Financial Advisor Resources

It is 4Thought’s great pleasure to announce that Calvin Vu has successfully completed the CFA program and has earned the right to use the CFA designation. The Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Program is a professional credential offered internationally by the American-based CFA Institute to investment and financial professionals. The program covers a broad range of topics relating to investment management, financial analysis, quantitative analysis, equities, fixed income and derivatives, and provides a generalist knowledge of other areas of finance.

Retainer fee-based financial planning and wealth management services administered by trusted fiduciaries who act on your behalf can be instrumental in helping you achieve your lifelong financial goals. This includes developing a financial plan most aligned with your objectives, constantly revisiting and adjusting this so-called “fiscal roadmap” or “blueprint” in response to life events to ensure you remain on track, and providing insightful guidance to help navigate the various stages of your personal and professional life.

4Thought Financial Group is proud to announce the award-winning financial industry trade magazine and news site AdvisorNews has recently published an interview with its chief investment officer Jesse Mackey highlighting the New York-based financial planning and wealth management firm’s “Bear, Bull, Wolf & Eagle” analysis redefining traditional market cycles. 

4Thought Financial Group proudly announces the publication of an investment management column by its chief investment officer Jesse Mackey in the June print, online and mobile editions of the award-winning, peer-reviewed Journal of Financial Planning.

When a client and I first meet, we prepare a financial plan. Within the plan, we assess cash flow needs and determine how much the portfolio must generate in order to make up any monthly income shortfall, and thereby provide for the client’s lifestyle. By figuring out what the shortfall is, we can determine how to position the investments and other income sources.

When you’re sick, you visit a doctor. If your ailment persists or you’re told you need a more serious remedy, such as surgery, you get a second opinion from another.

Even when you’re feeling well, you still schedule a routine checkup.

Why? Because when it comes to your health, you don’t mess around. You want to ensure you’ve been diagnosed properly and are receiving the most effective treatment possible to achieve optimal health.

Your financial health and well-being may also benefit from a periodic wellness check, or second opinion, every so often.

(Co-authored by 4Thought Financial Group CIO Jesse Mackey)

Most individuals that either now have or expect to have substantial wealth in the future prefer to plan in advance of their own death to minimize estate taxes to the extent possible.

While the federal estate tax exclusion in 2019 is relatively high compared to history ($11.4 million for an individual), the amount above that left to beneficiaries on death may be taxed at a maximum rate of 40%. This could be a huge tax bill in some cases if the proper planning is not done beforehand. In addition, some states have their own lower estate tax exclusion (in New York for example, it’s $5.74 million), so more people need to consider doing such planning than one might think.

So how exactly can one reduce estate taxes?

While there are several potential answers to this question (and the appropriate ones depend on the specifics of the situation), one possible solution is the Irrevocable Living Trust.

Having been in the life and health insurance industry since 1984, I have become skeptical when insurance companies include language in the fine print such as: “may be,” “ordinarily excluded,” “check with your tax advisor,” or “the rider is not long-term care insurance and is not intended to replace long-term care insurance.”

Why are those disclosures included within hybrid life insurance and long-term care policy contracts? Do we have to find out at claim time exactly how they apply? The purpose of this article is to address some of these issues.

It’s well established that finances and money-related matters can be a prime source of disharmony within a marriage or relationship.

Understandably so. Between rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, car and health insurance, utilities and entertainment costs, retirement and/or college savings, and the daily necessary living expenses associated with home ownership, transportation, and/or children, it can add up.

And these are just a brief rundown of some of the known expenses; unaccounted for are those unexpected costs that inevitably arise throughout the course of life.