March 2019: Charitable Contributions – Are They Still Tax Deductible?
The recent tax law has changed the nature of charitable giving a bit and we’re writing with a brief summary of how you can enjoy the greatest tax-deductibility of your charitable contributions.
Generally speaking, when you make a contribution to a qualified charity or non-profit, that amount is allowed to be potentially deducted on your income tax return (and thus lower your taxes). Whether you actually end up getting a deduction depends mainly on whether or not you do what is called itemizing your deductions.
For 2019, each individual is allowed to take $12,200 off of income while couples can take $24,400 off. This “Standard Deduction” is a flat deduction the IRS offers to everyone.
But, if you have actual deductible expenses which total more than that standard deduction, you can “itemize” your deductions and claim a greater reduction in income.
Read More2018 Q4: Are we in a recession or bear market?
There was no place to hide in 2018. Virtually every asset class around the globe had negative returns. In 2018, the U.S. total stock market was down -5.24% while both developed and emerging international markets were down a bit over -14%. Global real estate was down and -5.9% for the year. 1
Most of the pullback came during the last quarter of the year. From their 2018 peaks, and with much media fanfare, global markets approached or entered “bear market territory” (losses of 20% or more) during the worst December since the Great Depression.
Read More2018 Q3: Why invest in foreign equities?
With the US stock market up over 10% through the third quarter this year, you may have asked yourself why your portfolio wasn’t up more. The answer lies in global diversification. You hold many types of investments in your portfolio and most of the other asset classes in the portfolio are flat or down for the year. That’s a normal part of diversification. It’s rare to have all parts of the portfolio up or down at the same time. It’s normal to have some areas performing well while others aren’t. Let’s look at the performance of global stock markets year-to-date through 9/30/2018 as an...
Read More2018 Q2: Sustainable Investing
Over the years we have quietly evolved our investment philosophy and holdings so as to be able to focus our investment towards those companies doing the most good (and least harm) for the planet and for society.
In doing so, we have become leaders in this approach to incorporating environmental and socially responsible criteria into building client portfolios. In fact, MFA is one of the top investors in the sustainable funds of Dimensional Fund Advisors’ (“DFA”).
Read MoreJune 2018: Guessing Jelly Beans
Have you ever seen that game where the goal is to guess the number of jelly beans in a jar? When you look at the range of guesses, you’ll find a huge disparity – some people’s guesses are surprisingly low while others’ are much too high. Yet, something amazing happens when you take the average of everyone’s guesses: The average guess ends up being right on.
This effect is referred to as “The Wisdom of the Crowds.” The term, coined in the book by James Surowiecki, proposes that the collective intelligence of a crowd can exceed that of any of its individuals.
The wisdom of the crowds is very relevant to investing.
Read More2018 Q1: Round trip to tax time
The First Quarter’s Round Trip The global stock markets started the year off with a bang and by the end of the first quarter of 2018 they were back to a touch below where they started the year. After roaring up 6% to 8% in January, various global markets ended the quarter modestly down: U.S. stocks were down -0.61%, international stocks were down -1.18%. In the meantime, various bond market indices were also down slightly (flat to down about -1.5%). Over the past 12 months, overall diversified returns were about where we would expect with a large variance in returns. Bonds were flat or down...
Read More