Author Archives: Matthew Illian

At the reunion, Bogle shared that he’s just a common guy with some really good ideas.

A backdoor Roth IRA contribution requires some extra steps but allows high-income earners equal access to the tax-free benefits of a Roth IRA.

Money meditations from the finish line.

Age appropriate asset allocation for 2014 using the choices available in the University of Virginia’s Fidelity 403(b) Tax Deferred Savings Plan (TDSP).

Age appropriate asset allocation for 2014 using the choices available in several of the University of Virginia’s Fidelity Retirement Plans.

Now that the Bush tax cuts have expired and Obamacare will add additional tax burdens, many people need to think twice before realizing a large gain on their investments.

When the Federal Reserve decided to maintain the $85 Billion monthly stimulus at their September policy meeting, they cited elevated mortgage rates as a top concern.

With this announcement, we are finally starting to see online education cause disruptions that can slow soaring college costs.

The study also found that when wealthy people are heavily clustered in a neighborhood, their generosity drops.

You may be a good candidate to become an angel investor if….

Investing a large lump sum amount into a college 529 savings plan using a special ‘5 year election’ can offer substantial tax savings.

No matter how near and dear to your heart, investing in a startup is risky business

As the payroll processor at our company, how quickly do I need to deposit 401(k) contributions into employee accounts? -Sincerely, Payroll Pam

Money deducted from your paycheck for retirement typically gets deposited quickly into your 401(k) plan. But this isn’t always the case.

Since it is inevitable that each group of friends will represent a spectrum of financial capacity, healthy relationships require that all be prepared to manage these pressures.

Chasing historical returns or a so called star manager is a poor investment strategy.

My article, What Charles Dickens Can Teach Us About Personal Finance was recently featured on Yahoo Finance. Another title I considered for this article was The Micawber Principle: The Cornerstone of Financial Security.

Rather than deciding between active or passive investing, the debate now rages about what type of index fund is best.

Subscribe and receive the free presentation: Social Security: How to Get $250,000 More!

Behavioral psychology research suggests that you should send your best ideas to the grave.

Behavioral psychology is uncovering many common mental lapses and offers new ideas for improving decision making in light of these heuristics.

Mr. Roth can also help with transferring gifts to your heirs, setting up your first emergency reserve account, and paying for a new house or college expenses. But don’t ask him to iron your clothes. That’s where he draws a line.

Tax-free saving for retirement is only one of the many talents offered by Mr. Roth. If you have yet to become fully acquainted, consider this your formal introduction and start getting to know Mr. Roth today.

My recent column, 8 Worst Money Tips for New Grads, was recently published on Yahoo Finance. I originally wrote this column with the voice of a Dutch Uncle admonishing college students to stay out of financial ruin.

The S&P 500 has nearly doubled in the last four years. Yet many investors are left feeling more disillusioned with their investments than ever before. Some of this discontent can be combated by understanding the psychological effects of market volatility.

Money plays such a personal role in our lives that most people learn early on to keep their financial affairs a secret. These shadows promote many different varieties of financial pathologies and distress.

Most annual shareholder meetings are nothing more than a required dog-and-pony show. Genworth Financial’s annual shareholder meeting held on May 15, 2013, was no exception. Several improvements could be made to make these meetings more inviting.

A good deal of misinformation is published about a so-called Social Security earnings penalty. Many are led to believe that if they earn money while collecting Social Security, they’ll lose some of this benefit forever.

Does it really matter if you cast your votes in shareholder elections? Probably not if you are a small investor. But if so few are participating, can we blame corporations for forgetting whom they serve?

My first experience with these shareholder meetings was a major turnoff. In March 2009, I purchased a limited number of shares of Genworth (GNW) stock for reasons I do not proudly share among value investors.

Approaching 65? Or perhaps you need to review your current Medicare choice. Consider these three reasons to avoid Medicare Advantage.

Those planning to enroll in Medicare have lots of homework to do. In this article I cover the essential benefits of Medicare Advantage which is the private insurance option for Medicare recipients.

Retirees must plan to supplement this slowly dwindling paycheck or risk having to make hard sacrifices during what is supposed to be their golden years.

Is Medicare better than your current employer health plan? Signing up for Medicare is the right decision for many who stay on the job. With one exception, everyone who is eligible should sign up for Part A.

As seniors approach age 65, they face a matrix of confusing Medicare options. Planning for health care expenses in retirement is one of the largest hurdles that new retirees face.

Most married men claim Social Security at age 62 or 63, which leaves their future income well shy of what research indicates is optimal. Gentlemen, it’s time to wise up.

You should have no problem naming your nephew as your beneficiary, but accessing the money from India after your death is more complicated.

Those who use the term “financial advisor” on their business cards can be split into two groups: fiduciary advisors and nonfiduciary advisors.

Some suggest using ten times your take home salary as a rough rule of thumb when determining life insurance. Like all such rules, this rough guide is found lacking in many situations.

Expense ratios and commission prices are easily determined on brokerage or fund websites. But the third expense, the bid/ask spread, is not readily disclosed and will require some additional digging to determine.

The recent AIG marketing campaign makes my skin crawl. In what they are calling “America’s Profit,“ AIG boasts that repayment of the bailouts created a positive return for taxpayers.

To understand this newest dimension to DFA’s investment strategy, you need to begin with an understanding of the three-factor model described by Eugene Fama and Kenneth French.

Lord Grantham, the master of Downton Abbey, continues to offer insightful financial lessons as he bumbles his wealth management responsibilities.

As a financial advisor, season 3 of Downton Abbey has become the most interesting as deep-level financial tension has begun to infiltrate the Crawley family drama.

Although a number of tax breaks got snuffed out by the recent tax compromise passed on January 1, the ability to make charitable contributions from IRA accounts for people older than 70 1/2 was given new life.

Literally tens of thousands of employees who were once participants in an employer-sponsored retirement plan (i.e., 401(k) plan, profit-sharing plan) neglect to take their retirement money with them.

It’s not just Mister Spock who is living a long life. Japanese Jiroemon Kimura’s nearly 116 years, making him the oldest man in modern recorded history, is a reminder to have a retirement income plan that will last over the long haul.

Q: I am looking for a way to get into the distressed real estate market. What recommendations do you have about investing IRA or 401(k) funds in rental houses?

Following the holiday season, many will feel the effects of overindulging on festive sweets. It turns out that your 401(k) also suffers when indulging on too much of a good thing.

Learn about 529 college savings plan distribution rules before you need to start taking money out of your accounts. This post answers the timing question for those who are using the 529 to reimburse expenses already paid.