IFP Insights

This year, celebrate Earth Day by looking at your portfolio and determining if ESG investing is suitable for you and your values.

Tax-loss harvesting is a process that involves deliberately selling securities at a loss in order to offset your earnings from other securities, thereby potentially reducing your tax burden. In other words, if you have an investment that’s lost value, you can sell it and deduct the value of that loss from the gains you realize elsewhere. That deduction lowers your total taxable income for the year, which may result in tax savings.

An estate plan outlines how you’d like your assets to be distributed upon your passing. It helps ensure that your wishes are upheld, your legacy is cemented, and your loved ones are cared for. It can also spare your family from unnecessary confusion, conflict, and tax burdens.

Taxes may be an inevitability but there are ways you can reduce your total tax obligation by planning proactively. For instance, a Roth IRA may allow you to make tax-free withdrawals during retirement and you can roll funds into a Roth from your tax-deferred retirement accounts.

Floods are among the most frequent and costly natural disasters that are especially prevalent in the spring. Last year alone, excessive rainfall brought flooding to many locations, making it the second deadliest year for flooding in the past five years.

Have you ever wondered how to apply March Madness to your financial well-being? There may be parallels between your bracket selection and investing.

Many people equate Medicare and Social Security benefits with retirement – but what if, when that day arrives, you aren’t quite ready to say goodbye to your day job?

There are four steps you can follow to develop a thorough retirement income plan. Gathering the information you will need may take some effort, but the details you collect will be instrumental to building your plan.

Financial experts have nicknamed the five years before retirement and the five years after it the “retirement red zone.” Here, the far-off concept of retirement has become a reality. Rather than looking to maximize growth, you’re ready to scale down your portfolio to maintain a steady stream of income.

It's never too early to start looking at your tax obligations for the coming tax season. The information in this article is for the 2023 tax year, which most taxpayers will file in 2024.