Articles
Welcome to our research center! We've put together a library of information on important financial topics that we believe you'll find helpful.
Simply click on one of the general financial topics below and you'll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies. This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.
Estates & Trusts
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What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.
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How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?
A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.
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Can I Benefit from an A-B Trust?
An A-B trust can be an effective way to help reduce estate taxes and preserve family assets for heirs.
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How Can I Benefit from a Charitable Lead Trust?
Charitable lead trusts are designed for people who would like to benefit a charity now rather than later.
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Could My Family Benefit from a Family Limited Partnership?
One estate planning strategy that families with closely held businesses could consider is the family limited partnership.
Retirement
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What Is a Profit-Sharing Plan?
Profit-sharing plans give employees a share in the profits of a company and can help to fund their retirements.
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Save Now or Save Later?
If you start saving for retirement sooner, the more money you are likely to accumulate and possibly retire sooner.
Tax Planning
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What Is a Required Minimum Distribution?
Required minimum distribution is the annual amount that must be withdrawn from a qualified retirement plan/account.
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What Happens If I Withdraw Money from My Tax-Deferred Investments Before Age 59½
Tax-deferred retirement account withdrawals before age 59½ generally triggers a 10% federal income tax penalty.
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What Is Tax Deferral?
There can be a substantial benefit to deferring taxes as long as possible.
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What Tax Deductions Are Still Available to Me?
Changes to the tax code have left a few key deductions for itemizers, like medical, dental and some business expenses.
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What Is the Most Tax-Efficient Way to Take a Distribution From a Retirement Plan
Consider a trustee-to-trustee transfer to an IRA versus a lump-sum distribution from a workplace retirement plan.
Investing
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How Are Mutual Funds Taxed?
Mutual fund taxes can be cumbersome, but there are ways to help mitigate the amount of taxes you may owe.
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What Is Diversification?
An important element to successful investing is to manage investment risk while maintaining the potential for growth.
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What Is a Stock Index?
Stock market indexes can be useful benchmarks for gauging the performance of an investment portfolio over time.
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What Is a Mutual Fund Load?
It’s important to understand mutual fund loads, or sales charges, and exactly what they entail so you can make informed investing decisions.
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What Is the Difference Between a Fixed Annuity and a Variable Annuity?
Both fixed and variable annuities could be appropriate options for an individual interested in purchasing an annuity.
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What Are the Different Classes of Assets?
There are five broad asset classes that you should take into consideration when constructing your investment portfolio.
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What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?
Dollar-cost averaging involves investing a set amount of money on a regular basis, regardless of market conditions.
Cash Management
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How Can I Better Manage My Short-Term Cash?
There are numerous investment alternatives available to help provide liquidity.
Risk Management
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Why Are Annuities Considered an Insurance Product?
An annuity is a contract between you and an insurance company to pay you future income in exchange for premiums you pay.
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How Can I Extend My Liability Coverage?
Consider additional liability insurance to help protect you from the potentially devastating effects of liability lawsuits.
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What Does Medicare Cover?
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those persons age 65 and over. But what does it cover?