On March 11, 2020, the coronavirus outbreak was officially declared a pandemic. Now a full year into the pandemic, we invited back Dr. Edwin Yu, the former Medical Director of the Division of Infectious Disease at Banner University Medical Center, Phoenix, Arizona, to provide us an update on COVID-19. Catch the replay here.
Even though tax filing season is well underway, there's still time to make a regular IRA contribution for 2020. You have until your tax return due date (not including extensions) to contribute up to $6,000 for 2020 ($7,000 if you were age 50 or older on or before December 31, 2020). The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) delayed the April 15th tax-filing deadline to May 17th, giving taxpayers an...
Like all things in life, retirement planning has many aspects to it and a few items we can control but most items are beyond our control. To help remove some of the stress of retirement planning, we would like to help reframe the way that you look at retirement planning. Looking at the chart below it breaks down the most important factors that impact your retirement and are broken into three...
The two emergency relief bills passed in 2020 and another in 2021 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic will make this an unusual tax season for many taxpayers. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was passed in March, a second relief package was attached to the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, in December, and just recently the American Rescue Plan. The federal...
How will the American Rescue Plan impact you? Read more here.
February is behind us as we now enter March. This time last year was one for the record books and look at the economic summary below to better understand what transpired over the last month. As always, if you have any questions or want to discuss more in-depth do not hesitate to give us a call! Sources: Sources: J.P. Morgan Asset Management – Economic Update; Bureau of Economic Analysis...
When there is so much liquidity sloshing around the system, Wall Street always comes up with a way to capitalize with a bit of financial engineering. The latest soup de jour is a special purpose acquisition company (“SPAC”). A SPAC is a “blank check” company that raises money in an Initial Public Offering (“IPO”) to merge with a privately held company that then becomes publicly traded as a...
If you have just recently enrolled in Medicare, you may be wondering how your premiums are calculated. Although Medicare eligibility is not income-based, the income you report on your tax return does play a role on your monthly premiums. As with everything else when it comes to IRS and taxes, things can get complicated and confusing! As a refresher, Part A (hospital) generally has no premium,...
At the end of 2019, no one predicted that the unemployment rate would hit its highest level since the Great Depression, average wages would decline but household incomes would increase, thanks to government stimulus checks. Had the U.S. government not provided stimulus checks, many more Americans would have struggled financially. Financial advisors typically recommend having at least 3–6...
Wall Street can often feel like a popularity contest. Every year the market has a darling stock or stocks that everyone agrees to be the flavor of the month (or year, or decade) and the stock(s) will dramatically rise regardless of fundamentals or other factors. Asset bubbles inflating and bursting are a recurring phenomenon in world economic history – the British South Sea Company bubble...
All those benefits of personal growth, expanded horizons, and increased lifetime earning power comes at a price, a price that increases every year, but we believe a college degree is worth it. A college education is expensive. For decades, college costs have outpaced annual inflation, and this trend is expected to continue. According to the College Board's annual Trends in College Pricing...
If you would like to revisit any portion of the BFSG hosted presentation "The Art of Healthy Living" presented by Lauren DeWolf, MS, RD, CWHC, it is now available On Demand by clicking here (while complimentary, registration is required for On-Demand viewing as well). During the webinar, Lauren explains stress and its relationship to wellbeing, the power of produce, environmental modifications...
The WallStreetBets subreddits members making their YOLO bets with their stimies on GameStonk are asking; “Where are my tendies now”? Don’t ask if you didn’t understand that sentence but just look at these charts of GameStop (GME). Source: Bloomberg (GME 1/13/21 - 2/12/21) Source: Bloomberg (GME 8/1/20 - 2/12/21) If you didn’t get a chance to see the “Coffee with Dr. Steve and Katie” we...
The title might take many of you by surprise and this topic is not to discourage homeownership but is more geared to explaining why your home (and possibly other properties) may not be the best investment or why your home should not be viewed as an investment. The primary focus of this article will be on your primary residence and not on rental properties. We are also going to assume that this...
We know trying to keep up with everything going on in the market is difficult. We do this full time with several experienced professionals to help make sure we can get as much information as possible to help us try and make the best investment decisions for our clients. Below is a monthly summary we will be doing going forward to help you track some of the most important data points in one...
Tailor portfolios to your needs and goals.
Investing and saving wisely is vital to success in retirement.
Navigating the complexities of your financial affairs can be simplified.
Help to increase the amount you “take home”.
Protect your loved ones and make sure your legacy endures.
Simplify the many options and decision points of executive compensation plans.
Confidently plan for your children’s future.
Give in a tax-smart, simple way.
*Please Note: Limitations. The scope of services to be provided depends upon the terms of the engagement, and the specific requests and needs of the client. BFSG does not serve as an attorney, accountant, or insurance agent. BFSG does not prepare legal documents or tax returns, nor does it sell insurance products. Please Also Note: Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including the investments and/or investment strategies recommended and/or undertaken by BFSG) or any financial planning or consulting services, will be profitable, equal any historical performance level(s), or prove successful.
California Office (Headquarters)
Wealth Management & Institutional Services
2040 Main Street, Suite 720, Irvine, CA 92614
Arizona Office
Wealth Management
1643 E. Bethany Home Road, Phoenix, AZ 85016
