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Our clients work hard to accumulate wealth and we want to help them be tax-efficient wherever possible. The $10,000 cap on what one can deduct in state and local taxes (SALT) is frustrating for California residents who pay some of the nation’s highest state income taxes. To reduce their federal tax liability, California taxpayers who own “pass-through” business entities may want to investigate a recently legalized “workaround” to the SALT cap.

The ongoing pandemic and trillions of stimulus dollars governments injected into economies to support businesses and consumers have created many dislocations that will take time to work through. Supply-chain bottlenecks, labor shortages, and pent-up demand are creating inflation at levels we have not seen in 40 years. Today this inflation is more of a concern to the average investor than COVID. Although we expect the pace of economic growth to slow because of these dislocations, we remain optimistic our American economy will continue expanding in the new year.

Our fourth quarter Proactive Asset Management Webinar highlights the different roads our economy may take as we head into the new year. Will inflation persist? Will labor markets continue to struggle? Tune in to see our analytic breakdown of the economic data as well as how we're positioning our portfolios as a result.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social & Governance. ESG funds originated from investors’ desire to align their values with their investing. They wanted to be socially conscious with their money, supporting ethical behavior and social causes important to them, without sacrificing returns. They also wanted some standardization and for a third party to do the vetting for them. The ESG criteria and designation allow investors to evaluate investment opportunities based on not only the financial data but also on what many consider to be moral grounds.

As anticipated, global financial markets have entered a period of volatility as they focus on a confluence of concerns that recently have been presenting more questions than answers. We are now approaching a transition point in the COVID-era economic cycle. Inflation concerns are prompting the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank to likely announce in November they will begin taking their foot off the accelerator pedal and begin tapering the number of bonds they have been buying monthly since March 2020. How quickly the Federal Reserve scales back its bond market manipulation has investors feeling uneasy.

The historically hot housing market has spurred homeowners to consider listing their real estate for sale to take advantage of the current market conditions which asymmetrically favor home sellers. If you are planning or considering the sale of real estate, you should be aware of tax and financial implications thereof before you list a property for sale.