Regardless of what happens with the “fiscal cliff”, the economy, markets or the deficit, you name it, you are looking at climbing tax rate over the next few years. Our guests this week are two pros who can help you plan ahead with a tax-efficiency plan. Christine Benz is Director of Personal Finance and Senior Columnist for Morningstar.com, where she gives sound advice on just about everything having to do with managing your finances. Our other guest is Robert Amodeo, Head of Municipals at Western Asset Management, who was named Municipal Manager of the Year by Institutional Investor Magazine in 2011. The taxman cometh, so you’d better be ready.
ACTION POINT
IDENTIFY SOME TAX AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES TO BOOST YOUR INVESTMENT RETURNS
Tax avoidance strategies include: Re-visit municipal bonds Put higher tax investments in tax deferred accounts Emphasize tax efficient strategies including: index funds, ETFs, and individual stocks Watch This Episode
CHECK OUT THE IMPACT COSTS ARE HAVING ON YOUR PORTFOLIO
Use Vanguard’s “The Truth About Costs” tool on their website – you can see the returns lost and the returns kept over different periods of time depending upon the expense ratio paid and the average annual return you are expecting. Watch this Episode
JOHN BOGLE: READ THIS!
Read This:
REASONS TO BUY OR SELL STOCKS
Personal financial objectives Tolerance for risk Investment time horizon Level of stock prices Watch this episode here.
VOTE!
Watch this episode here.