Firm:
BRIX Wealth Management
Job Title:
Vice President
Biography:
Born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, Will is dedicated to helping individuals and their businesses achieve their goals through comprehensive financial planning and education. While constantly furthering his own education, Will obtained his Certified Financial Planner designation as well as an Advanced Degree in Financial Planning from New York University and B.A. in Political Science from Trinity College. Early in his career Will achieved the Super Starter award for exceptional business development.
A lifelong athlete, he was an All New-England lacrosse player at St. George’s School and The Gunnery. He is now a struggling golfer and devoted fan of the Carolina Panthers. An adventure enthusiast, he spent six months attempting to surf while travelling between Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia.
Will currently calls Manhattan home and enjoys working with clients all over the country to bring clarity and simplicity to their many complex financial needs.
Education:
BA, Political Science, Trinity College
Advanced Degree, Financial Planning, New York University
Assets Under Management:
$20 million
CRD Number:
6477487
Inverse ETFs would contain derivatives that aim to perform opposite the market. It is basically an index ETF that increases in value when the correlating index falls. For example, the Short DOW 30 ETF (DOG) increases when the DJIA index falls. These types of ETFs might contain futures, swaps, options, etc.
The primary risk of these ETFs other than positive market performance is illiquidity. Very few people hold these securities, and when they do it is typically for a short period of time.
The simple and short answer is no, an employer's match does not count towards the maximum you can contribute to your 401(k). You can always contribute up to the annual maximum regardless of employers contribution. On a side not, we always recommend contributing at least up the employers full match if possible. Not doing so is like leaving free money on the table!
First of all, congrats on being way ahead of 99% of people your age. If you are looking for a great technical introduction to the world of finance I always recommend Understanding Wall Street by Jeffrey B. Little or The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. If you are hoping for a more entertaining, but still education read I would suggest all things Michael Lewis: Flash Boys, The Big Short, and Liars Poker.
If you really want a head start on some technical aspects of the business, ordering some CFP or CFA review books would give you an incredible head start and really impress a future employer.
Approaching your question from a financial planning perspective, there are several factors to consider. The first thing we suggest to clients is to understand your expenses and to create a budget. Once you know your budget, we recommend having 3-6 months of expenses saved in cash or savings as an emergency fund. Think of this emergency fund as a hedge against the unknown that you cannot afford to lose, and will be happy you have in case of a job loss or medical emergency.
Once you have this emergency fund, and are looking to invest ona limited budget, there are many great websites and apps that allow for inexpensive investing. E-trade is a notable example of a site that will allow a certain number of free trades. I would recommend taking a risk tolerance quetionaire in order to determine your level of comfort, and investing in low cost ETFs based on the outcome. Another great option is the App Acorns. This program will allow you to round up purchases and invest the difference (example: buy a coke for $1.25, 75cents is invested). You can also choose to invest weekly amount automatically.
Investing is certainly no longer for the wealthy, and every little bit counts!
The answer to this question can be different for everyone depending on their own unique situation. There are several questions you may want to ask before deciding which account to draw from:
- Is paying the least amount of income tax important to me? If so, you will want to use your Roth IRA initially in your higher spending year, and let the traditional continue to grow.
- Is one of the IRAs heavily balanced toward one assett class? If you cannot balance both accounts according to your risk tolerance, you may want to consider (depending on market conditions) drawing from the more aggressive account as you try to decrease risk in your retirement.
- Do I want to leave a legacy to my children and grandchildren? If so, you may want to keep your Roth IRA intact and draw from the traditional.
In many cases the best strategy is to distribute a little bit of funds from both accounts. You will have to start Traditional IRA required minimum distributions in a few years after you startyour retirement anyways, so that will be part of the strategy. You can attempt to carefully allocate your distributions to keep your taxable income under higher income brackets.