ambitious retirement income goals. If you hope to reach those goals, comprehensive financial planning is critically important. There are many different areas that will need to be shored up; emergency fund, disability insurance, life insurance (if you are planning for yourself and a spouse), tax planning, and an investment strategy just …

Start Saving Early to Take Advantage of Compound Interest Read More »

There are many ways to donate to charity, however, some methods are more effective than others. Often the easiest ways of donating are the least beneficial for the donor from a tax standpoint. Donating cash, using a credit card online, or writing a check, while simple to do, are not the most tax-efficient methods of …

Efficient Charitable Gifting Through Donor Advised Funds Read More »

There’s no doubt stocks have been experiencing considerable volatility lately. The CBOE Volatility Index has seen multiple days with extremely sharp moves, the most since 2014. After years of low volatility, it was merely a matter of when, not if, the markets would experience a rise in volatility. Higher volatility reflects greater price swings in …

Resisting the Urge to Abandon Ship During Rough Seas Read More »

For many years, parents of special needs children were limited to using Special Needs Trusts and Pooled Income Trusts to provide long-term financial support, both of which could be quite costly. However, in 2014 the Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, better known as the ABLE Act, was passed. This Act allowed individuals with disabilities …

ABLE Accounts: Savings Accounts for Families with Special Needs Children Read More »

An emergency fund is an important part of any financial plan and can be the difference between comfortably surviving an unexpected event and financial distress. A financial emergency can occur at any time and for a wide range of reasons. You may become sick or disabled preventing you from working, your home may need immediate …

An Emergency Fund Should be a Top Priority Read More »

We are in a uniquely difficult position as we head toward the end of the year. Normally, this is the perfect time to wrap up final financial and tax planning items.  However, the potential GOP tax bill makes it difficult to know exactly how the landscape will look in 2018. Nevertheless, there are some items …

Check the Boxes: Year End Planning Read More »

Statistics show that today’s physicians are leaving their programs having accumulated an average debt amount of just under $200,000 plus an additional $25,000[1] in undergraduate student loan debt they carried over from previous programs. These statistics fall in line with the majority of physicians we work with if not even still on the low end. …

Managing Student Loan Debt Read More »