The U.S. economy is walking a narrow ridge: slowing, but not stalling – disinflationary, but not deflationary. Navigating the path forward through domestic policy changes and global tensions demands agility and discipline to succeed.
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Losing a loved one is an incredibly difficult experience. During the grieving process, it can be challenging to know what steps to take regarding their important documents. While it may be overwhelming to think about, knowing best practices for storing and keeping documents proactively can help ensure that you have access to valuable information when you need it and help make the process of settling their estate much smoother.
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Legacy is more than what you leave behind — it is the foundation you build today to empower the generations that follow. Planning for the next generation requires a big picture approach that adopts traditional tools - like trust and tax services - with newer modern innovations - like financial planning and artificial intelligence (AI).
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The Federal Reserve held interest rates at the 4.25-4.5% mark for the third meeting in a row, much to the Administration’s dismay. FED chair Jerome Powell is taking a wait-and-see approach with the impact on the newly introduced tariffs.
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Turbulence is an apt term to describe this year’s political and economic climate thus far. With mounting pressure in the Russia-Ukraine war, the ‘Liberation Day’ trade war, and overall inflation issues, Americans have a lot (and a little) on their plates.
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Onto the omnipresent topic of the year so far. No, not the daily political headlines, I’m talking about AI. Given that AI needs data to function, you may assume that simply providing that data to the program can produce a reliable plan for any situation. Think again…
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From the sunsetting provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) to the implementation of SECURE Act 2.0 and new IRS regulations; some notable policy changes will occur at the end of 2025, affecting individuals and businesses alike. Here’s what may impact your finances in the coming years.
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Yogi Berra was spot on when he said, “It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” This quote from Yogi applies each year to capital market participants who love to predict what the economy will do and how much stocks are going to change that year. When assessing the predictions at year end, we find all, or almost all predictions, are proven inaccurate.
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At Allen Trust Company, our role is to guide you through the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead, ensuring your wealth aligns with your personal goals and legacy plans. The outlook for 2025 reflects a world in transition, with economic shifts, evolving family needs, and a growing emphasis on sustainability and security. Let me share how these trends could shape our approach to protecting and growing your wealth while preserving what matters most to you.
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Every quarter is full of news about the labor markets, inflation, consumer and business spending, corporate earnings accompanied by unanticipated events. Each of these could potentially move the markets. Yet in some quarters, the news and events have negligible effect, and the quarters feel boring. The third quarter of 2024 was not a boring quarter, and more things happened in those three months than what has occurred in some years.
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In today's interconnected world, cybersecurity has become necessary to combat potential cyber-attacks on individuals, large corporations, and everyone in between. With more personal, financial, and professional data being stored online – from banking and shopping to managing confidential information – the risk of cyber threats continues to grow.
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As we move towards the last quarter of 2024, the efficiency and flexibility of cash gifts may also appeal to you as you contemplate year-end giving. Here are some thoughts on the current available options. In 2024, individuals can give up to $18,000 per individual gift recipient without creating any gift tax liability. If you’re married, that means each spouse can give up to $18,000 per recipient.
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Allen Trust Company, a trust-only state-chartered bank, announces a significant and exciting change from an individually owned firm to an employee-owned structure.
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Like the changing of the years and seasons, the changing of quarters also brings a sense of optimism, and since the first quarter did not deliver all I was expecting, I could not wait to see what the second quarter would deliver.
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The promise of warmer weather shines a more optimistic light on the released reports. This has, thus far, proven true moving from February to March to April and expectations for the rest of the year are likewise more optimistic. Here we will review the first quarter of 2024 and finish by offering our outlook for the rest of 2024.
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As tax laws continue to become more complicated, the demand for CPAs continues to rise. At the same time, this industry has seen a significant percentage of its workforce leave in the last five years.
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Recently we wrote comparing investing with climate and weather in the Pacific Northwest, how unpredictable the weather is, and how far more predictable the climate is. The same holds true for short-term and long-term investing.
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We know in the Pacific Northwest, rain is a fact of life, more so in the winter and spring than in the summer, it does rain in the summer but that is not the normal day. A normal summer gives us lots of sun with rain occasionally, whereas winter supplies us with lots of clouds and rain and bits of sun. Over a full summer we are not disappointed over the amount of sun we get, this is the “long-term”, and this is climate.
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Some of us know all too well that we may look back to December and draw inspiration. There are mean things happening in this world, so we need to feed positivity. Some feel like inflation is telling consumers, “You belong to me”. Haters gonna hate, but we all need to find the strength to shake it off.
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The past two weeks were full of reports on the current state and outlook for the U.S. and global economies. Perhaps most importantly, the updated inflation data gave a more optimistic outlook for future Fed moves. Also, the key U.S. service sector activity index unexpectedly improved in November.
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