ESPish?

Just as I was sitting here figuring out where I should begin with some year-end tips for all of you, good old Vanguard (I keep liking them more and more) sends a great email to me covering just that topic…go figure! So rather than reinventing the wheel, I will share with you some of what they had to say, with a bit of my own suggestions sprinkled in.

Conducting a year-end assessment of your financial situation is a smart idea and a good habit to get into. It’s a time to think about moves that will maximize your tax situation like making an IRA contribution or dumping an investment that hasn’t really lived up to your expectations to take the write-off. It’s also a good time to look to what you can hope for in the New Year to make your situation even better. Have you been toying with the idea that a new year's resolution might involve some saving? Or financial planning?

Some of Vanguard's suggested strategies are:

• Tax loss harvesting
• Rebalance back to your target allocation
• Diversify out of concentrated investments
• Charitable giving
• Gifting - Did you know that checks written directly to an educational institution do NOT count toward the $14,000 maximum annual per person gift limit?
• Swap high-cost investments for lower-cost options
• Having a list of ETFs for tax-loss harvesting may come in handy to help maintain asset exposure.
• Did you have an abnormally low-income tax year? This may be a good opportunity to take advantage of a Roth conversion.
• Asset location - Putting fewer tax-inefficient securities in tax-advantaged accounts and more tax-efficient assets in taxable accounts is intuitive but all too often underutilized. It's a powerful strategy on its own, but when combined with other objectives, structuring tax efficiency at the portfolio level becomes even more valuable.

Helen Simon has a DBA from Nova Southeastern University and owns Personal Business Management Services she can be reached via email helen@flfinancialplanner.com.

When Beverly Raphael was growing her general contracting company, RCC Associates Inc., into the $100 million a year business it is today, she knew the importance of creating the right home for her employees.

"The culture of the company is key. That's why people stay," she says.

Beverly's passion for developing talent from within the company pays off with employee loyalty. Many of the core RCC Associates staff remain active after 27 years. Deep foundations support solid structures: her company weathered the recent recession while sustaining profitability. Beverly’s success earns wide recognition and respect from her peers. She is the first female winner of the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from the prestigious Wharton Club of South Florida.

When you develop your company culture by finding the unique aspects of your business, you maximize the productivity and stability of your brand. Be sure to check out the conversation with Beverly at ENTREPRENEURradio.org for an intimate look at the mindset of one of the smartest entrepreneurs in the South Florida business community.

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