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Want to get the most out of your 529 College Savings Plan? If one of these special situations apply, you may be able to shop 529 plans in an effort to reduce fees and gain access to additional features and benefits not available in your state-sponsored plan. Don't miss this short informative video Read more…

Creating a budget and sticking to it is difficult for most people because the process is time consuming and restrictive. Traditional budgeting forces you to make every decision as if you live in a spreadsheet. But guess what? You don’t live in a spreadsheet. Read more…

I’ve read the articles and maybe you have too; articles about Mega Backdoor Roths (MBRs) that promise a lot – but maybe don’t explain all the issues they may cause for certain businesses or people. In this article, I'm going to review what a MBR is, how it works, and while it may be good choice for Read more…

In our Family Office practice, we field a lot of questions from clients who are interested in alternative investments. Perhaps you’ve also wondered whether you could improve on your investment portfolio by branching out beyond your core stock/bond asset allocations. With all the possibilities to Read more…

In our Plancorp Family Office practice, we often work with clients who are frequently presented with opportunities to invest in non-traditional offerings such as private equity, private real estate, hedge funds, etc. Read more…

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have delivered eye-popping returns in 2020 and 2021. All kinds of crypto – including what started as a joke and meme, Dogecoin – are receiving heightened media attention as a result. The value of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies has risen sharply in past months. But Read more…

Gold is shiny and makes nice jewelry, but it doesn’t impress me as an investment. Read more…

What is the top-heavy test? 401(k) plans must be tested annually to determine if they are top-heavy. The top-heavy test compares the account balances of “key employees” to those of “non-key employees.” If the sum of all key employee balances exceeds 60% of the total plan balance the plan is Read more…

“I said it would happen.” “It had to happen.” “I knew it would happen.” You’ve probably made statements like these at one point or another. That’s because once an event occurs, our brains immediately connect the new information from what happened to related knowledge stored in our memory. By making Read more…

How often do you look at the stock market or check your investment portfolio? The Digital Age has made access to stock market data and real-time portfolio values increasingly easy. The problem with easier access to real-time market data is that investors can lose sight of the big picture as their Read more…