I noticed a recent headline in Financial Advisor Magazine that reminded me of a basic investing truth that I have observed throughout my 30-year career: It’s virtually impossible to time the market.
The article, dated January 28, 2019, is titled Fund Investors Took Cover in Fixed income in 2018. The article says that mutual funds experienced $131 billion of net outflows in the month of December 2018 alone. A net fund flow is the net of all cash inflows and outflows in and out of a fund for a specified period of time.
Americans love making New Year’s resolutions at the beginning of the calendar year.
Generally, these self-improvement goals concern health and wellness, weight loss or improving relationships. If you are a retirement plan sponsor responsible for a 401(k) or 403(b), there are some New Year’s resolutions you should
I am deeply honored to have been named one of the finalists for the News-Press People of the Year award. Truthfully, the fact that my name is mentioned in the same breath as past finalists and winners of this award, many of whom are philanthropic and business heroes of mine, is truly mind blowing.
As many retirement plan sponsors are now aware, the Department of Labor's three-pronged approach to fee disclosure for 401(k)s and other qualified plans, has brought about a series of changes that have marked the past several years.
R. Dean Piccirillo, financial advisor and principal with HBK Sorce Financial, LLC, is participating as a panelist for The Center for Due Diligence (CFDD) 2010 Advisor Conference held October 6-8, 2010 at the Fairmont Chicago-Millennium Park Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.
Group variable annuity products are not inherently bad choices as 401(k) investment options, however, the plan sponsor should appreciate that these are packaged products built by insurance companies and the underlying investment options are not considered retail mutual funds, but are annuity separate accounts.
Having too many choices has proven to actually decrease participation in defined contribution plans such as 401(k)s, even when participants are incented to participate through a matching contribution.
Due in part to the housing crisis, high unemployment and the general economic downturn, many American workers are under a considerable amount of financial stress. The question for the small business owner is, “Does my employee's financial health and related stress impact my company's net income?”
This article is the second in our Common Fiduciary Challenges series. As a financial advisor who consults regularly with pension clients working with my firm's retirement plan unit, there are some common issues that arise when consulting with a new client. This series is designed to highlight some of these more frequently identified issues.
This quiz will help you determine whether or not you are on the right track as a retirement plan fiduciary. It is not meant to be an all-inclusive, exhaustive review of every aspect of a sound fiduciary process for a qualified plan sponsor. This quiz does however cover a number of issues that retirement plan sponsors should consider and may help indicate whether further review of your internal procedures is warranted.
In my capacity as a professional advisor who consults regularly with plan sponsors, there are some common challenges with plan administration that I frequently encounter when a new client is referred to me. In this article, I will attempt to outline some of the most common deficiencies and what a plan sponsor can do to address them in the most effective manner.
Currently, for Americans living on $45,000 or more per year during retirement, 18% of that income is generated from personal savings and investments1. For millions of Americans, the personal savings and investments component of our income consists largely of Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). IRAs are tax deferred personal retirement funds that allow you to save up to $5,000 per year ($6,000 if you’re age 50 or older).
Have you ever been to an unfamiliar city and stopped for directions on how to get to your final destination? If you were to ask several local citizens, you would likely receive multiple and even different detailed expressions of these directions. The difficulty then becomes deciphering which “direction” will get us there quickly and with a minimal number of “wrong” turns. As investors your destinations are slightly different yet you commonly use similar investment vehicles (mutual funds) to travel this path. Each of you plan and hope to reach your goals quickly and with minimal risk.
As the number of small businesses in the U.S. grows, the number of retirement plan choices seems to grow as well. Two popular retirement plan options for smaller businesses seek to avoid the complexities that go along with establishing a qualified retirement plan such as the 401(k). These two options are the SEP IRA (Simplified Employee Pension) and the SIMPLE IRA (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees).
Welcome to part two of our series on the responsibilities of a retirement plan fiduciary. In part one of this series we cited the five significant responsibilities that a retirement plan fiduciary has. Previously we spent a considerable amount of time talking about the first two responsibilities – managing the plan for the exclusive benefit of the participants and act prudently at all times.
In a previous blog post, we spent time reviewing who could be considered a retirement plan fiduciary, and what the associated responsibilities and liabilities would be. As we discussed, anyone who has the ability to act with discretion and control, with respect to the management of retirement plan sets or other investments, could be considered a fiduciary under ERISA or the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974.
How then can companies give key employees such as corporate officers an opportunity to contribute more dollars on a pretax basis? One alternative is for the employer to establish a non-qualified deferred compensation plan. Such plans give employers a tool that enables them to legally discriminate against non-highly compensated staff. As a matter for fact, in non-qualified deferred compensation plans, employers are required to discriminate at some level.
In this article we will explore how to select a long-term care policy that will meet your needs at a reasonable cost. In future articles, we will spend some time reviewing how business owners can purchase long-term care in a tax advantage manner.
Business owners actually have the opportunity in many cases to purchase long-term care insurance in a tax advantage way to their companies. In many cases, all or a portion of the premium paid by the business on behalf of the executive is tax-deductible at the business level, and not considered taxable income to the employee receiving the coverage.
Are you currently a qualified retirement plan fiduciary? If so, you may have some responsibility and perhaps liability that you were not previously aware of. Retirement plan sponsors on a national basis are coming under increased scrutiny with respect to how they administer pension plans in their care.
Important Disclosure Information
Please remember that past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment, investment strategy, or product (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended or undertaken by HBKS Wealth Advisors), or any non-investment related content, made reference to directly or indirectly in this blog will be profitable, equal any corresponding indicated historical performance level(s), be suitable for your portfolio or individual situation, or prove successful. Due to various factors, including changing market conditions and/or applicable laws, the content may no longer be reflective of current opinions or positions. Moreover, you should not assume that any discussion or information contained in this blog serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from HBKS Wealth Advisors. To the extent that a reader has any questions regarding the applicability of any specific issue discussed above to his/her individual situation, he/she is encouraged to consult with the professional advisor of his/her choosing. HBKS Wealth Advisors is neither a law firm nor a certified public accounting firm and no portion of the blog content should be construed as legal or accounting advice. A copy of the HBKS Wealth Advisors' current written disclosure statement discussing our advisory services and fees is available for review upon request.
Dean Piccirillo offers insurance products through HBK Sorce Insurance LLC, investment advisory services are offered through HBK Sorce Advisory LLC, d.b.a. HBKS Wealth Advisors. Mr. Piccirillo is not able to transact business in a state that he is not licensed or registered. NOT FDIC INSURED. NOT BANK GUARANTEED. MAY LOSE VALUE, INCLUDING LOSS OF PRINCIPAL. NOT INSURED BY ANY STATE OR FEDERAL AGENCY.
Global investment powerhouse Vanguard sharply cut the expected returns for U.S. stocks in the next decade. If the forecast proves to be accurate, the implications could be significant for retirement-plan sponsors, employees and participants.