The Astute Angle
A fresh and simplified perspective on personal finance topics
Why You Should Not Own Your Best Investment Idea in a Tax-Deferred IRA
The following paraphrases a conversation that I have had many times before with friends and clients. It is obviously never the same dialogue but the underlying advice is the same - that you should generally [...]
Your Brokerage Statement is Terrible
Brokerage statements are almost universally uninformative, misleading, and confusing. They are largely a means for custodians to fulfill their legal reporting requirements as well as a legacy of yesteryear when we didn't have access to [...]
The Newly Expanded Tax Credit That Every Georgia Taxpayer Should Understand
Last week, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 769, expanding a Georgia tax credit that supports rural hospital organizations across Georgia. We explained the value of the rural hospital tax credit in this 2017 [...]
A Story of Correlation and The Greatest Team Ever Assembled
A respected portfolio manager presented recently at an investment symposium where she explained an investment strategy that has consistently maintained zero correlation to stocks. Several times during her presentation, she described why the strategy should [...]
How Apathetic, Ignorant, or Overcommitted is Your Financial Advisor?
All three of time, interest or passion, and knowledge are required to be successful at anything. I might have the knowledge of how to mow my grass properly and I might enjoy mowing my grass [...]
The Newly Expanded Benefit of the Qualified Charitable Distribution
What do Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steven Tyler, Stevie Nicks, Billy Crystal, and my father all have in common? At least two things. They will, God willing, all celebrate their 70 1/2 birthdays in 2018 and join [...]
3 Things People Get Wrong About Gifts To Or From Family Members
On June 26, 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered one of the most important speeches of his presidency at the foot of the recently-built Berlin Wall. During this speech, viewed as a turning point in [...]
4 Secrets to Better Investing
1) Turn off the financial noise machine. Information overload is the norm in today’s world. We demand it. We expect it. Your mind, my mind, and all of our minds are wired to digest information, [...]