Build Your Wealth: Personal Finance & Investing Insights

ISOs NQSOs Stock options

What Does it Mean to Early Exercise Stock Options?

If you work for a private company or startup, you may be able to exercise your stock options early. With an early exercise, employees buy unvested stock options, as is common with restricted stock. Why would you want to pay for shares before they vest? In the right situations, early…

Kristin McKennaAugust 23, 2021

Charitable giving Tax planning Updated for 2021

How to Donate Stock to Charity: Donor-Advised Funds

Giving appreciated stocks can be a great way to maximize your gift to charity and your tax benefits. When you donate cash, you're giving after-tax dollars. It may reduce your income tax liability if you itemize deductions, but if not, there's no benefit.¹ But when you give an appreciated stock,…

Kristin McKennaAugust 16, 2021

Financial Planning Forbes Prioritizing financial goals

Here’s When You Need a Financial Plan – And When You Don’t

Do you need a financial plan? Maybe not. A full written financial plan is a robust analysis as of one point in time. This differs from general financial planning, which the Certified Financial Planner Board describes as advice on how to achieve short and long-term financial goals. You can't have…

Kristin McKennaAugust 9, 2021

Forbes IPO Stock options

5 Stock Option Mistakes to Avoid When Your Company Goes Public

Amidst a flurry of IPOs, many employees are experiencing their first major liquidity event from stock options. Unfortunately, for stock option rookies and veterans alike, there are plenty of potholes you'll want to avoid when your company goes public. The crux of the issue boils down to planning, or lack…

Kristin McKennaJuly 26, 2021

Forbes Tax planning Traditional IRA Updated for 2021

Avoid the Double Tax Trap When Making Non-Deductible IRA Contributions

Anyone with earned income can make a non-deductible (after tax) contribution to an IRA and benefit from tax-deferred growth. But it may not be worth it due (in part) to often overlooked ongoing recordkeeping requirements. For many, the biggest risk and most common downfall is significant: paying taxes again when…

Kristin McKennaJuly 13, 2021

Retirement Planning Roth IRA Tax planning Updated for 2021

Explaining the Backdoor Roth and Mega Backdoor Roth IRA

Many individuals have heard of the backdoor Roth before, but the mega backdoor Roth is getting a lot of attention recently. Here are the differences between the regular backdoor Roth vs the mega backdoor Roth, who can use these strategies, and who may actually want to consider them. (more…)

Kristin McKennaJuly 6, 2021

Diversification Forbes Investing Managing Risk

Is Bigger Better? Stocks Tend to Underperform After Joining Top 10

With the dominance of the largest U.S. stocks often occupying headlines, it's worth remembering that the biggest companies don't always produce the best returns. In fact, according to research from Dimensional Fund Advisors, historically, stocks tend to underperform after entering the top 10 largest stocks by market capitalization. On average,…

Kristin McKennaJune 14, 2021

Business owners Forbes

How to Sell Your Business: What to Do Before, During, and After the Sale

The time has finally come: you're ready to sell your business. Planning for the sale of a small business may seem daunting. Perhaps you're not sure where to begin or how to go about selling a business. To make the process as easy and profitable as possible, you'll want to…

Kristin McKennaMay 24, 2021

Current events Investing Tax & Estate Planning Tax planning Updated for 2021

Will Tax Hikes Hurt Stocks? Impact of Tax Rates on the S&P 500

Between the Biden tax plans and other bills already before Congress, it's likely that some level of tax legislation will make its way into law before 2022. For investors, there's a concern that tax hikes will hurt stocks, a reasonable conclusion. But historically, tax rates have mostly moved independently from…

Kristin McKennaMay 11, 2021

401(k) Plans 403(b) Plans Forbes Retirement Planning Secure Act SEP IRA Traditional IRA Updated for 2021

4 Ways the Secure Act 2.0 Would Change Retirement Planning

If passed, the 'Secure Act 2.0' would significantly alter the retirement landscape. Officially called the Securing a Strong Retirement Act of 2021, the bill is essentially a follow up to the 2019 Secure Act. After passing the House Ways and Means Committee yesterday, the proposed legislation is now going to…

Kristin McKennaMay 10, 2021