Written by, Stephen Ostrofsky, CFP® True North Financial Advisors provides direction and advice to individuals who are current or former federal employees covered under the Federal Employee Retirement System (FERS). Federal Employees have three retirement benefits that need to be coordinated, including: the Basic FERS Benefit Plan, Social Security and the Thrift Savings Plan. True…
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Personalized Investment Advice through Self-Directed Brokerage Accounts
Written by Stephen Ostrofsky, CFP® The pursuit of personalized investment advice can sometimes be difficult for many Florida Retirement System (FRS) Investment Plan and PBSO Deferred Compensation Plan investors. Self-Directed Brokerage Accounts (SDBAs) available in both of the above mentioned retirement plans has generally gone unnoticed by many PBSO deputy sheriffs and employees. In January…
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The Year in Review: How to Manage Your Retirement Portfolio: Strategic Versus Tactical Asset Allocation
Written by Stephen Ostrofsky, CFP® For the year 2018, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Russell 2000 Indexes were down 3.48% and 11.01%, respectively. During the year while the Federal Reserve, raised interest rates, the overall bond market was down slightly. So what are investors to do now? That depends on what your investment policy…
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Tax Loss Harvesting Strategies Should Be on Investors’ To-Do Lists
Now is the time to take a good look at your taxable brokerage accounts to consider tax loss harvesting strategies for your portfolios. Effective tax loss harvesting can help avoid capital gains taxes that will be due next year on April 15th. Every investment portfolio has unrealized gains and losses. The key to effective tax…
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