Category Archives: Business Reports

By Kevin M. Hedley

Looking back on 2022, for much of the year inflation was a major topic. 

Inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June of 2022 which was the highest rate since 1980. Inflation is measured by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics which calculates CPI inflation by taking an average weighted cost of a basket of goods and dividing it by the same basket of goods from the previous month. 

So, a lot of the inflation numbers reported are based in comparison to the previous month and not since the beginning of the year. Some of the root causes of inflation included higher commodity prices due to supply issues which was exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, higher prices due to increased demand of consumers who spent less in the pandemic while saving more and supply struggling to keep up, and tight labor markets leading to increases in employee wages.

In order to combat inflation, the Fed has tightened its monetary policy by continuing to raise interest rates at it’s most aggressive pace since the 1970s. It appears the Fed has made combatting inflation a top priority, understanding the risk of being so aggressive may cool the economy to the point of triggering a recession.

By Joseph Vedarte, CRPC

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. These four steps can help you figure out the amount that’s right for you. 

Ask three retirement experts how much you need to save for retirement, and you’ll likely get three different answers. 

One might respond with a specific number, say $3 million; another might suggest you save enough to let you draw down 80 percent to 90 percent of your annual pre-retirement income every year; and a third may say you should strive for 12 times your pre-retirement salary. So what’s right for you? And how do you know if you’re on track?

As you seek answers to those questions, the following steps can help you identify a sustainable savings target, one designed to support your desired lifestyle over a retirement that could last 30 years or more. Knowing that can be useful in figuring out whether you need to adjust your current savings and investment plan.  

Ask yourself: How long could my retirement last?

“There are multiple personal variables to weigh when starting to think about how much you’ll need to save for retirement,” says David H. Koh, managing director and senior investment strategist, chief investment office, Merrill and Bank of America Private Bank. 

By Stephen Kyne

The year 2022 was an incredibly difficult year for the economy and the markets. In fact, it was the worst year for U.S. stock markets since 2008. Rapidly rising interest rates meant that there were few places to hide as an investor, since even fixed income funds sank due to interest rate pressure. 

The S&P 500, the most broadly used US index, ended the year down 20 percent, while the NASDAQ suffered a 33 percent loss, according to FactSet. You’ll be in good company if you open your December statement and find that your balance dropped in 2022.

Down years happen, and it’s something that every investor must accept. The question is: Where do we go from here?

We think that the economy and markets will be impacted by several factors. The first of which will be the continued raising of interest rates by the Fed.

Caught flat-footed in early 2022, the Fed began a rapid series of interest rate increases in a desperate attempt to rein in rampant inflation, which resulted from the wanton subsidies and stimulus of the government’s pandemic response. Since interest rates are essentially the price of money, raising them should slow down economic activity, although it can be a messy and very imprecise process.

By Rob Snell

It’s that time of year when many of us promise ourselves we’ll go to the gym more, or learn a new language, or take up a musical instrument, or any number of other worthy goals. 

But this year, when making New Year’s resolutions, why not also consider some financial ones?

Here are a few to consider:

Don’t let inflation derail your investment strategy. As you know, inflation was the big financial story of 2022, hitting a 40-year high. And while it may moderate somewhat this year, it will likely still be higher than what we experienced the past decade or so. 

Even so, it’s a good idea to try not to let today’s inflation harm your investment strategy for the future. That happened last year: More than half of American workers either reduced their contributions to their 401(k)s and other retirement plans or stopped contributing completely during the third quarter of 2022, according to a survey by Allianz Life Insurance of North America. Of course, focusing on your cash flow needs today is certainly understandable, but are there other ways you can free up some money, such as possibly lowering your spending, so you can continue contributing to your retirement accounts? 

It’s worth the effort because you could spend two or three decades as a retiree.

By Sabrina Houser

Many nonprofits rely heavily on securing grants to fund the programs and initiatives that serve our communities. Grant writing services for nonprofit organizations are often handled by staff that have many other responsibilities as well. 

One strategy for success that is often overlooked or dismissed as too expensive is to contract with a grant writer or grant consultant. A grant writing consultant can work with existing staff to maximize the chances of success. 

A nonprofit grant consultant reviews the organization’s mission and finds grants that fit the mission. An outsourced grant consultant will also work with staff to make current grant applications align with funding requirements. A consultant can review, edit, and make suggestions to increase the  chances of submitting a successful grant application.

Grant management for nonprofits requires skill, time, and experience. Every grant comes with funder expectations for reporting, tracking of expenditures and program outcomes. Restrictions may also be placed on what the funds may be expended on. Tracking and reporting expenditures, properly allocating funds to allowed expenses, as well as measuring and evaluating program outcomes fall under the purview of grant management.

One of the critical functions of a nonprofit grant consultant is in strategizing funding support for specific initiatives and programs. A grant consultant’s experience with Federal, State, and private or corporate foundations can be an invaluable asset to a nonprofit that is struggling to secure grant funding or would like to increase their grant success rate. 

By Eric Scaringe

Recently, the office of the Illinois state treasurer was tasked with handling one of the most bizarre and complicated unclaimed estate cases ever recorded in U.S. history. 

Chicago resident Joseph Stancak passed away in 2016, secretly leaving behind $11 million in his estate. Fast forward to October 2022, 119 of Stancak’s relatives have now received a portion of his wealth more than five years later.

With no siblings, children of his own, or nephews and nieces, his lineage had to be traced by going all the way back to his parents before coming back to these relatives who are located in multiple states and even countries. That is a life-changing amount of money, and there is not much information on how he accumulated the wealth, but there is an important lesson to be learned here.

The best time to begin estate planning is as soon as possible. It basically starts with going through “what if” scenarios, some financial housekeeping and then bringing in professionals to finalize the process. 

The biggest error you can make is thinking that estate planning is only for those worth tens of millions of dollars and doesn’t apply to your family.  Anyone with assets owned in their own names may be subjecting their heirs to a long and expensive probate court process to simply inherit their assets.

Here are steps you can take to start the process:

By Bill Canty

Charitable giving is a great thing to do regardless of whether or not you are able to realize a tax benefit. 

However, if you can help others and realize a tax benefit this is a good thing and might even allow you to give a little bit more. Here are some things to know in trying to maximize the tax benefits of charitable giving. 

The standard deduction is a reduction in taxable income available to all taxpayers regardless of whether or not they can itemize deductions or have any tax credits. For 2022, the standard deduction is: Single and married filing separately,  $12,950; married filing joint, $25,900; and head of household, $19,400. 

If you have itemized deductions in excess of the standard deduction, you can deduct that amount from your taxes. Examples of itemized deductions include: property taxes, state income taxes, mortgage interest, medical expenses and charitable contributions.

Charitable contributions can be made in a number of ways that can qualify as an itemized deduction. These include direct gifts of cash, gifts of securities like stocks, mutual funds, and ETFs, and gifts of property such as real estate, art, and collectibles.

 The amount that can be deducted as an itemized deduction is as high as 60 percent of adjusted gross income for some cash donations, dropping to 50 percent or as low as 20 percent for other types. This percentage can also vary by the type of organization. 

By Rob Snell

One of the rewards for working over several decades is the ability to contribute to tax-advantaged retirement accounts, which can help provide needed income for you when you do retire. 

As the years went by, you may well have accumulated several retirement accounts, such as IRAs and 401(k)s or similar employer-sponsored plans. But you might find it advantageous to consolidate these accounts with a single provider.

Consolidating them can provide you with several potential benefits, including these:

• Less confusion and clutter. If you have multiple accounts in different locations, it may be difficult to keep track of tax documents, statements, fees, disclosures and other important information. Consolidating accounts could help provide clear, simplified account maintenance.

• Less likelihood of “lost accounts.” It may be hard to believe, but many people abandon their retirement accounts, leaving thousands of dollars behind and unclaimed. In fact, at the end of 2021, there were nearly 25 million forgotten 401(k) accounts, worth about 20 percent of all 401(k) assets, according to an estimate by Capitalize, a financial services company that helps individuals roll over retirement plan assets into new accounts.