This month's Planet Money podcast: The Cost of Life in America. 

FYI, great summary of a little known aspect of tax reform which allows investors to defer gains (and receive a 15% step up in basis) by rolling all or a portion of the gains into low income community funds, eg Qualified Opportunity Zones.

The New York stock market crash of 1987 happened 30 years ago when, on October 19, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA or the Dow) plunged by a then-record 508 points—a 22% decline in the index.

The word "goals" seems to generate a certain sort of emotional weight, for many, it's a roll-your-eyes-sort-of-dread ... “Not this again.” But we've found the following ideas to be helpful as we enter the annual season of goal setting.

Successful investing requires overcoming one’s own psychological foibles – but you must identify them first.

 To prevent/minimize the impact of data breaches and identity theft:

Here’s a plus for passive investingover active: lower taxes.

Political issues shouldn’t play a large role in long-term strategy

How do we do that? The answer is: making sure our sons and daughters have been educated on key financial topics.

Based on Russell Investments 2017 study

 Couples may want to add charitable giving to their "must dos" this Valentine’s Day.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett praises indexing, and American dynamism in his 2016 letter to shareholders. 

For long-term investors, knowing higher math isn’t necessarily an advantage.

By John Rekenthaler, Morningstar | 01-31-17 | 06:00 AM

When clients receive a large lump sum of cash, such as from a pension payout, bonus or asset sale, historical evidence suggests that the best decision is to invest the sum all at once according to an investor's asset allocation plan. Many investors nevertheless choose to put the money to work over time, hopefully using a systematic implementation. This research article from Vanguard explores the costs and benefits of both strategies to help guide what is a frequent decision faced by our clients.

The IRS has increased the federal estate tax exemption, which is indexed annually for inflation, to $5.49 million for 2017, up from $5.45 million in 2016. That lets couples now shield as much as $10.98 million from federal estate tax.

Bonds sink as investors bet on an improving economy and value priced stocks.

The article "Now is the time for an annual Medicare check-up" from Goodcare.com provides a valuable reminder to take advantage of the upcoming open enrollment period for Medicare. The temptation with all insurance is to “set it and forget it”.  With medical insurance, it is especially important to adjust your health insurance as your health evolves.  The upcoming enrollment period which opens on October 15 is a great opportunity to review your coverage.  Those of you who haven’t reached age 65 aren’t off the hook for this.  Many of your employers also have open enrollment periods approaching before the end of the year so a review of your coverage is also a good idea.  As always, please let us know how we can help.

Portfolio Insights: Index and Factor Investing