One item, in particular, that I like with the pending tax reform is how the 529 plan will be treated. It expands the use to elementary and secondary schools at a max of $10,000 per beneficiary per year for qualifying expenses. This from the NYT: Buried in Section 1202 of the tax bill are a number of proposals to consolidate and simplify various tax breaks for education savings. Part of the section in effect would neuter something called a Coverdell account, which families have used for years to save for both private school and college. But then comes the big change: Elementary and high … [Read more...]
Dick Young’s Advice: “Make it a Good Year with Your Survival Guy”
How are you doing on the personal security front? “My son-in-law E.J. Smith recently acquired another favored Sig Sauer 226 MK 25 chambered in 9mm,” I wrote in my September 2015 issue of Richard C. Young’s Intelligence Report, “I am a big fan of the 9mm handgun, and own a Beretta. “In E.J.’s case,” I continued, “he has invested a lot of time and energy in the Sig 226 to gain proficiency. The price of the Sig 226 is up 25% over the last five high-demand years. As E.J. notes in a recent post at his website, www.yoursurvivalguy.com, ‘Often times the best investments are made when making a … [Read more...]
Lower Portfolio Risk to Boost Return
UPDATE: The words I wrote in this post from August 27, 2010 are as sound today as they were back then. The basic principles of good investing just never change. This is how we operate at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. Do you know the difference between total return and investor return? Most investors are familiar with the concept of total return. The total return of a fund is simply the sum of the capital and income return of a fund over a certain holding period. The total return of a fund of course assumes a buy-and-hold strategy. Investor return (a Morningstar term) is a measure of … [Read more...]
Calculating Shareholder Yield
To calculate the shareholder yield, pick up the annual report for a company you are interested in (preferably a non-financial company), and turn to the Statement of Cash Flows. In the Statement of Cash Flows, move down to the section labeled - Cash Flows from Financing Activities. For most companies, this is the last section of the Cash Flow Statement. To calculate shareholder yield, you have to determine the total amount of dividends that were paid to shareholders, the net amount of stock that was repurchased, and the net amount of debt that was repaid. Before you get started, remember you … [Read more...]
Small Business Profile: Island Creek Oysters
Originally posted April 8, 2014. Becky and I are familiar with the Island Creek success story because good friends of ours live in Duxbury, MA and hang-out with the founder and CEO Skip Bennett. If you like oysters, then you’ll love Island Creek Oysters. What’s great about Skip’s incredible story is that it was his desire for independence that drove him to success. I think every small business owner and entrepreneur can relate to Skip. Here’s a recent profile on him and Island Creek by Under Current News: Before the knuckly-shelled morsels from Island Creek Oysters make it onto the white … [Read more...]
How to Invest in an Age of Compromised and Biased Information
In investment management where you spend much of your time reading, gathering and analyzing information. The trustworthiness and reliability of news and information is vital to your success. The same is true for all investors. You need reliable and trustworthy information to make informed investment decisions. The ugly reality is that it is getting harder and harder to find sources you can trust. The decline of print media has eroded the quality of many of the best print publications. The Wall Street Journal announced earlier this month that due to an accelerating industrywide decline in … [Read more...]
What Americans Can Learn from the Baltics’ Flat Tax Success
The Cato Institute’s Dan Mitchell offers Americans an outstanding primer on the success the Baltics have had with the flat tax. I'm a big fan of the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These three countries emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Empire and they have taken advantage of their independence to become successful market-driven economies. One key to their relative success is tax policy. All three nations have flat taxes. Estonia's system is so good (particularly its approach to business taxation) that the Tax Foundation ranks it as the best in the OECD. But … [Read more...]
A Trump Reality Plan for Federal Workers
Your retirement savings plan, the 401(k) or any other defined contribution plan, is the product of cost cuts. For years now, in the private sector, the 401(k) has replaced defined benefit products such as pensions. In the public sector, where job security is supposed to mean less pay, employees continue to receive both, life-time job security and golden pensions. It’s time taxpayers had a say in the matter. Here are some workable solutions that help level the playing field courtesy of my friend Chris Edwards, director of tax policy studies at Cato Institute. Freezing Hiring: … [Read more...]
RAGE Gauge for September
The RAGE Gauge for September continues to signal High Risk. The most significant contributor to this month’s reading was the all-time record of handgun background checks for the month of August at 611,575. Gold pulled back over the last 30-days, but is still holding strong at the $1,300/troy oz. support level while the yield on the 3-month T-Bill ticked higher. Both are an indication the market is taking Federal Reserve threats of rate increases more serious. I don’t expect the Fed to rock the boat much prior to the election. … [Read more...]
Millennium Tower Boston
Millennium Tower in Boston is a perfect example of what’s happening in Boston’s luxury condo market. From today’s Boston Globe: For proof that Boston has become a luxury housing mecca for wealthy people from around the world, look no farther than Downtown Crossing. At the high-end Millennium Tower, buyers have come from Greece, Hong Kong, and the Middle East, scooping up condos two or three apiece. There’s a real estate executive in San Francisco who markets luxury US properties in Asia, and claims on her website that she’s sold 7 percent of the tower — roughly 30 units. And then … [Read more...]
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