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Extra Point eUpdate
Fall 2014 / Winter 2015 
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Thiesen Dueker Group ... emphasis on GROUP


In 2003, Jeff Thiesen and Lance Dueker founded Thiesen Dueker Group on a simple, yet powerful, belief: By providing Wall Street expertise and financial tools as an independent, locally-owned firm ... clients are served better and this community is served better. That belief has resulted in 11 years of growth beyond even our founders' dreams. But we don't think about what growth does for us. We see it in terms of what our growing GROUP can bring to the table for you and our community.

 

As we have grown, we have welcomed many of the areas top advisors and support staff to our team. They were attracted to TD Group for the same reasons Jeff and Lance wanted to start it. And each new team member brings his or her talents and expertise to team. For you, that means that your TD Group advisor has other TD Group advisors to consult regarding various aspects of your financial life.  Whether it's financial planning, mutual funds, insurance, annuities or investments, we have advisors specializing in each area. While you have a dedicated advisor here, your advisor meets with other experts - under the same roof - to develop well-informed recommendations to improve your financial life. TD Group is a team with strength at every position. And we work as a GROUP for you.

 

And how does our group benefit this community? Our ownership and headquarters are right here ... not on Wall Street. We raise our families here, spend our paychecks on goods and services here, and invest our time and financial resources to improve our community. As a company, TD Group is driven to share its success with community organizations making a big difference in our communities. And our team members are similarly driven. We're proud that so many of our team members serve on the boards of non-profit organizations, volunteer and give of their own resources to help this community in their areas of passion.

      That giving spirit


We thought you might like to know how TD Group team members are helping to make a difference in our communities.

  • Tom Morgan, Jeff, Lance, Ron and Stephen have been involved in different coaching gigs. Ron - basketball
  • Stephen has committed to helping at United Way's Operation:
    resno Shape Up (activity for kids to learn ways to be more healthy).
  • Jamie Davis serves on the board and is very active with Care Fresno.
  • Ryan continues his involvement with Visalia Rotary and is now serving on the board of Happy Trails Riding Academy.
  • Lance is actively serving on the board of The Bulldog Foundation.
  • Diana Kliewer is involved with Optimal Hospice in their Karaoke Program, Visiting Patient(s) at a facility and high school Dream Catcher Program.  She also teaches Wednesday nights at her churc h.
  • Jason has been serving on the committee of Valley Public Radio's Annual Wine Tasting event, held in May.    

Fall Financial Reminders

This year is coming to a close.  Have you thought about these financial ideas yet?

 

As every calendar year ends, the window slowly closes on a set of financial opportunities.  Here are several you might want to explore before 2015 arrives.

 

Don't forget that IRA RMD. If you own one or more traditional IRAs, you have to take your annual required minimum distribution (RMD) from one or more of those IRAs by December 31. If you are being asked to take your very first RMD, you actually have until April 15, 2015 to take it - but your 2015 income taxes may be substantially greater as a result. (Note: original owners of Roth IRAs never have to take RMDs from those accounts.) 
  
Did you recently inherit an IRA? If you have and you weren't married to the person who started that IRA, you must take the first RMD from that IRA by December 31 of the year after the death of that original IRA owner. You have to do it whether the account is a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA.
 
Here's another thing you might want to do with that newly inherited IRA before New Year's Eve, though: you might want to divide it into multiple inherited IRAs, thereby promoting a lengthier payout schedule for younger inheritors of those assets. Otherwise, any co-beneficiaries receive distributions per the life expectancy of the oldest beneficiary. If you want to make this move, it must be done by the end of the year that follows the year in which the original IRA owner died.
 
Can you max out your contribution to your workplace retirement plan? Your employer likely sponsors a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, and you have until December 31 to boost your 2014 contribution. This year, the contribution limit on both plans is $17,500 for those under 50, $23,000 for those 50 and older.
 
Can you do the same with your IRA? Again, December 31 is your deadline for tax year 2014. This year, the traditional and Roth IRA contribution limit is $5,500 for those under 50, $6,500 for those 50 and older. High earners may face a lower Roth IRA contribution ceiling per their adjusted gross income level - above $129,000 AGI, an individual filing as single or head of household can't make a Roth contribution for 2014, and neither can joint filers with AGI exceeding $191,000.
 
Ever looked into a Solo(k) or a SEP plan? If you have income from self-employment, you can save for the future using a self-directed retirement plan, such as a Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan or a one-person 401(k), the so-called Solo(k). You don't have to be exclusively self-employed to set one of these up - you can work full-time for someone else and contribute to one of these while also deferring some of your salary into the retirement plan sponsored by your employer. 
 
Contributions to SEPs and Solo(k)s are tax-deductible. December 31 is the deadline to set one up for 2014, and if you meet that deadline, you can make your contributions for 2014 as late as April 15, 2015 (or October 15, 2015 with a federal extension). You can contribute up to $52,000 to SEP for 2014, $57,500 if you are 50 or older. For a Solo(k), the same limits apply but they break down to $17,500 + up to 20% of your net self-employment income and $23,000 + 20% net self-employment income if you are 50 or older. If you contribute to a 401(k) at work, the sum of your employee salary deferrals plus your Solo(k) contributions can't be greater than the aforementioned $17,500/$23,000 limits - but even so, you can still pour up to 20% of your net self-employment income into a Solo(k).
 
Do you need to file IRS Form 706? A sad occasion leads to this - the death of a spouse. Form 706, which should be filed no later than nine months after his or her passing, notifies the IRS that some or all of a decedent's estate tax exemption is being carried over to the surviving spouse per the portability allowance. If your spouse passed in 2011, 2012, or 2013, the IRS is allowing you until December 31, 2014 to file the pertinent Form 706, which will transfer that estate planning portability to your estate if your spouse was a U.S. citizen or resident.     
 
Are you feeling generous? You may want to donate appreciated securities to charity before the year ends (you may take a deduction amounting to their current market value at the time of the donation, and you can use it to counterbalance up to 30% of your AGI). Or, you may want to gift a child, relative or friend and take advantage of the annual gift tax exclusion. An individual can gift up to $14,000 this year to as many other individuals as he or she desires; a couple may jointly gift up to $28,000 to as many individuals as you wish. Whether you choose to gift singly or jointly, you've probably got a long way to go before using up the current $5.34 million/$10.68 million lifetime exemption. Wealthy grandparents often fund 529 plans this way, so it is worth noting that December 31 is the 529 funding deadline for the 2014 tax year.     
         
This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. This information has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note - investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. All indices are unmanaged and are not illustrative of any particular investment.
   
Citations.
1 - forbes.com/sites/deborahljacobs/2014/10/08/eight-key-financial-deadlines-to-keep-in-mind-this-fall/ [10/8/14]
2 - tinyurl.com/kjzzbw4 [10/9/14]
3 - irs.gov/uac/IRS-Announces-2014-Pension-Plan-Limitations;-Taxpayers-May-Contribute-up-to-$17,500-to-their-401%28k%29-plans-in-2014 [10/31/13]  

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Market Stats
as of 
December 5, 2014

 

Index          YTD

Dow Jones   +8.33% 
Nasdaq     +14.47%
S&P 500    +12.29%
 
US Treasury Yield
Maturity   Last Yld
3 mo.         .01%
5 yr.        1.59%
10 yr.       2.26%
30 yr.       2.979
       
      CNNMoney.com

Meet Vince Mastro!

Vince has been in the Insurance and Financial Service Industry for more than 30 years.  He provides his Thiesen Dueker Group clients with Life, Long Term Care and Disability policies as a part of their Estate, Business and Tax Planning Strategies and Solutions. Vince is currently a member and past president of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors in Fresno and a member of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He has earned Industry Designations of Chartered Life Underwriter, CLU and Life Underwriter Training Council Fellow, LUTCF. Vince and his wife Linda have five children and five grandchildren. He is a proud lifelong resident of Fresno. He enjoys spending time with family and friends, including tailgating at Fresno State Bulldog games.

  

Jeff Thiesen
Partner &
LPL Financial Consultant

Lance Dueker
Partner & LPL Financial Consultant

David Johnston
Partner & LPL Financial Consultant

Jasin Carlen
Partner & LPL Financial Consultant

Tom Fife
Partner & LPL Financial Consultant

Holly Bare
Associate & Retirement Plan Consultant

Thomas Frost
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Jason Link
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Brian Nunes
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Ronald Young
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Ryan Purkiss
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Michael Muhareb
Associate & LPL Finanical Consultant

Tom Morgan
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Stephen Spach
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

Vince Mastro
Associate & LPL Financial Consultant

James Kliewer
Client Service Associate

Kimberly Choi-Lindley
LPL Registered Client Service Associate

Jamie Davis
LPL Registered Client Service Associate

Diana Kliewer
Client Service Associate

Rebeka Leighton
Client Service Associate

Brooke Simmons
LPL Branch Operations
Compliance Manager

Tammie Sitton
Client Service Associate

Carol Matalon
Client Service Associate

Te Shardlow
LPL Registered Client Service Associate

Tess Dawson
Client Service Associate

Maday Diaz
Client Service Associate

Our Services

 

 Retirement Planning
  • Traditional/Roth IRAs
  • Simple/SEP IRAs
  • IRA Rollovers and     IRA Consolidations
  • 401(k), 403(b), Profit Sharing and Defined Benefit Plans
  • Income Distributions and RMDs
Financial Strategies
  • Comprehensive and Modular Financial Plans
  • Risk and Insurance Analysis
  • Wealth Accumulation and Income Planning
  • Personal, Family and Charitable Trusts
  • Private Trust Services* 
Investment Management
  • Asset Allocation Modeling
  • Investment Manager Search and Selection
  • Performance Monitoring
  • Institutional Research

 Educational Funding

  • 529 Plans
  • Education Savings Accounts
  • Custodial Accounts

 Investment options and tools

  • CDs and Money Market Funds
  • Tax-advantaged Municipal and Treasury Bonds
  • Domestic and Foreign Stock and Bonds
  • Mutual Funds, Unit Trusts and ETFs
  • Fixed and Variable Annuities
  • Insurance - Life, Long-Term Care and Health
  • Alternative Investments - REITs

 *LPL Financial representatives offer access to trust services through The Private Trust Company N.A., an affiliate of LPL Financial.  

 

  
  
The Financial Consultants at Thiesen Dueker Group are also registered representatives with, and  securities offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC