Our Marketing Director applies the same iconoclastic design and critical thinking skills to sand castle construction as she uses in retirement portfolio construction.

June - July - August 2023

Announcements, colorful commentary, and useful financial planning tidbits from John H. Robinson

“I’ve tried hard to understand the arguments for crypto and figure out why people are so excited. I can’t find value there.”
- Sekth Klarman, Co-founder of $30 billion Boston-based hedge fund, Baupost Group.

Seth Klarman calls crypto ‘seductive idea’ with little substance behind it(MarketWatch, 6/27/2023)

Broken Clock Theory Part II...In 2020, I wrote an article about a Nobel Prize-winning economist who was lauded for correctly calling the 2007-2009 severe bear market in stocks. In the post, I pointed out how he had been predicting a market crash for years before it happened and has continued to predict it will happen again for the 15 years since. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reprises that story with a different lead character.

How to Get Rich and Famous From a Stock Market Crash (Wall Street Journal)

Let's Hear it for Retirement Savers ... In 2022, the total average contribution rate to 401(k) plans was 11.3% of pay, according to Vanguard’s latest How America Saves report. That’s including any company match, and it’s just shy of the 12% to 15% that Vanguard recommends workers sock away for retirement.

This respectable savings rate is notable given the market tumult that we saw last year. Rather than pull their money out, workers generally stuck with the program. Now, they’re rewarded by participating in the stock market's recovery.

Not Cowed by Losses, U.S. Workers Kept Saving at Record Rates in 2022 (Barron's, 6/15/2023)

NIIT is a Four-Letter Word... Many Americans are unaware that Uncle Sam has an extra tax that he reserves just for special people. The Net Investment Income Tax or NIIT may seem small at 3.8% but when added to existing marginal tax rates it gets "real" fast...and it is hitting more and more American investors who do not necessarily feel affluent.

The ‘You-Make-a-Lot-of-Money Tax’ Hits More Americans (WSJ, 6/23/2023)

Apropos of Nothing

Curious, sometimes humorous snippets of daily life that may or may not have anything to do with financial planning.

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The information contained herein is general in nature. Neither Financial Planning Hawaii nor J.W. Cole provides client-specific tax or legal advice. All readers should consult with their tax and/or legal advisors for such guidance in advance of making investment or financial planning decisions with tax or legal implications.