Author Archives: Grace Rohrwasser

Barely Reported Growth

Market Minute

December 2023 – By Bob Veres

It’s surprising that this isn’t getting more attention in the press, but the U.S. Commerce Department has reported that the American economy grew by a remarkable 5.2% annualized pace in this year’s third quarter.  Corporate profits were up 4.3% for the quarter, following a somewhat anemic 0.8% gain in the second quarter.  Consumer spending rose 3.6%, and the next report could top that, based on record-setting sales reported on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

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Is it Time to Cash in your I-Bond?

Market Memo

November 2023 – By Kyle Rohrwasser

Many of us utilized I-Bonds recently during the most inflationary time since 1980 when the inflation rate topped 13%. This time around the US inflation rate topped out at 9.1% in June of 2022. Many rushed to the I-Bonds with the promise of a high rate should inflation stay elevated. At the time it was almost too good to be true, with elevated inflation generating large yields with minimal to no risk since it is a US Government Bond. Rarely do you see such advantageous situations, but from time to time certain products sway in the favor of the consumer.

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There’s More to Celebrate as We Head Into the Holidays – IRS Announces Changes!

Planning Article

November 2023 – By Tom Rueger, J.D., CFP®

As we head into the 2023 holiday season there is now one more thing to celebrate this year…wait for it…the new 2024 tax brackets are here! Does it get any better than that??? Hopefully, it does get better than that and, if not, you should start working on your New Year’s resolutions! All joking aside, the IRS has announced what the income tax brackets and standard deductions will be for the 2024 tax year (taxes filed in 2025).

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The Economics of Tax-Loss Harvesting

Market Minute

November 2023 – By Bob Veres

’Tis the season when many financial services professionals look at the best way to offset the taxable dividend distributions their clients might be receiving, using losses that can be ‘harvested’ by selling under-water investments and booking the losses on taxable (that is, not IRA or Roth) accounts.  This is not always a trivial exercise; a website called Capital Gains Valet reports that last year, 34 different mutual funds distributed more than 30% of their total value in the form of taxable distributions.

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