Issue: #  51   MARCH 2013
Bautis Financial
Dear ,
 

Welcome to March 2013 issue of The Wealth Chronicle!

The Magnificent Seven

 

A lot of people think of dividend payers as stocks from companies that are stodgy, slow moving, and take forever to make money with. Let me introduce you to The Magnificent Seven. Coca-Cola (KO), 3M (MMM), ExxonMobil (XOM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), McDonald's (MCD), Procter & Gamble (PG), and Wal-Mart (WMT).

 

 

 

These seven companies have increased their dividend payments to investors every year for the past 30 years. Even when most companies were cutting their dividends in 2007 and 2008 these seven companies kept raising them. If you had invested $1000 in each of them at year end 1982, that investment would have been worth $425,581 at the close of 2012, a 14.7% annualized return. 

9 Questions to Ask your CPA

 

Tax season is in full swing and as April 15th creeps closer, you probably have an appointment on your calendar to meet with your CPA.   Because changes in tax laws and in your personal situation can make a big difference when it comes to tax liabilities, it is vital to be prepared for that meeting.   Information about your tax situation for this year and a CPA's opinions about next year can provide clarity about potential tax, investment, insurance, and financial planning strategies.

Here is a link to a document that provides the details of 9 Important Questions to Ask your CPA at Tax Time.

A couple of additional articles on taxes you may find useful are How to get the most out of your CPA and 8 Tax Mistakes your Can't Afford to Make

If you would like a recommendation on a CPA that can help you with your taxes please let me know.  

  

 

Protecting the Golden Goose

Life and Disability Insurance are a tough topic to discuss. One of the best explanations of their importance is a story I recently heard.

 

A farmer had a Goose that laid Golden Eggs and went to talk to an insurance agent about insuring it. His question to the agent was a simple one: "If you had a Goose that laid Golden Eggs, would you carry more insurance on the Goose or more insurance on the Eggs? The agent thought, ...well the eggs are valuable and should be appraised...the Goose is more valuable, because it laid the eggs and would possibly lay more eggs. The agent said you should probably carry the most insurance on the Goose, especially if it lives another 30 years and lays another 100 eggs!

  

The Houses, Cars and Jewelry are the golden eggs. You are the goose that laid those eggs. Most people wouldn't think about not insuring their eggs, however they often forget to insure the goose which produced those eggs.

 

THE WATERCOOLER 

 

Groupon's CEO made news this month when after getting fired he sent an email to the company saying "People of Groupon, After four and a half intense and wonderful years as CEO of Groupon, I've decided that I'd like to spend more time with my family. Just kidding - I was fired today. If you're wondering why ... you haven't been paying attention. From controversial metrics in our S1 to our material weakness to two quarters of missing our own expectations and a stock price that's hovering around one quarter of our listing price, the events of the last year and a half speak for themselves. As CEO, I am accountable." It's nice that Andrew's taking accountability for his company's poor performance but don't fee too bad for him. He's walking away with a $378 million severance package

  

Pope Benedict XVI stepped down as the pope this month and his retirement package is the first one the Vatican has had to prepare in over 600 years. When compared to the retirement package of the average American senior, the pope got a pretty sweet deal. The pope will receive a monthly pension of 2,500 euros. This is close to the monthly maximum that Social Security would pay to an American who retires this year. Luckily the pope will have his living expenses covered including a spacious home inside the Vatican and everything from cooked meals to housekeepers will be paid. The pope is retiring due to deteriorating health, but the good news is the pope will continue to be a member of the Vatican's generous private health care policy.

 

Here is a review of my book and giveaway contest that a blogger from My Retirement Blog posted http://www.myretirementblog.com/the-retirement-fitness-challenge-book-giveaway.html/

March Madness LinkedIn style - Everyone has their own system of filling out the brackets for the March Madness College Basketball tournament. Some of the systems I've seen have been to pick all of the favorites, pick the team who has the stronger mascot, or pick the team whose name comes first in the alphabet. LinkedIn came up with their own strategy based on LinkedIn data.   They came up with a "dedication score" based on their LinkedIn Profiles. The formula: For each school in the tournament, LinkedIn calculated (# of current students and alumni with the word "basketball" in their profile) / (total # of current students and alumni)

The school with the higher "dedication score" wins their game and advances in the bracket. And the winner is: (Click on the image to enlarge)

  

 

Spring into the Second Quarter
 

Every quarter, I like to send a reminder postcard of all the key financial deadlines heading our way over the next three months. Of course, we all know about the April 15th tax deadline, but there are a number of other drop-dead dates that you'll see on the postcard.

You can access your postcard by clicking on the image below.

 

 

 

2012 - The Year in Review

 

Having a Math background I was always intrigued by statistics. This article discusses some numbers that show how the economy performed in 2012. Overall we all know that the Dow, S&P, Nasdaq indexes all performed well for the year. But it is interesting to dig a little deeper to look at the details of what went on.

Sector Returns

Financials, which ranked near the bottom in 2011 amid the crisis in Europe, turned in the best performance of the year with a total return of 26.85%. It was nice to see Health Care near the top, a sector I've been bullish on. Utilities which won the sector race in 2011 (a defensive play that benefited from the turbulence in 2011) were shunned in 2012 rising just 1.76%

 

Mutual Funds

There weren't any standouts in 2012, however most styles were up double digits. Mid-Cap value funds led the way, rising 17.08%. Mid-caps are often ignored in favor of large cap or small cap stocks, but mid-caps are a great class as they are more established than small cap companies, yet still have the ability to really grow earnings unlike a lot of large caps.

 

The Fed keeps a tight rein on interest rate

The Fed continued to supply an enormous amount of liquidity in the financial system. Major decisions taken by the Fed in 2012

  • Operation Twist, or the purchase of longer-term Treasury securities financed by the sale of shorter-term Treasuries, was extended in June and ran through the entire year
  • In September, the Fed announced an open-ended commitment to buy $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities each month, and said it would continue these purchases until the outlook for the labor market improves substantially
  • With Operation Twist set to expire a the end of 2012, the Fed said at its December meeting that it would begin acquiring $45 billion in longer-term Treasury bonds each month starting in January 2013

Inflation

Monetary policy is entering its fifth year of quantitative easing and near-zero interest rates. Yet, earlier forecasts that reckless money creation by the Fed would result in runaway inflation by 2011 or 2012 haven't materialized according to the Consumer Price Index.

 

In 2013 the markets have been off to a good start although just this month we got a reminder by way of Cyprus that things may not be as stable as they seem. 

 

 

Please contact me if you have any questions about the articles above or about your personal or business finances.

  

Sincerely,

Marc Bautis
Wealth Manager

 

office: 201-842-7655
cell:    201-221-6895
fax:     201-754-9760
Disclaimer:The information contained in this newsletter is for information purposes only and may not be suitable for your specific financial situation.  You should consult a financial advisor before making any investment decisions relating to the information contained in this newsletter

What's Inside?
The Magnificent Seven
Ask your CPA
The Golden Goose
The Watercooler
Spring into Q2
2012 - The Year in Review
Marc Headshow w Skyline, 9-2011
MEET MARC  

Marc Bautis is a Wealth Manager specializing in working with young families as well as retirees and those nearing retirement. He understands that everyone wants to not only protect their principal, but also be sure that their money lasts.  He is committed and proud to deliver independent advice, always in the interest of his clients.

Marc is the creator of the Retirement Fitness Challenge™,  a program designed to be sure his clients enjoy the retirement years as they have always envisioned them.  Marc's program is designed to prevent outliving your money but also to minimize expenses during retirement and find the best time to start taking Social Security benefits.   Marc is also the author of a recent book The Retirement Fitness Challenge: Shape Up Your Finances and Make Your Money Last a Lifetime, which is available on Amazon.com.

Marc is a graduate of Seton Hall University.  He is a Bergen County native, from Lyndhurst, where much of his extended family still resides. He currently lives in Hasbrouck Heights with his wife Katie, new daughter Charlotte and Old English Bulldog, Winnie.

 

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