Should I have real estate investments?
Real estate has long been used as an alternative investment, to give investors a non-correlated asset that can give a portfolio increased diversification. In the last 15 years or so, with the prevalence and popularity of REITs and real estate industry funds, real estate investments are considered by some to be a core holding instead of an alternative investment. Real Estate investments are so accessible now that they should be considered an indispensable part of any portfolio. Continue reading...
What is IRS Publication 544 on Sales and Other Dispositions of Assets?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here This guide is a reference for the tax implications of sales, transfers, barters, exchanges, forfeits, repossession, condemnation and abandonment of property. Where gains or losses are manifested, the guide helps to differentiate between capital gains and ordinary gains, as well as how to figure and report the gains or losses. Often when people sell or dispose of property in various manners there is a question of what the tax implications are, how much of the transaction is taxable, and whether any amount of it can be applied toward tax deductions. This guide, Publication 544, will outline all of the necessary filing forms and reporting practices for almost any kind of sale or disposition of property. Continue reading...
What is Ethereum?
Ethereum is an open-source, public, blockchain-based distributed computing platform. Ethereum provides a cryptocurrency known as ether. Ethereum is a decentralized platform that runs what are known as “smart contracts.” Smart contracts are applications that run on custom built blockchain, which functions on its own accord through rules programmed into the protocol, and which also makes decisions and keeps records based on consensus throughout a peer-to-peer network. A blockchain oversees its own activities without requiring any trust in a central authority or the other parties involved. Continue reading...
What is Accounts Receivable Financing?
Financing companies can step in and take over the accounts receivables of a company who no longer wants to wait to be paid on their receivables. Financing companies, who are sometimes called Factoring Companies or Factors, will pay about 75% of the amount due to companies who want to offload or outsource their Receivables. The factoring company will then take over the task of collections, and will transfer most of the money received back to the original company, after their fees have been deducted from the proceeds. Continue reading...
Can I Withdraw Money From My Pension Plan?
This is rarely an option, but the IRS does allow it. In general, you can’t withdraw money from a Pension Plan before you retire. You also may not be able to make non-recurring withdrawals after retirement, unless it is a lump-sum settlement. If your plan allowed it, the IRS would treat it just like withdrawals from a 401(k). Withdrawals before 59 ½ would be penalized with a 10% early withdrawal tax. Continue reading...
What is the Federal Reserve Bank?
The Federal Reserve banking system was created in 1913, the same year that income taxes were added to the US Constitution. 12 regional Fed banks were established, each of which plays a role in monitoring and implementing interventions to the flow of money in the economy. The Federal Reserve Bank is a 12-bank system in the United States that plays the role of the country’s central bank. Central banks in other countries are typically part of the government and print the actual currency, but in this case the Fed is independent of the actual US government, and the Treasury Department technically prints the money. Continue reading...
What is an FHA Loan?
The Federal Housing Act of 1934 sought to make it easier for Americans to buy homes. It was believed and still is today to an extent that homeownership is a positive foundation for a healthy economy because it provides stability to communities, facilitating healthy family life, community involvement, and the development of businesses in an area where a community will support the business. The Federal Housing Administration runs the FHA loan program with the help of certified lending institutions. FHA loans are a way for lower income earners to be able to purchase a home. Continue reading...
What is Dividend Selling?
If a person buys a stock that pays a dividend on or after the ex-dividend date, where we understand “ex” to mean “after,” it means that the buyer would be buying the shares for the amount that still has a dividend (or some of it) priced-in, but the seller, not the buyer, will get to have the dividend, and the share price will go down immediately after the dividend is paid. Stock prices will tend to go up in anticipation of a dividend, and more so after the declaration date, which might be anywhere from two months to two weeks before the actual dividend is paid, when the company announces when a dividend is to be paid and how much it will be. Continue reading...
What is Dividend Capture?
Dividend capture is a strategy similar to dividend arbitrage that seeks to reap incremental gains somewhat reliably around the ex-dividend date of a stock. The investor seeks to benefit from the fact that stock prices don’t always go down as much as they should on the ex-dividend date, so by selling quickly at that point, the investor may still get a small gain from the dividend that will still be paid to him or her. Dividend capture is a strategy that plays on slight inefficiencies in prices around the ex-dividend date. Continue reading...
What is Bankruptcy?
When a person or company is no longer able to pay the amount of debt they owe, they can file bankruptcy and be given options for relief. There are different types of bankruptcy filings available (found here — debt would have to have accumulated to a point where there is no mathematically feasible way to repay it all. There may be a way to repay some of it, however. It may mean that a business is able to continue to keep its doors open, with payment plans to service some of the outstanding debt, but this is likely after some assets have been liquidated to settle some of the creditors' claims. Continue reading...