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Moisand Fitzgerald Tamayo, LLC
Making News… We produce regular Q&A columns for Florida Today and MarketWatch, a personal finance website of the Wall Street Journal, as well as pieces for Financial Advisor magazine, the Journal of Financial Planning, and Nerd Wallet among others. Here is a sampling from the last three months. Roth Conversions You Are Better Off Avoiding Don’t Forfeit 50% of an Inherited Roth IRA to the…
Read MoreCapital gain distributions can make a difference to the bottom line of mutual fund investors. The newspaper says fund A made X% while fund B made 1% less. Many people will assume that Investment A was superior. This is not always the case for several reasons but we will focus on one in particular today…
Read MoreSeptember 2014 “With the stock market at an all-time high, a devastating correction is imminent.” This is a common warning these days that has some people nervous about their investments. We have our own warning – don’t be distracted by prognosticators. Stock market corrections are not more likely at market highs. The frequency of declines…
Read MoreMaking News… We produce regular Q&A columns for Florida Today and MarketWatch, a personal finance website of the Wall Street Journal, as well as pieces for Financial Advisor magazine, the Journal of Financial Planning, and the Winter Park/Maitland Observer among others. Here is a sampling from the last three months. 6 Keys To a Happy Retirement Tax Planning For Retirees Takes Many Forms Can I Write…
Read MoreMoisand Fitzgerald Tamayo has a new Orlando office After 15 years in Maitland, we are moving our Orlando area office. Starting August 1st, we occupy the newly renovated Suite 2025 of the landmark SunTrust Center in downtown Orlando. Tired of being inundated with financial information and opinion or sales pitches of dubious quality, objectivity,…
Read MoreAre you doing all you can to prevent identity theft? A few simple steps can help. The term “identity theft” encompasses a variety of activities whereby a criminal uses another’s personal information to conduct fraudulent transactions. Although the number of incidents continues to rise, thieves are getting less. According to Experian, a major credit reporting…
Read MoreJune 2014 Many retirees do not need life insurance but that doesn’t mean they should automatically drop their policies. During your working years, your family depends upon your income. In the event of an untimely death, life insurance would pay a tax-free income to the beneficiaries. This income replacement is probably the number one reason…
Read MoreMaking News… We produce regular Q&A columns for Florida Today and MarketWatch, a personal finance website of the Wall Street Journal, as well as pieces for Financial Advisor magazine, the Journal of Financial Planning, and the Winter Park/Maitland Observer among others. Here is a sampling from the last three months. Invest now or wait for a…
Read MoreApril 2014 At any given point, there are things that could move markets significantly. Events in Ukraine come to mind currently. What is happening there is a serious issue and you probably have an opinion about how it will affect the market. However, to profit or avoid losses from events in the Ukraine, you have…
Read MoreMarch 2014 – Investment philosophy: The first step to success. Many struggle to have a successful investment experience. Committing to a sound investment philosophy is key to successful investing yet often, this critical first step is skipped. Having an investment philosophy and a plan that matches is critical to making sound investment decisions. It provides the filters…
Read MoreMaking News… We produce regular Q&A columns for MarketWatch, a personal finance website of the Wall Street Journal and Florida Today as well as columns to Financial Advisor magazine, the Journal of Financial Planning, and the Winter Park/Maitland Observer among others. Here is a sampling from the last three months. 18 Social Security Surprises Can I…
Read MoreInterest Rates and Bond Prices Markets are highly complex and interest rates do not always affect investments the way pundits speculate they will. However, with bond prices, the effect of interest rate changes is in fact both direct and mathematically calculable.To get a bond’s current yield, divide the interest it pays by its current price.…
Read MoreDecember 2013 The U.S. stock market has recently reached all-time highs. Through the Q&As we write for various publications, we hear from a fair amount of people who either do not have an advisor, or their current advisor is not very good. Many seem to think that because we are in uncharted territory, drastic…
Read MoreShould You Donate Shares or Cash? Making News… We produce regular Q&A columns for MarketWatch, a personal finance website of the Wall Street Journal and Florida Today as well as columns to Financial Advisor magazine, the Journal of Financial Planning, and the Winter Park/Maitland Observer among others. In addition, we also act as a source…
Read MoreAlthough the ups and downs of the financial markets get considerable attention, personal financial planning involves much more than just managing investments. While we always preach the value of maintaining a well-grounded long term perspective, it is also worthwhile to consider short term tactics that can boost one’s bottom line. Our year-end financial planning…
Read MoreSeptember 2013 This month marks the 5th anniversary of the 2008 financial crisis and the panic selling that gripped the world in the wake of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. The dangerous phrase, “This time is different,” was uttered continuously suggesting that the markets would dive further and stay down for years. Since the…
Read MoreMaking News… Congratulations to Dan Moisand for his selection by Investment News as one of 15 people that “transformed the business of financial advice.” The list was created through editor and reader input for the publication’s 15th anniversary issue. Local media picked up on the recognition resulting in this Business Spotlight in the BEST section of Florida Today and an…
Read MoreOne outcome of the 2013 tax code changes is U.S. citizens can leave up to $5.25 million free of estate taxes if they pass away in 2013. This $5.25 million exemption amount is automatically adjusted for inflation each year. Married couples can leave up to $10.5 million free of estate tax to the next generation.…
Read MoreJune 2013 For the last few years, we have heard numerous predictions of large losses for bonds, particularly if interest rates were to rise. In May, the yield on a 10-year U.S. Treasury Bond rose from 1.67% to 2.16%. If the headlines were to be believed, one would think owning bonds meant suffering catastrophic losses…
Read MoreMaking News… The Orlando Sentinel named Charlie Fitzgerald one of the Orlando area’s most influential, non-elected “Power Brokers”. From time to time, we have noted the work Charlie has done with the Financial Planning Association of Florida to influence lawmakers, such the trip he led to Tallahassee in March. We are happy to see him…
Read MoreThe first quarter of 2013 marked the four year anniversary of the low point for the world’s stock markets during the financial crisis and market panic of 2008/2009. Just a few weeks ago, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 14,000 for the first time since October 12, 2007 and set a new all-time high. …
Read MoreMarch 2013 Fraud is much easier to commit when dealing with complex and confusing matters. The American Tax Relief Act of 2012 (ATRA) passed at the eleventh hour of the “fiscal cliff” drama did little to reduce the complexity of our tax code. But confusion with tax changes does not have to result in fraud.…
Read MoreMaking News… Ron Tamayo wrote an informative column on year-end tax planning for the Winter Park/Maitland Observer. Dan Moisand’s monthly Q&A columns for Florida Today covered how the rules for Required Minimum Distributions from IRAs differ from those for Roth IRAs, 401(k)s, 403(b)s and other retirement accounts, the importance of controlling one’s intake of news, and lottery…
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3 ways to avoid probate
December 2014 One of the most frequently asked estate planning questions we get from clients is, “How can we avoid probate?” Probate, though often not as burdensome as feared, can delay the transfer of assets for months, be expensive, and make many aspects of a deceased’s finances part of the public court records. What is…
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