What does 2020 have in store for investors in general, and influential West Michigan women in particular? Anastasia Wiese, JD, CFP® shared her insights in the December 2019 issue of “West Michigan Woman.” Describing potential challenges and opportunities for the year ahead, Anastasia said, “While no one has a crystal ball to help predict the future, understanding where we are now helps to bring comfort on what to expect moving forward.”

These days, investors deserve a lot more from a financial advisor than simply a set-and-forget investment line-up. But how do you differentiate good advice from a sales pitch in disguise? In her November 30th Grand Rapids Business Journal article, Anastasia Wiese, JD, CFP® offers five qualities to seek in a financial advisor relationship.

Looking to Lower Your Taxes? Learn About Asset Location from Anastasia Wiese

Most investors already know: You only get to keep your after-tax investment returns. Far fewer investors know about asset location, an important technique for investing as tax-efficiently as possible. In an August 31 Grand Rapids Business Journal column, Anastasia Wiese, JD, CFP® explained how asset location helps minimize the impact taxes have on your investment portfolio.

Anastasia Wiese Shares 3 Free Money Management Tools on WZZM-TV’s “13 on Your Side”
With the theme, you’re never too young or too old to discover new ways to manage your money, WZZM-TV’s “13 on Your Side” host Sarah Makuta invited Anastasia Wiese, JD, CFP® to share three free tools people can use to plan for their financial independence. Read on, to discover Anastasia’s top picks for all the stages of your financial journey.

Have you ever ended up with a lump sum of cash you don’t plan to spend anytime soon? Whether you’ve sold a business, received a windfall, or just been a good saver, it’s nice to have “extra” cash on hand to invest toward the future. That said, it can be stressful to decide: Should you invest it all right away, or spread it out over time? In his June 30 GRBJ article, Steve Starnes, MBA, CFP® offers answers that may surprise you.

Every so often, the U.S. Treasury bond yield curve “inverts,” as it has recently, with short-term Treasury bills yielding less than their long-term counterparts. Since past inverted U.S. yield curves have usually been followed by U.S. recessions, we tend to hear about them. In an April 30^th GRBJ piece, Anastasia Wiese, JD, CFP^® discussed being cautious about lending any one economic indicator excessive predictive powers, especially with respect to your disciplined investment strategy.

Whether you’re already retired or still planning for it, here’s a question on almost everyone’s mind: “How much can I spend in retirement?” In a March 31^st GRBJ article, Steve Starnes, MBA, CFP^® covers how to spend comfortably, but not excessively in retirement. While there are handy rules of thumb like “the 4% rule,” it’s also good to know when individual adjustments may be warranted along the way.

The GRBJ reached out to Ellie Winter, CFP® in October to discuss how the new 2017 tax law impacts taxpayers’ charitable giving strategies. Ellie, along with Shaun Shira of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, offers ideas on how to continue giving tax-efficiently to your charities of choice.

It’s been approximately a decade since the Great Recession began. By year-end 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) had lowered the target federal funds rate to near-zero and embarked on an aggressive quantitative easing campaign, hoping to resuscitate the economy with a big booster shot of lending, borrowing and spending dollars.

Properly implemented, rebalancing offers a disciplined, cost-effective approach to buying low and selling high and staying on track toward one’s personal financial goals. Learn how we add value by employing rebalancing as part of an evidence-based strategy.