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Our Offices at 14 Pleasant Street
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Dear Friends,
Here in Maine we are deep into a snowy winter, and many locals are taking the opportunity to get better organization and direction behind their financial affairs. The April 15th tax deadline is starting to appear closer on the horizon, and that always raises a number of questions and concerns that we can help with.
The political battle surrounding tax rates for Americans seems to have concluded with good news for many taxpayers. The Tax Relief Act of 2010 was signed into legislation late last year, and it provides a window of opportunity to take advantage of historically low tax rates. We think 2011 and 2012 might be "last call" for the current tax environment, and we encourage our readers to be aware of what the new legislation means and how this may impact your tax and financial planning. Our first article in this edition of our newsletter provides a summary of some key features of the new tax legislation.
Fortunately, the market recovery has come a long way since the lows of 2008 and 2009. Investors are feeling more confident and less fearful today. We include here our most recent quarterly investment commentary, which offers our perspective on today's economy and markets, as well as some thoughts on successful investing.
Lastly, we are taking this opportunity to let you know about an exciting innovation at On Course Financial Group which will help us share information together in a way that is more secure, offers a number of useful features, and is easy and convenient to use.
Thank you clients for making what we do possible!
Michael G. Donahoe, CFP®, MBA
Karen Elise Kilbride, CFP®, CPA
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Tax Relief for 2011 and 2012 - Opportunity Knocks | | |
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2010 concluded dramatically in the tax legislation world. It wasn't until just before the holidays that President Barack Obama signed the 2010 Tax Relief Act into law. What the $858 billion piece of legislations means to most is that there is a two year extension of reduced tax rates on individual income and dividends/capital gains. In addition, the law includes a number of tax breaks for small businesses, and estate tax relief through 2012.
Many taxpayers were feeling regret as 2010 concluded that they had not taken better advantage of the low tax environment to address opportunities in their tax situation. If you were one of them, we encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities offered in the new tax legislation during 2011 and 2012.
Following is a quick summary of some key provisions we would like you to be aware of.
Read full blog article |
| Investment Perspective | |
Although there was a lot of hand wringing along the way in 2010, investors were rewarded handsomely for taking on the relatively higher risks associated with the equity market. Last year at this time, the global economy and financial markets were on the mend, but there were serious concerns about debt, the underlying health of the world's banking and financial systems, and sluggish growth prospects in developed economies. Markets in 2010 finished strong as investors were far more upbeat about the economy.
Positive market performance in 2010 was supported by strong corporate earnings, better economic conditions, more clarity on fiscal policy, and low interest rates.
Read Investment Commentary | |
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Coming Soon - A Better Way to Share Documents | |
On Course Financial Group is pleased to announce that we will soon have an improved means of sharing important documents. The new system will offer extraordinary security, a number of helpful features, and is easy and convenient to use.
The program we will be using is called "Advisor Vault", which was developed specifically to meet the needs of professional financial advisors and their clients. It will be accessed directly through the On Course Financial Group website www.oncoursefinancial.com.
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