4-minute Money Ideas

Problems With Your U.S. Brokerage Account? By Douglas Goldstein, CFP®   Many readers have recently contacted me because they received a letter from their U.S. brokerage firm informing them that either “You can no longer purchase additional shares of mutual funds in your account,” or “We will no longer provide investment advisory services to you and/or you may only enter liquidating orders or non-solicited orders in your account.”   This letter is not a result of new American legislation; rather it means the brokerage firm handling your portfolio is no longer interested in working with clients living outside the United States. Don’t despair. There are solutions that can possibly even improve your situation.   What action step you should take Even if you can’t continue to work with your existing brokerage firm, you do not need to cash out your American account.  Rather, work with a firm that specializes in opening brokerage accounts for clients who have an Israeli address (see www.profile-financial.com/faq for

How Quickly Should You Invest The Money You Inherit? By Douglas Goldstein, CFP® Though I often advise people to wait before investing an inheritance, sometimes you must take quick action. When do you need to act quickly? If you inherited a risky position, you should consider liquidating it. For example, the grandfather who always managed the stock portfolio passes away, leaving large amounts of money invested in a few individual stocks. Unable to live on her own, the grandmother who now owns the stock portfolio needs to move to a nursing facility. What would happen if she waited 12 - 18 months to deal with the account and then, just before she sold in order to pay her bills, the stock market crashed? How much money do you need now? If you inherit a portfolio of stocks, ask yourself if you are in a position to wait (possibly for years) to use the money. A fancy car or a luxurious vacation is not an emergency expense. On the other hand, paying for home health care or other medical procedures may very well be a

Are You Getting The Social Security You Deserve? By Douglas Goldstein, CFP® The “Greenberg Settlement,” the resolution of a class-action lawsuit brought against the Social Security Administration (SSA), changes the way American olim receive their American Social Security payments. Under the SSA’s Windfall Elimination Provision, if you receive a foreign earnings-based pension, your American benefits are reduced. Until now, claimants of Social Security living in Israel who also received Bituach Leumi old age pension had their payments from Social Security reduced under the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP).  This was because Bituach Leumi was considered as an extra pension and counted as a “windfall.” In 2013, Ephraim Greenberg, a U.S. citizen living in Israel, brought a class action to change this situation because Bituach Leumi pensions are not dependent on earnings and therefore don’t fall within the criteria of the WEP. Now you can claim your money back In July 2015, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer

When Should You Give Trading Authority to Your Children? By Douglas Goldstein, CFP® Recently, one of my clients had a serious fall at home, breaking his hip, and ended up in the hospital. As a result of his injuries, it was clear that he could not deal with his finances for the foreseeable future and had to hand over trading authority to his daughter.  As this all happened suddenly, decisions had to be made in a hurry, leading to mediocre results. If my client, who is over 80, had agreed to hand over trading authority earlier, he and his daughter would have been better prepared for a scenario where he could no longer make financial decisions. What is trading authority? A trading authority form is a legal document that allows someone else to act as your agent over your account. Your agent can have limited trading authority, which means that he can make transactions on your behalf but not withdraw any money, or full trading authority, which means he can make withdrawals from your account. A trading authority i

What You Need to Do After You Inherit an IRA By Douglas Goldstein, CFP® If you receive an inheritance, it might come in the form of property, a bank account, or brokerage account. But what if you receive an inheritance from someone’s individual retirement account (often called an “IRA”)? IRAs are different from regular brokerage accounts A regular brokerage account is normally structured as either an “individual” or a “joint” account, and a person’s will determines how the assets will be distributed upon his death. An IRA, on the other hand, is normally distributed via a “beneficiary designation.” That’s actually much easier because when a person sets up his IRA, he instructs the brokerage firm or bank to list the names of primary beneficiaries (and contingent beneficiaries if one of the original ones has died). It’s a comparatively easy procedure to move the money from an IRA to the proper beneficiary. Make sure you read this before receiving an inheritance from an IRA One of the great benefits that the Uni

By Douglas Goldstein, CFP® Regardless of the more modern way people look at gender, there are significant differences in how men and women should invest their money. Here’s why: Women’s pensions tend to be smaller Women’s pension payouts tend to be lower than men’s payouts, because most women work fewer hours and have lower salaries than their male counterparts. Even though “paternity leave” is becoming more common, most women still take additional non-paid time after having a baby. And, when they return to work, they may return to a part-time position. All this means a lower salary, and a proportionately lower contribution to a pension fund. Women live longer than men In Israel, the average lifespan of a man is 81 years, while a woman’s life expectancy is 84. In the United States, average life expectancy for a man is 76 and for a woman 81. As women generally retire earlier than men and live longer, this means a lengthier retirement and more bills. Furthermore, if a pension doesn’t increase with inflation, th

Non-Americans who want to invest internationally often use U.S. brokerage accounts. While it may seem counter-intuitive for a non-American to open an American brokerage account from overseas, there are several reasons why this is a good move. 2 reasons why non-U.S. folks use American accounts Efficiency – U.S. securities markets may be the most efficient and individual-investor friendly in the world. American regulations place customer protection and transparency at the top of their concerns. You can have a diversified basket of global assets within a “regular” U.S. brokerage account, and do it cost effectively. Diversification – A U.S. brokerage account can host a variety of investment vehicles, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and bank deposits (CDs). American brokerage portfolios can hold investments in both American and global companies. Do non-American heirs need to pay U.S. Inheritance Tax? One of the issues that non-Americans face by opening an American brokerage account is the possibility of th

Are bonds safe as an investment? Explore how they can provide safety and increase diversification in an investment portfolio.