If you have children nearing high school, you may feel anxious as you prepare to help pay for college expenses. Some mitigate this feeling by starting the planning process early by opening and funding college savings accounts (529 savings plans). Those who get a jump start, carve out a piece of their monthly cash flow, put it aside and allow it grow as their child gets closer and closer to leaving the house….
How do you solve a problem like commodities? Sound of Music, anyone? Well, if you are not a fan of musicals, that is okay. Chances are at this point in the market cycle, you are probably not a fan of commodities, either. Commodity prices are clearly a hot-topic right now and not in a good way. As anyone who owns commodities knows, returns for the asset class have been more than frustrating the…
Halloween is almost upon us and it seems the market is doing its part to spook investors. As a result, many people may experience higher levels of anxiety regarding their investments. We prepared the following commentary as part of our most recent quarterly update to our clients. We think it provides useful perspective. Market Volatility The global equity markets the past two quarters can be summed up in one word: volatile. As…
(This post has been updated with additional information from our friends at Accountability Services.) When we sit down with clients to review their long-term objectives, often we discuss the basics such as retirement and college savings. These topics are heavily covered and the savings vehicles available to help meet these needs are well known. However, another top planning priority tends to be long-term health care. Most of the people…
What is financial shape? What does it mean? Being in good financial shape is a lot like being in good physical shape. It generally means you are routinely doing things to improve your current state. It doesn’t mean you have the biggest savings account balance, largest investment portfolio or are an early investor in Uber. It means you are doing the right things, consistently, so you can meet your personal…
Bear Mountain Capital believes in supporting our community. We donate our time and money to many worthwhile causes in the Seattle area, from arts and education to disease cure/prevention and environmental causes. When we heard about Forterra’s new initiative to work with companies and organizations in the region to help offset their impact on their environment, we were excited to get involved. Through Forterra’s Evergreen Carbon Capture Program (ECC), Bear…
Many people are aware of the benefits of a Roth IRA: you put your after-tax money into it, after 20 or 30 years when you retire, you pull all of the money out tax-free. This can be a big benefit when you consider the effect of compounding returns over time. However, not everyone can contribute to a Roth IRA. The reality is the IRS puts limitations on who can contribute…
