Articles
Welcome to our research center! We've put together a library of information on important financial topics that we believe you'll find helpful.
Simply click on one of the general financial topics below and you'll find a selection of easy-to-understand information sheets about related financial concepts and strategies. This information is updated regularly to reflect the latest facts, figures, legislation, and economic trends.
Estates & Trusts
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What Key Estate Planning Tools Should I Know About?
Wills and trusts allow you to spell out how you would like your property distributed, but they also go beyond that.
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How Can a Living Trust Help Me Control My Estate?
A living trust can help control the distribution of your estate upon death.
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How Can My Gift Benefit Me and the Charity?
To retain the tax advantages associated with charitable giving, your gift must be made to a qualified organization.
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How Will I Pay Estate Taxes?
If you believe your estate will be subject to estate taxes, consider how your heirs will pay the bill.
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What Gifting Strategies Are Available to Me?
Compare the advantages and disadvantages of different gifting strategies available for planned giving.
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How Can I Benefit from a Charitable Remainder Trust?
A designated income beneficiary could receive payment of a specified amount from a charitable remainder trust.
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Could My Family Benefit from a Family Limited Partnership?
One estate planning strategy that families with closely held businesses could consider is the family limited partnership.
Retirement
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What Is a Self-Employed Retirement Plan?
Tax-deferred retirement plans for self-employed individuals have higher contribution limits than IRAs.
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What Is an Indexed Annuity?
An indexed annuity may provide some upside potential and downside protection.
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Retirement Plan Distributions
When receiving money accumulated in your employer-sponsored retirement plan, you have two options: lump sum or annuity.
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What Is a Traditional IRA?
If you do not participate in an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you might consider a traditional IRA.
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What Is a 401(k) Plan?
401(k) employer-sponsored retirement plans have many benefits, including that the funds accumulate tax-deferred.
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How Should I Manage My Retirement Plan?
Employer-sponsored retirement plans are more important than ever, but managing the assets can be confusing.
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Save Now or Save Later?
If you start saving for retirement sooner, the more money you are likely to accumulate and possibly retire sooner.
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What Is a Roth IRA?
Qualified Roth IRA distributions in retirement are free of federal income tax and aren’t included in gross income.
Tax Planning
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What Is Tax Deferral?
There can be a substantial benefit to deferring taxes as long as possible.
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Is There Such a Thing as a Tax-Free Investment?
It's important to understand tax-exempt vehicles when establishing a comprehensive tax planning strategy.
Investing
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What Types of Bonds Are Available?
Bonds are issued by many entities and share many characteristics, each type of bond has certain benefits and risks.
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What Is a Bond?
A bond is simply evidence of a debt from a government entity or a corporation and represents a long-term IOU.
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What Is a Stock Index?
Stock market indexes can be useful benchmarks for gauging the performance of an investment portfolio over time.
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What Investment Risks Should I Know About?
Understanding different types of investment risk can help investors manage their money more effectively.
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What Are the Different Classes of Assets?
There are five broad asset classes that you should take into consideration when constructing your investment portfolio.
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What Is Asset Allocation?
Asset allocation is a method used to help manage investment risk; it does not guarantee a profit or protect against investment loss.
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What Is Dollar-Cost Averaging?
Dollar-cost averaging involves investing a set amount of money on a regular basis, regardless of market conditions.
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529 Lesson Plan: High Scores for 529 Plans
529 plans are tax-advantaged savings plans that generally allow people of any income level to contribute.
Cash Management
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What Are Some Tips for Managing My Money?
A sound cash management program uses a disciplined approach: accounting, analysis, allocation, and adjustment.
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How Long Will It Take to Double My Money?
Before making investment decisions, it is helpful to determine the real rate of return on the investment.
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What Advantages Does a Biweekly Mortgage Offer?
Biweekly mortgage payments can have a dramatic effect on the amount of interest homeowners have to pay.
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What About Financial Aid for College?
It's important to understand the options, such as financial aid grant programs, when having to pay for college.
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How Does Inflation Affect Me?
Historically, one of the best ways to fight the effects of inflation has been to utilize growth-oriented investments.
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Is a Home Equity Loan or Line of Credit Right for Me?
Shifting some debt to a home equity loan, which typically allows interest payments to be tax deductible, could have its advantages.
Risk Management
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Why Purchase Life Insurance?
If you have a family who relies on your income, it is important to have life insurance protection.
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Do I Need a Business Owner Policy?
A business owner policy is an insurance package that assembles the basic coverages required by a business owner in one bundle.
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Life Insurance for Business Owners
Company-owned life insurance is one way to help protect a business from financial problems caused by the death of a key employee.
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What Is Split-Dollar Life Insurance?
Split-dollar life insurance is an arrangement to purchase and fund life insurance between two parties.
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What Is Term Life Insurance?
Term life insurance differs from permanent forms of life insurance in that it offers temporary protection.
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What Is Whole Life Insurance?
Some of the pros and cons of whole life insurance.
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What Is Universal Life Insurance?
Consider a universal life insurance policy if you want the flexibility to change your premium or death benefit.
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What Is Variable Life Insurance?
Variable life insurance gives you the control to allocate your account value among a variety of investment options.
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How Can I Protect My Home?
Since your home is one of your greatest assets, you should make sure it is adequately protected. That's where homeowners insurance enters the picture.
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What Types of Health Coverage Are Available?
There are three basic types of medical insurance plans: fee-for-service, managed care, and high-deductible health plan.
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What Is the Difference Between an HMO and a PPO?
Selecting health insurance is often one of the most important decisions you will make. Do you know the different types?
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Am I Prepared for Long-Term Care Expenses?
The odds of needing long-term care increase as you age. Prior planning can help protect you from financial ruin.
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What Does Medicare Cover?
Medicare is the federal health insurance program for those persons age 65 and over. But what does it cover?