News & Updates
The Unlikely Banker – IRS CARES for Business Owners
Good to Know THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT PROVIDES MORE THAN SBA LOANS FOR BUSINESS WORKING CAPITAL SBA loans and the Paycheck Protection Program dominated the business headlines over the last few months. But several less-heralded provisions of the CARES Act go beyond recent headlines to shore up cash flows of struggling businesses, too. How? Liberalization of…
Read MoreCFP® Certificants in the News: Honesty is the Best Policy
“Honesty is the best policy.” -Sir Edwin Sandys, 1599 CFP Board reported automatic interim suspensions on several participants’ right to use the CFP® mark in its April 14, 2020, press release. The CFP Board suspensions were based upon investment license revocations by the State of California and FINRA. Assuming the allegations made by CFP Board are proven, a number of recently-disciplined CFP® certificants…
Read MoreDon’t Make Any Sudden Moves – CFP Board Practitioner Survey
COVID19, Market Volatility and Staying Calm The author had a Trust client that I will call Mr. B, a decorated former Marine. He built a highly successful business after he left the Marine Corps and eventually sold the business at a favorable valuation. While most of the author’s trust clients were highly stressed by the…
Read MoreProcedural Rules Effective June 30, 2020
CFP® Board Updates On June 30, 2020, the CFP Board will begin enforcement of the new Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct. This will coincide with the expected begin date of the new Procedural Rules. For those who are not familiar, the Procedural Rules replace the current Disciplinary Rules and Procedures and the Appeal…
Read MoreCorona Virus Impacts CFP Board Exam
CFP Board COVID19 Updates The most recent CFP Board guidance for those planning to take the CFP Board Exam in 2020 follows: “MARCH 2020 CFP® EXAM COVID-19 impacted hundreds of candidates planning to sit for the March 2020 exam. Some early test site closures were announced early in the March 10-17 testing window, followed by…
Read MoreThe Stretch IRA Is Not Dead For Everyone
Eligible Designated Beneficiary What exactly does it mean to be an “eligible designated beneficiary” of a Traditional IRA? Here is the short answer – an eligible designated beneficiary is exempt from the now-infamous stretch IRA killer known as the 10-year distribution rule. For IRA owners dying in or after 2020, the 10-year distribution rule kills…
Read MoreThe Perils of Conduit Trusts for Retirement Accounts
Good to Know Once upon a time in a land not so far away, it was possible to defer (stretch) IRA retirement distributions over multiple generations at the death of an IRA owner. That idyllic time was before 2019 and the land in question is these United States of America. During that pre-2020 period, it…
Read MoreCFP Board Removes Compensation Search Function
CFP Board Updates On March 2, 2020, the CFP Board notified all professionals that the compensation search function had been removed from the “Find Your CFP® Professional” tool on the letsmakeaplan.org website. The key decision point, according to the CFP Board, was that based on the new Code and Standards, all CFP® professionals are expected…
Read MoreHow to Avoid or Reduce Student Loan Debt
Good to Know The juggernaut of student loan debt is a sad fact of life today for many families. But what if you could avoid or reduce student loan debt for you, your family and your clients? If that sounds unlikely, join us as we dispel three common myths that just might lighten the debt…
Read MoreCFP® Certificants in the News: Free CFP Board Practice Exam
CFP Board Exam Registrants – Be sure to take CFP Board’s Practice Exam What could be better for exam preparation than taking a full six-hour, timed practice exam offered by the CFP Board? Receiving this resource free is better! The cost of CFP Board’s full, 170-question practice exam is normally $249. If you registered to…
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