I grew up around horses. My grandparents owned a horse farm and my uncle trained and rode horses. I’ve been going to horse races since I was born and the third weekend in May is always blocked off on my calendar for Preakness.
Tax season is always a challenging time. We have a significant amount of work to do in a very limited amount of time. This year felt like one of the more difficult filing deadlines we’ve had in recent memory. There were two big factors that contributed to this...
Our 2018 year-end market commentary spent some time discussing the sharp contrast between 2017 and 2018 as nearly every asset class ended in negative territory for 2018 compared to positive returns across the board in 2017. In a case of history repeating itself, we could have the same discussion today about the first quarter of 2019 compared to the 4th quarter of 2018. The market is off to a phenomenal start to 2019 with strong returns everywhere you look. Just look at these numbers...
I have the opportunity to attend several conferences over the course of the year. At many of them (like the AICPA Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference), there is a remarkable amount of technical information covering all the areas of personal financial planning from dawn to dusk. At others, I experience a thought-provoking perspective on practice management related topics through in-depth presentations delivered by leaders in the profession.
There is a very simple way for financial advisors to save their clients' money and improve their investment results, and that is building tax-efficient portfolios. For many clients, taxes could be the single biggest expense they face each year. While last year’s tax reform bill reduced tax rates overall, the top ordinary rate is still 37% and the top capital gains tax rate is 23.8%, and that’s before you factor in state income taxes.
In our neverending quest to provide the best possible service to our clients, L.K. Benson & Company is using SafeSend Returns™ technology this year to simplify the tax return process. With SafeSend Returns, you can handle the delivery, review and signature of your federal and state individual income tax returns from the convenience of your computer, smartphone or tablet.