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Monday, Nov. 10, 2014

ANNUAL REVIEW

Getting the most out of your financial adviser

An annual review with your financial adviser is an important step in keeping your financial strategy on track. To get the most out of your visit, make sure you are prepared with information and questions.

No matter what your circumstances, meeting with your financial adviser at least once a year is an important part of attaining your financial goals. To get the most out of your review, you’ll want to spend some time gathering your thoughts – and records – in order to make the process as meaningful and beneficial as possible.

Equally important, you’ll want to address some of the following questions and share them with your financial adviser.

Have your goals changed over the past year? A life event such as a change in jobs, getting married or having a child necessarily impacts your short- and long-term goals. It also affects the priority of these goals. Make sure your current financial strategy takes them into consideration.

Is your asset allocation in tune with your goals? Depending on the performance of your investments so far this year, you may want to examine whether your mix of stocks, bonds, cash and other assets is close to your target. If not, it may be time to rebalance to a mix that more closely resembles your desired exposure to risk and potential return.

Are you taking full advantage of tax-advantaged accounts? Remember that certain types of investments may receive favorable tax treatment. Contributions to a traditional IRA or 401(k), for example, are made on a pre-tax basis and can grow free of federal income taxes until qualified withdrawals are made during retirement.

1. Make sure you are contributing the maximum amount you can afford.

Are you timing asset sales to take advantage of capital gains tax rules? Gains on investments held less than one year are taxed as ordinary rates, which may be as high as 39.6 percent, while long-term capital gains are taxed at a maximum rate of 20 percent.

2. What’s more, losses may be used to offset gains and may be carried forward for use in future years.

Timing your gains to take advantage of these rules may significantly lower your tax bill.

Remember, there is much more to your annual review than just reviewing investment performance. It is an opportunity to assess your entire


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If you’d like to learn more, please contact Denis Poljak. Article by Wealth Management Systems Inc. and provided courtesy of Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor. Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss in declining financial markets. The author(s) are not employees of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC (“Morgan Stanley”). The opinions expressed by the authors are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Morgan Stanley. The information and data in the article or publication has been obtained from sources outside of Morgan Stanley and Morgan Stanley makes no representations or guarantees as to the accuracy or completeness of information or data from sources outside of Morgan Stanley. Neither the financial situation and help make sure you are on track to meeting your goals. Be sure to get the most out of it by being prepared.


Sources:

1 For nonqualified withdrawals, restrictions and penalties may apply.

2 Higher income individuals may be subject to an additional 3.8 percent tax on unearned income, effectively increasing the top rate to 23.8 percent.

information provided nor any opinion expressed constitutes a solicitation by Morgan Stanley with respect to the purchase or sale of any security, investment, strategy or product that may be mentioned. Morgan Stanley Financial Advisor(s) engaged Forum Magazine to feature this article. Denis Poljak may only transact business in states where he is registered or excluded or exempted from registration http://www.MorganStanleyFA.com/Poljak. Transacting business, follow-up and individualized responses involving either effecting or attempting to effect transactions in securities, or the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation, will not be made to persons in states where Denis Poljak is not registered or excluded or exempt from registration.

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