Did you know that you could be on the hook for your parent’s long-term care expenses? While these “filial responsibility” laws have rarely been enforced in the past, there’s a recent case where a court sided with an assisted living facility. John Pittas, a restaurant owner, from Pennsylvania was sued in 2008 by his mother’s [...]
Heather Gudac has become the newest partner in Financial Symmetry, Inc., a locally-owned, fee-only financial planning and investment management firm. Gudac states, “I am proud to join the firm as a partner and look forward to contributing to our high-level client service model as our company continues to grow. I am excited to share ownership [...]
On Friday, April 26th, we hosted our Third Annual Client Appreciation Night. Almost 150 of our clients and their families enjoyed a night of good food, conversation and baseball as the Durham Bulls took on the Toledo Mud Hens. It was one of the most exciting Durham Bulls game in memory. We got to witness [...]
With April 15th now behind us, were you surprised by a large amount owed or a large refund? In some cases large amounts owed or refunded are a result of the withholding choices each employee chooses at the beginning of the year to be withheld from their paychecks. With over half of the year left, [...]
Warran Buffett once said, “the investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.” This is never more evident than with individual investor performance in mutual funds. Morningstar, the mutual fund research company, annually calculates the difference between mutual fund returns (time-weighted) and investor returns (dollar-weighted). A mutual fund’s published total return reflects a “buy [...]
Over the past few months we have been detailing the findings of Morningstar’s Gamma research, which highlights the value of smart financial planning. This post will summarize the last of the five strategies, liability relative investing. The research notes that “the purpose of the portfolio is to pay for an ongoing liability, which in the [...]
On January 1st, Congress put together a tax deal that allowed most of the Bush-era tax cuts to remain in place. This means that most taxpayers will see little change to their income taxes. However, Congress did allow the payroll tax holiday that was enacted in 2010 to expire, which adds 2% to the amount [...]
While the Morningstar Gamma research found that a dynamic withdrawal strategy has the greatest impact on retirement income, the strategy above was a close second. Asset Location Asset Location refers to where asset types are held. For example, a general rule of thumb is to hold stocks in taxable accounts as they are subject to [...]
By Katie Bryan, America Saves Communications Manager. America Saves Week, February 25 – March 2, 2013, is chance for individuals to assess their own saving status and take financial action. Studies reveal that having a savings plan with specific goals can have beneficial financial effects, even for lower-income families. Here are 5 easy ways to [...]
On Thursday, February 7th, Kiplinger teamed up with the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) and the NAPFA Consumer Education Foundation to answer retirement and financial questions. The program was called “Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan Days.” Financial Symmetry partner Allison Berger, CFP®, participated in the online chat series, in a segment focusing on “Income in [...]
We’ve created a few documents that may assist you in sorting and gathering your financial data.
