WrapManager's Wealth Management Blog
When life changes, we can help you thoughtfully respond.

Leslie L. Horgan

Client Service Specialist

Recent Posts

4 Ways the New Tax Law Can Reduce Your 2018 Taxable Income

Posted by Leslie L. Horgan | Client Service Specialist

September 19, 2018

A recent survey from the American Institute of CPAs found that 63% of individuals who either have $250,000 in investable assets and/or $200,000 in household income were likely to tweak 2018 financial planning strategies as a result of the new tax law.

Most of the respondents indicated that ‘tweaking’ their financial plans would be in an effort to reduce taxable income, and the 2018 Tax Cut and Jobs Act offers a few new methods to do just that.¹

Here are four:

  1. Lump Your Charitable Contributions Together – in the new tax law, the charitable giving deduction has remained in place for taxpayers who itemize. The thing is, however, that many taxpayers are expected to take the standard deduction in 2018 instead of itemizing, since it has jumped to $12,000 for individuals and $24,000 for married couples.

    One method to get over the standard deduction, however, would be what many CPAs call “bunching,” or making a few years’ worth of charitable donations in a single year. That way, you could itemize your deductions in one year, and perhaps take the standard deduction the next.
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Taxes Tax Planning

Do You Live in One of the Wealthiest Parts of the Country?

June 27, 2018
For nearly 20 years WrapManager has been headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is notoriously (based on hard data) one of the most expensive areas in the world. And while we are a nation-wide investment manager, it comes as little surprise (to us at least) that 21 of the 100 wealthiest cities in the US are in California, with most them in the San Francisco Bay Area. This fun fact may have some readers now wondering what the 100 wealthiest cities/communities are, and whether you might live in one of them! (It left us quite curious.) Well, thanks to a Bloomberg analysis of 2016 US Census data, now you can find out. [+] Read More

Legacy Planning with Donor Advised Funds

May 16, 2018
If part of your legacy and estate planning involves giving to charity, you may want to consider Donor Advised Funds (DAF). DAFs are not generally telegraphed as a solution for investors with charitable inclinations, but perhaps they should be – DAFs offer a unique approach to giving assets, potentially growing your assets, and then donating them to the charity (or charities) of your choosing – all in a tax efficient manner. So What Are Donor Advised Funds Exactly? The IRS defines them as a fund or account operated by a charitable, 501(c)(3) organization, which is known as a “sponsoring organization.” Once a Donor Advised Fund is established at a sponsoring organization, contributions are made to the account by individual donors. These contributions can range from anything to cash, or mutual funds, or commercial or residential real estate, to life insurance policies and more. Once the donor makes the contribution, the sponsoring organization has legal control over it, but the donor is generally entitled to an immediate tax deduction associated with the charitable contributions and would also maintain control over the investment management and distribution of funds from the account. [+] Read More

Aging in Place: Retirement Planning for Home Care Costs

February 20, 2018
In the context of retirement planning, most people are naturally drawn to talking about travel, hobbies, grandchildren, and leisure activities. And for good reason – that’s what retirement is supposed to be all about! There is a necessary distinction between retirement and retirement planning, however. Planning must go beyond the ‘fun’ items and consider all expenses we may incur over time and throughout life. One of those expenses – and a major one – is the cost of health and home care later in life. [+] Read More

Navigating Your Finances Through Divorce

January 22, 2018
There’s really no way to sugarcoat it – though relationships are often filled with love and beauty, they can also be complicated and sometimes difficult to sustain over time. In recent years, January has earned the dubious honor of being nicknamed “Divorce Month,” as analysis of divorce filings between 2008 and 2011 revealed a spike in divorces in January through March.1 Life changes like divorce or separation almost always call for major financial adjustments, which can often feel like insult to injury. But it doesn’t have to be that way – working with your financial advisor can help you work through the process professionally, and can also prevent emotion from sifting into financial decision-making. That’s key to eliminating some of the financial consequences of divorce. [+] Read More

Have you heard of the “January Effect”?

December 27, 2017
You many have heard people speak about the "January Effect," but what does it actually mean? In short, the January Effect is a concept suggesting that the first month of the year tends to experience a seasonal increase in stock prices. Some even take the anomaly a step further, suggesting that a positive January means a positive calendar year. With January around the corner, does the “January Effect” concept hold water? Let’s investigate. [+] Read More

What is Tax Loss Harvesting?

October 25, 2017
The White House released an outline for major tax reform in September. There are some ambitious goals in the plan: reduce seven individual tax brackets down to three, lower the corporate tax rate by 15%, eliminate the estate tax, nearly double the standard deduction while eliminating most itemized deductions, and much more. There could be some major changes ahead. But since so much remains up in the air as Congress debates the issue and actually writes the new law, it may not be worth diving into the details just yet. Instead, we’ll focus on a tax issue that is fast approaching for many investors: tax loss harvesting in preparation for your next tax filing. [+] Read More

What is the Federal Reserve?

August 9, 2017
The Federal Reserve (Fed) met on July 25 and 26 with little fanfare, since they did not end up raising interest rates. In a statement, the Fed said the job market continues to strengthen, but inflation remains somewhat of a concern. Inflation metrics have fallen below the 2% threshold the Fed considers healthy, and as such the central bank will be “monitoring inflation developments closely.” The Fed gets quite a bit of media attention, and it got us thinking: for many normal investors and retirees, the Federal Reserve is probably an institution shrouded in mystery. What is the Federal Reserve? How did they come into existence? Are they as important as everyone says they are?1 There is no way we can cover all of that ground in this post, but we figured offering four little-known facts about the Federal Reserve could at least help readers get to know the institution a bit better. Here they are: [+] Read More

Common Financial Credentials: What is a CFP, CWS, and CFA?

May 2, 2017
Once you’ve realized that hiring a financial advisor is worth it, the next step is choosing the right one for you. When you began your search you may have noticed that there is a wide variety of different acronyms that come after their name. For investors of all types, the alphabet soup of financial credentials can be confusing, especially if you’re searching for a wealth manager or financial advisor with a particular skill set. Read on to learn about the difference between a Certified Financial Planner®, a Certified Wealth Strategist®, and a Chartered Financial Analyst®. [+] Read More

Katie’s LINC Presentation and the Time She Flew

February 17, 2017
If you’ve ever called WrapManager and been welcomed with a crisp British accent, you’ve had the good fortune to speak with Katie O’Connor, Director of Client Services, over the phone. In her role, Katie works to ensure that our team is utilizing the best technology available today. By combining this technology with a white glove client experience, Katie has helped our customer service approach one to be admired and shared within the industry. As she says, “[because we use] the best technology to deliver a white glove customer service, advisors from around the country want to learn from our experience. And that’s why TD Ameritrade invited me to participate on a panel at their annual National LINC conference [which is for financial advisors] in San Diego this year.” The panel discussion “Leverage Workflows in Your CRM” focused on how financial advisors who use best practices in their customer relationship management (CRM) tool can provide better service to their clients. After the panel, we sat down with Katie to hear more about why this topic and this conference, should matter to WrapManager clients. [+] Read More