Clinton’s Capital Gains Tax and Your Investments

clintonPresidential candidate Hillary Clinton has put forward a major change to current capital-gains tax rates in an effort to get corporate managers to focus on long-term growth.  Under Clinton’s proposal, investors would have to hold an investment for 6 years instead of the current 1-year requirement to qualify for the lowest rate on capital gains.

But what’s the impact on individual investors like yourself?

Tax experts say most investors will feel no impact from this proposal for two reasons:

#1 Clinton’s proposed changes would affect only people in the top income-tax bracket
That bracket begins at $464,850 for married couples filing jointly and $411,500 for single filers in 2015.

#2 Many investors hold most of their investments within tax-sheltered retirement accounts such as IRAs and 401(k) plans.
These assets grow tax-free until withdrawal at which point proceeds are usually taxed as ordinary income and not eligible for the more favorable capital-gains tax rates.

Your Investing Philosophy in Ten Words or Less

no-talkingBrevity is power.  If you truly understand something well, you can explain it in simple terms.  Ten individuals share their investing philosophies in 10 words or less:

  1. Barry Ritholtz, Bloomberg: “Keep it simple, do less, and manage your stupidity.” 
  2. Ben Carlson, author of A Wealth of Common Sense: “Less is more. Process over outcomes. Behavior is the key.”
  3. Harold Pollack, University of Chicago: “Save 15-20%. Low-fee Indexes. Pay off plastic. Maximize 401(k).”
  4. Robert Brokamp, Motley Fool: “Diversification reduces risk, increases predictability, and boosts returns.” 
  5. Michael Batnick, Ritholtz Wealth Management: “Avoiding catastrophic mistakes matters more than constructing the ‘perfect portfolio.'”
  6. Cullen Roche, Pragmatic Capitalism: “Low-fee, tax-efficient, index-based global-macro asset allocation.”
  7. Eddy Elfenbein, blogger, Crossing Wall Street: “Be patient and ignore fads. Focus on value. Never panic.”
  8. Seth Jayson, Motley Fool: “Be safe, keep your costs low, and don’t overthink.”
  9. Josh Brown, CNBC, The Reformed Broker: “Roses are red, violets are blue. I don’t know what will happen and neither do you.”
  10. Morgan Housel: “Worry only when you think you have it figured out.”

 

Source: MF

 

Asset Class Performance, 1H 2015

From the Novel Investor:
The chart below shows several issues investors struggle with all the time. It’s difficult to pick the best performing investment year after year, yet for many investors it’s an annual event. They look for an encore, picking the best asset class last year with the hope of a repeat performance. Yet, betting on last year’s winner rarely works out.

Assets at the top of the chart one year could be at the bottom the next, and vice versa. Much of this is due to reversion to the mean. But over the long-term, those big swings even out. The chart shows annual returns for eight asset classes against a diversified portfolio. Diversification works to smooth out those big swings in the short-term. While you’ll never get the biggest gains of any year, you avoid the huge losses.

Asset-class-20151H

The chart above ranks the best to worst investment returns by asset class over the past 15 years.

Source: Novel Investor

Thank You for Nine Years!

nca-celebrate9NorthStar Capital Advisors would like to take this special occasion to thank you, our loyal clients and friends, as tomorrow we celebrate 9 years of financial planning and investment management. We have come a long way since we rolled out our objective and disciplined approach to investing in 2006. Our success is attributable to clients and friends who faithfully support our business and receive great service and advice in return.

We deeply appreciate your loyalty and support over the past 9 years. We hope you and your family have a safe and happy holiday!

With heartfelt thanks,
Chris Mullis, Jimmy Irwin & David Berger

ABOUT US

We are a fee-only, independent fiduciary advisor. Our allegiance rests solely with our clients and their best interests. We are headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and serve client families across the nation.



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Nothing on this website constitutes either the provision of investment advice or solicitation to provide investment advice. Investment advice can only be provided through a formal investment advisory relationship. Copyright © 2023 NorthStar Capital Advisors - Charlotte, NC. All Rights Reserved.