News & Insights

Since the election in 2020, there has been a lot of time and attention spent reporting on potential tax changes that might be passed into law by Congress.

Target date funds represent the ultimate, “leave it to the experts” choice for individual retirement plan investments. They are increasingly and overwhelmingly the default fund of choice for plan sponsors, due to their evolving asset allocation strategy that attempts to cater to every person’s retirement goal.

In her book Thinking in Bets, the former professional poker player, Annie Duke says “What makes a decision great is not that it has a great outcome. A great decision is the result of a good process, and that process must include an attempt to accurately represent our own state of knowledge.” When interviewing asset managers, process is a key pillar of focus for West Financial. There are countless ways to manage money.

Oops! She did it again. Britney Spears is back in the media, bringing conservatorships into the spotlight. While Britney’s situation is atypical and somewhat controversial, this article outlines fundamentals of conservatorship, why a conservatorship may be needed and, as is the question in Britney’s case, when a conservatorship can end. “Conservator” and “guardian” are roles that can be confusing.

The question in the title refers to Social Security and whether it will or will not be available for individuals who are still years away from filing for their own benefits.

   Act like an antique British car owner when it comes to your portfolio. Our Military Kids, a charity that helps children of military men and women that are deployed overseas, recently held a car rally fundraiser. As part of our sponsorship, I was lucky enough to spend a Saturday driving around backroads in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania with a bunch of British antique car aficionados.

In our last newsletter, Kristan Anderson delved into some of the complexities and planning opportunities surrounding required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts.

When a famous Hollywood actor died unexpectedly in 2008 at age 28, the will he had signed in 2003 named his parents and sisters as the beneficiaries of his estate.

Since the start of the pandemic, current college students have been put in a place that no one in history has ever been.

Well, actually that’s not quite how it works. I’m often surprised by how little some clients understand the rules around taking required minimum distributions, or RMDs, from retirement accounts.