Joe Day, Author at Investment Management and Financial Planning | Bear Mountain Capital Inc. Seattle, WA

Offsetting Bear Mountain Capital’s Carbon Footprint

Joe Day | March 4, 2015

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…

Backdoor Roth IRA’s – Are They a Good Idea?

Joe Day | February 17, 2015

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…

Savings and Willpower

Joe Day | March 14, 2014

Finding ways to save money is not an easy exercise. There are ways to make it less painful, such as setting up automatic savings plans. However, if you haven’t done a long-term plan to determine what you are saving for and how much you need to save, then the commitment to maintaining a savings plan is greatly diminished.

College: How Much and When??

Joe Day | September 30, 2013

My wife and I have a 5 year old. In fact, he just turned 5 this month. We also have a 3 year old (“3 and a half!”, he likes to say). We could not love them more. No matter how much time we spend together, soaking in these precious years, I can’t get past how fast they grow up. It amazes me how quickly they go from newborns to…

Roth IRA vs 529 Plan for College Savings

Joe Day | September 23, 2013

We often get questions about the various ways to save and pay for college expenses. Many people are aware of the benefits and availability of 529 plans (either pre-paid tuition plans or college savings plans). However, did you know you can also use Roth IRA funds for educational expenses?? In fact, for purposes of Qualified Higher Education Expenses (QHEE), you can withdraw funds from a Roth IRA prior to the…

The Fed, Rising Rates and Senior Bank Loans?

Joe Day | September 18, 2013

In the media there is a lot of talk about the Federal Reserve Board (“the Fed”) and its chairman, Ben Bernanke. The Fed is often charged with managing the country’s monetary policy. Monetary policy helps manage the amount of actual money in the financial system and helps establish interest rates for US borrowers. Currently, the Fed is taking extraordinary steps to keep interest rates low in order to help facilitate…

A new type of “bucket” list?

Joe Day | August 20, 2013

Clients have been listening to us discuss the record low interest rate environment and what it means for the future of their investments. Interest rate declining since the 70’s have fueled economic expansion, equity returns and bond returns alike. However, rates cannot decrease below zero, and if you have a savings account, you know we are near zero. This article highlights how clients who need to live off their investments…

Country of Domicile or Economic Exposure?

Joe Day | August 14, 2013

Traditional investment asset allocation exposure has been built upon the securities country of domicile. So, if you were looking to gain exposure to China, you would buy securities of companies domiciled in China. However, a more interesting approach is beginning to go more mainstream, where asset allocation is now built not upon domicile, but upon how much revenue a specific company generates from a certain region or country. This means…

Bear Mountain Capital is Growing

Joe Day | February 11, 2013

It is my pleasure to announce that Luke Collova has joined Bear Mountain Capital. Originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, Luke moved to the Northwest in 1998. He is a graduate of the University of Puget Sound with a degree in Business Administration. He comes to Bear Mountain Capital after spending 7 years in the commercial insurance industry. In addition to managing insurance agency partner relationships across the Northwest, Luke was…

Estate Planning and Tax Updates

Joe Day | January 30, 2013

What follows is an update from Laura Hoexter and Xan Gerson of Helsell Fetterman regarding the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, signed into law on January 2nd, 2013. Helsell Fetterman is a local law firm located in Seattle, WA, whose Estate Planning and Probate group is headed by Laura. Her group maintains expertise in many areas, including estate planning, trust administration, generation skipping transfers, and family business succession planning….