10/16/2018 - Products and Registrations

We occasionally get questions from folks about the performance of a certain type of investment.  Sometimes people will ask questions like - which is better, an IRA or a CD? 

It is helpful to understand a few basic terms in a discussion like this.  Each investment that you have has two features to it -- the product it is actually invested in and the tax registration that the investment is held in.

Product

The product is what 'type' of investment vehicle is used.  This could be a mutual fund, brokerage account, variable annuity, certificate of deposit (CD), professional money management, or other type of investment.   Each of these investments are chosen based on what your risk tolerance is and your time frame until retirement.  They have different capacity for return or gain - because they have different intended purposes.  Generally speaking (but not always), those that have the greatest return usually require the greatest risk.  

Registration

Each product, no matter what it is, has a certain tax registration.  You might have a CD that is held as a Traditional IRA (individual retirement account), which has been purchased with pre-tax dollars.  Or a CD could be held as a JTWROS (joint tenants with right of survivorship) which has been purchased with after-tax dollars.  The same is true for mutual funds and other investment vehicles -- when you create the account, you are declaring whether it is being purchased with pre- or after-tax dollars and a registration is named on the account.  

What we do...

We believe it is very helpful for everyone to have a basic knowledge of investments and how they work.  We know that some people enjoy learning about investments - and they have acquired a lot of working knowledge along the way. Other folks don't really enjoy or understand the field of investments and they'd rather let someone else handle it for them.

We are willing to work with both types of people and believe we can be an asset to both.  If you'd like to discuss how your investments work (and work for you), please reach out to us to schedule a no-obligation appointment.  If you don't really want to know more(!) but realize that you should be a good steward of what's been given to you, we can help you learn basic terms and concepts and we will make recommendations to you in terms you can understand. 

Give us a call if you'd like to talk.

Appointment Nights

We are setting aside November 12 through November 16 as a week dedicated to new client evening appointments.  Call ahead to get a simple questionnaire completed and set a time to come in and talk. Maybe it is retirement planning or questions about inheritance or aging parents… perhaps you need to know what to do with an old 401k or whether to start a Roth IRA.  Maybe you don’t really know what you need to be asking!  We are truly here to help—if you’ll invest a few minutes in completing a questionnaire ahead of time.

No cost or obligation!