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We use strings like these to save the tax plans we discover for a specific client as a part of our Tax Planning service.

We made two slight changes to the 2026 gone-fishing portfolio, one of which reduces expense ratios.

This gone-fishing portfolio is our default portfolio which can be used at any custodian.

We recommend this gone-fishing portfolio for investors with brand loyalty to Vanguard.

Without rebalancing, the all-stock Marotta 2025 Gone-Fishing Portfolio had a 1-year return of 20.19% and the all-stock Marotta 2025 Vanguard Gone-Fishing Portfolio had a 1-year return of 20.74%.

This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending March 31, 2026, Developed Freedom Investing had a -3.2% disadvantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a +10.93% advantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a +2.04% advantage.

This article contains some of the most relevant 2026 federal income tax bracket figures.

The first quarter of 2026, as experienced through the lens of the media, was a volatile quarter full of war, inflation, job loss, and dropping stock values, especially of the biggest technology stocks. The same quarter, as experienced through the lens of historical stock returns, was relatively calm.

A terrible reason to invest in something is because you have less information about its value.

A Pledged Asset Line of Credit (PAL) is a line of credit that allows you to borrow against the non-retirement assets in your portfolio without having to liquidate your investments.

For long-term portfolio design, valuation matters more than yield.

Financial shocks are experienced throughout life. They do not end when one retires. Sudden, unexpected, large expenses are a part of life and should be taken into account during retirement planning.

In this article, we have designed a standard guide to creating your savings waterfall.

After you have opened your account, there are many methods of withdrawing or distributing from your Charles Schwab account.

This guide is to help you locate your annual year end statement in order to gather the total amount contributed to your 529 account(s) for the applicable tax year.

Think of your capital loss carry forward as an asset you have banked which provides a defensive buffer for your taxes.

This quarter, Overall Freedom Investing presented a 1-year return of 33.89%. This is a +1.29% advantage over MSCI ACWI ex US.

Because of how beneficiary designations and RMD tax requirements play off of one another, there are some odd realities for this odd distribution requirement.

The class will be held virtually on Zoom from noon to 1:30 PM EST on the four Thursdays between February 12 and March 5, 2026. We hope to see you in class!

Depending on your delivery preferences, you may receive these trading notifications physically in the mail, in plaintext in your email, or in summary in your email and in full online only after you login to Schwab.

With a tender offer someone is making an offer to purchase your stock, and as a rule of thumb, you should ignore the offer.

Schwab’s free overdraft protection means that your Schwab Bank account serves like a pass-through account.

We aren’t worried either way. By default, we recommend that shareholders skip voting in this election.

Even though it doesn’t feel like it sometimes, contribution limits are indexed to inflation.

Credit card debt is terrible, but credit card companies make it easy to incur credit card debt.

There are four main ways you can contribute to a 529 account through American Funds.

You are permitted one 60-day rollover per 12-month period and if you are successful it would not be a taxable event, but I would advise against using this feature.

This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending September 30, 2025, Developed Freedom Investing had a -3.02% disadvantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a -0.55% disadvantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a -1.79% disadvantage.

These notices are best viewed as reminders that your account is being managed with care and compliance in mind.

Projected escrow shortfall letters are very common, and typically happen once per year.

For most people, here is how to think through the 5-year rules of Roth distributions.

Our gone-fishing portfolios stay the same for 2025.

This gone-fishing portfolio is our default portfolio which can be used at any custodian.

We recommend this gone-fishing portfolio for investors with brand loyalty to Vanguard.

Without rebalancing, the all-stock Marotta 2024 Gone-Fishing Portfolio had a 1-year return of 11.21% and the all-stock Marotta Vanguard 2024 Gone-Fishing Portfolio had a 1-year return of 10.72%.

By adopting these practices, you ensure that both you and your advisory team can work efficiently, securely, and in alignment with regulatory requirements.

George R. Marotta, a financial advisor, Hoover Institution research fellow, public servant, and World War II veteran, died on July 26, 2025, at the age of 98 in Palo Alto, California.

There is no scorecard, no grade, and no winner when it comes to wealth. This is a pass-fail challenge that we each do on our own and succeed in our own way.

Many children being cared for under court decree do count as family members for the purpose of a 529 plan rollover because they have an “eligible foster child” relationship.

This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending June 30, 2025, Developed Freedom Investing had a -0.91% disadvantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a -3.66% disadvantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a -1.69% disadvantage.

If you are opening a donor advised fund for the first time, take a moment to think about your goals.

“One financial manager recommended that I invest 100% of my assets into stocks while another recommended investing in bonds as well – what do you recommend?”

“We will have a better society when government becomes the last resort—instead of the first—in solving our problems.”

Earning, spending, saving, and investing — a mastery of these four matters creates a financially healthy life.

Imagine that you are covering all of your child’s basic care, but they have a savings stash. Would you let your child give all their savings away to charity?

While the funds owned by your Donor-Advised Fund are no longer yours, there is some estate planning that can be done with your account.

There are two methods of dialing an extension from the beginning of the call.

Married (or once married) taxpayers have several Social Security benefit options.

This quarter, we saw that in 1-year returns ending March 31, 2025, Developed Freedom Investing had a +1.27% advantage, Emerging Market Freedom Investing had a -9.45% disadvantage, and Overall Freedom Investing had a -2.01% disadvantage.

Here is a reference chart with 2025 income tax rates, capital gains rates, and more.