WeWork Follow Up
Since I wrote this piece last week WeWork, a heck of a lot has happened. The company has shelved the IPO, the CEO (Neumann) has stepped down and a lot of employees may soon be without a job. For a full reporting of the rapid and dramatic downfall, read this Business [...]
Private vs. Public Markets
The unfolding mess that is WeWork should provide some pause for retail investors. Private markets have long been considered a place to juice returns of giant institutional funds, the so-called "smart money". What WeWork and several other high profile stock offerings have shown is that there is a lot of [...]
Yield Curve Inversion-What is It?
I was speaking with a a financial planning client last week on the subject of refinancing her mortgage. I offhandedly said something to the effect that "the yield curve inversion might lead to a good opportunity to lock in a lower rate" (more on this later). She didn't really say [...]
Equifax Data Breach Settlement
As you've no doubt heard, the 2017 data breach from Equifax resulted in nearly 150 million American's data being compromised. This breach of data leaves the affected at risk of identity theft. Recently courts have agreed to settlement for those affected. I'm not sure the settlement is sufficient but it [...]
SECURE Act
Just to break up the monotony of summer, it appears the so-called SECURE Act is working its way through Congress. The bill is meant to increase retirement savings and allow for longer deferral of those retirement funds. But there is a downside to this potential law as well. First, some [...]
Education Costs and Student Loans
Educational accessibility and the associated costs seem primed to be a benchmark issue in the 2020 presidential election. Costs have skyrocketed over the last 30+ years and show no sign of slowing down (below from College Board.org) Note these are actual cost increases using 2018 dollars as a benchmark. [...]
Technology Disruption is Everywhere
Word leaked last week that Apple is in the process of breaking up it's (formerly) popular iTunes platform. My first reaction to this was "WTH?" After a few minutes of thinking about it, it dawned on me that I haven't downloaded anything from iTunes in probably 5 or 6 years. [...]
RIP-Tax Filing Season 2019
I have been through many tax filing seasons. Some years were tougher than others; be it adjustments to the tax code, technology snafus, even poor weather. But this past season was the most difficult I recall. That was true of the work itself but also interactions with confused clients. Try [...]
Tax Filing Season Observations
We are now a few weeks into the filing seasons and a few trends are already observed: While the IRS seems to have caught up following the shutdown many states are still behind. Many state forms are not released (particularly for partnerships and S Corporations) and this is slowing down [...]
When a Tax Cut is a Tax Increase
I have been writing about the Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) since it was passed in December 2017. I am confident that most clients will see a smaller tax burden in 2018 than under the old tax regulations. However, due to a quirky rule in several states, some taxpayers [...]
2018 Tax Preparation
Every year I sit to write this pre tax season letter, I feel like I just finished last year's version. Yet here I sit and, incredibly, 2018 is over and now comes everyone's favorite task of complying with state and federal requirements. This year's filings will look a bit different [...]
2018 Year In Review
2018 was a good one for the Woods Advisory Services, LLC team. We continue to have more frequent and meaningful planning discussions with all of our clients. This has come via more correspondence and discussions of client's specific goals and objectives. We started working with several of you last year [...]
Happy Holidays
To all of our clients, vendors and everyone we interact with on a regular basis, I would like to wish you all a happy holiday season whatever it is that your family celebrates. I also wish each of you a prosperous and healthy 2019 and look forward to our interactions [...]
Last Call for Year End Tax Planning
As I say every year, tax planning can't be done retroactively. Once the calendar reads January, planning opportunities for 2018 income taxes are gone (with some minor exceptions). And 2018 being the first filing year under the new Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) makes planning more unusual than any [...]
Woods Financial Services, LLC
What Has Changed You may soon notice that we are rebranding our firm as Woods Financial Services, LLC. This is done to better reflect the totality of service offerings we provide our clients. We often heard clients mention that "We didn't know you offered that service". Our goal is to [...]
October Stock Market Blues
There is no sugar coating it...October was the worst month for the S&P 500 since September 2011. The results in the tech heavy NASDAQ were worse and resulted in that index's biggest loss since November 2008. In the midst of this October selloff, there was no shortage of media pundits [...]
Retirement Crisis
The title of this post are not my words...they are the words of SEC Commissioner Kara Stein. She compares current retirement income trends as a "tsunami...that is fast approaching". Retirement Crisis Tsunami In the not so distant past, retirement income was comprised of the so called "three-legged stool" of Social [...]
Year End Tax Planning 2018
As everyone knows by now, the 2018 tax landscape is a marked shift from prior years. Virtually every taxpayer's return will look different in some way come next tax filing season. Here is a Money magazine chart displaying the impact of the tax change across differing income and filing statuses [...]
Taxes Paid Deduction
Probably the provision from last December's Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) I hear the most questions about is the deductibility of taxes paid. This issue has even been in the news quite a bit recently. Several states (MD included) have sued over the perceive as an unfair reduction in [...]
Overlooked Tax Planning Opportunities
I am frequently asked about various tax saving ideas and schemes. Often these ideas are overheard at cocktail parties, read on Facebook or from a cousin's neighbors accountant. The reality is that most of these schemes are not real and often are illegal. There really are no magic bullets and [...]
Opportunity Zones–0% Capital Gains!
I hesitate to even write this post because so much of the details are still unknown. But I would be doing clients a disservice if I didn't at least broach the subject. This post is a broad overview of designated Opportunity Zones and their associated benefits. What the heck are [...]
It’s not a Straight Ride Up
Netflix (NFLX) reported it's Q2 numbers after Monday afternoon's close to much disappointment and hand wringing. Immediately, in after hours trading, the stock plummeted ultimately opening this morning down about 15%. The stock pared its losses as of mid day by more than half but this performance of NFLX today [...]