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Nick Defenthaler

Nick Defenthaler, CFP® Will Play in the United Cerebral Palsy Benefit Hockey Game

Contributed by: Nick Defenthaler, CFP® Nick Defenthaler

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For the second year in a row, I will be lacing up the skates to play for the United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) ‘Pucksters’ as we take on the Detroit Red Wing Alumni. This is the 18th year for the charity hockey game, which will benefit United Cerebral Palsy Detroit and will take place at the St. Mary’s Arena in Orchard Lake, MI. Over the years, this amazing event has raised nearly $400,000 for the disabled community and their families! 

I discovered this great event while meeting with a client who is very involved within UCP Detroit and like me, still plays hockey each week with friends. When he and his wife asked me to be a part of the roster to play the Red Wing Alumni team, I was thrilled. Not only could I help support a worthy cause, I could also skate alongside many of the athletes I grew up watching play as a kid. I’ll never forget lining up next to NHL Hall of Famer, Dino Ciccarelli at last year’s game and telling him, “You know, you were one of my favorite players on the Wings when I was growing up. I hope that makes you feel old”. We both had a good chuckle and he gave me a friendly jab as the puck dropped at the faceoff. That was a pretty cool moment for someone like me who has grown up to live and breathe Red Wing hockey. 

Event Information:

  • Date: Saturday, March 24, 2018

  • Location: Orchard Lank St. Mary’s Ice Arena – Orchard Lake, MI

  • Game Time: 4pm sled hockey game, 6pm game vs. Detroit Red Wings Alumni

  • Tickets: Only $10/person or $30 for a family up to 5 members, kids under 5 are free

  • Visit: skatewithoutlimits.org for more information!

If you would like to read more about my story and my fundraising goals for the event, please click here.  I hope to see some familiar faces in the stands once again this year cheering on the UCP Pucksters!

Nick Defenthaler, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® Nick works closely with Center clients and is also the Director of The Center’s Financial Planning Department. He is also a frequent contributor to the firm’s blogs and educational webinars.

Links are being provided for informational purposes only. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse, authorize or sponsor any of the listed websites or their respective sponsors. Raymond James is not responsible for the content of any website or the collection or use of information regarding any website's users and/or members.

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Market Pull Backs: Painful in the Short Term, Normal in the Long Run

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Contributed by: Nick Defenthaler, CFP® Nick Defenthaler

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As I’m sure you’ve noticed as of late, global markets have not been very cooperative with investors. It almost seems like a broken record from past market declines when you turn on the television or read the paper and the majority of headlines you see and hear about are market driven – many with a “doom and gloom” sentiment. While market declines are rarely a fun thing to experience, they are normal, virtually unavoidable and come with the territory if you want to be invested long-term with the goal of growing your portfolio. To be honest, I think we’d be more nervous if they didn’t occur! Pullbacks like we’re experiencing right now tend to bring things back to reality a bit and keep markets in check. Although some pain can be felt short-term, typically investors are rewarded for going through such rollercoasters when things eventually improve. 

Check out the graph below provided by JP Morgan which tells an intriguing and comforting story over the last three and a half decades. Since 1980, every single year experienced a market pull back at some point which averaged -14.2%. However, over the course of those 35 years, 27 of them ended the year in positive territory! I really think this helps to put things in perspective when the markets get rocky, like we’re currently experiencing.    

This chart is for illustration purposes only. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Future investment performance cannot be guaranteed, investment yields will fluctuate with market conditions.

This chart is for illustration purposes only. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Future investment performance cannot be guaranteed, investment yields will fluctuate with market conditions.

Also keep in mind that the chart above is for a 100% stock index. When you utilize a more diversified, balanced portfolio strategy, like the majority of our clients, the effect typically means less volatility which in turn translates into less potential upside required to get back to where we were before the selloff. To use a baseball analogy, we’re focused on hitting singles and doubles because those are what usually lead to actually scoring runs. Those who swing for the fences and hit occasional home runs or grand slams are usually the ones who have the most strike outs and worst batting averages. 

The bottom line is this – while market pullbacks can make us nervous and uneasy, they’re a completely normal part of the market cycle. As an investor, staying true to a disciplined investment process and keeping your long-term goals in mind should help get you through the difficult times and put you in a strong position when things recover.

Nick Defenthaler, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® Nick works closely with Center clients and is also the Director of The Center’s Financial Planning Department. He is also a frequent contributor to the firm’s blogs and educational webinars.

The information contained in this blog does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any opinions are those of Nick Defenthaler and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of strategy selected. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index of 500 widely held stocks that is generally considered representative of the U.S. stock market. Keep in mind that individuals cannot invest directly in any index, and index performance does not include transaction costs or other fees, which will affect actual investment performance. Individual investor's results will vary. Diversification and asset allocation do not ensure a profit or protect against a loss.

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Tax Reform Series: Changes to Charitable Giving and Deductions

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Contributed by: Nick Defenthaler, CFP® Nick Defenthaler

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The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is now officially law. We at The Center have written a series of blogs addressing some of the most notable changes resulting from this new legislation. Our goal is to be a resource to help you understand these changes and interpret how they may affect your own financial and tax planning efforts.

If you’ve heard the charitable deduction is going away under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, you are certainly not alone – this is a common misconception under our new tax code.  To be perfectly clear, gifts to charity are certainly still deductible!  However, depending on your own tax situation; your deduction may not provide any tax savings due to the dramatic increase in the standard deduction moving into 2018: 

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Standard Deduction vs. Itemizing Deductions

Think of the standard deduction as the “freebie deduction” that our tax code provides us, regardless of our situation.  If you add up all of your eligible deductions (state and local tax, property tax, charitable donations, medical expenses, etc.) and the total happens to exceed the standard deduction, you itemize.  If they fall short, then you take the standard deduction.  Pretty simple, right?

With the standard deduction nearly doubling in size this year, many of us who have previously itemized deductions will no longer do so.  Let’s take a look at how this change could impact the tax benefit of your charitable donations:

Example

Below is a summary of Mark and Tina’s 2017 itemized deductions*:

  • State and Local Taxes = $6,600

  • Property Tax = $6,000

  • Charitable Donations = $5,000

  • Total = $17,600

  

Because the standard deduction was only $12,700 for married filers in 2017, Mark and Tina itemized their deductions.  However, the only reason why they were able to itemize was due to the $5,000 gift they made to charity.  If they didn’t proceed with their donation, they simply would have taken the standard deduction because their state and local tax along with property tax ended up being only $12,600 – $100 shy of standard deduction for 2017 ($12,700).  Their gift to charity created a tax savings for them because it went above and beyond the amount they would have received from the standard deduction!

For the sake of our example, let’s assume Mark and Tina had the same exact deductions in 2018.  It will now make more sense for them to take the much larger standard deduction of $24,000 because it exceeds the total of their itemized deductions by $6,400 ($24,000 – $17,600).  In this case, because they are taking the standard deduction, there was no direct “economic benefit” to their $5,000 charitable donation. 

*This is a hypothetical example for illustration purposes only. Actual investor results will vary.

Planning Strategies

Because many clients who previously itemized will now take the larger standard deduction, reaping the tax benefits for giving to charity will now require a higher level of planning.  For clients who are now taking the standard deduction who are charitably inclined, it could make sense to make larger gifts in one particular year to ensure your charitable deduction exceeds the now larger standard deduction. Or, if you’re over the age of 70 ½, the Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) could be a gifting strategy to explore. Of course, we would want to dig deeper into this strategy with you and your tax professional before providing any concrete recommendations. 

For most of us, the number one reason we give to charity is to support a cause that is near and dear to our heart.  However, as I always like to say, if we can gift in a tax efficient manner, it just means additional funds are available to share with the organizations you care deeply about instead of donating to Uncle Sam. 

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us for guidance surrounding your gifting strategy, we are here to help!

Nick Defenthaler, CFP® is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ at Center for Financial Planning, Inc.® Nick works closely with Center clients and is also the Director of The Center’s Financial Planning Department. He is also a frequent contributor to the firm’s blogs and educational webinars.

The information contained in this blog does not purport to be a complete description of the securities, markets, or developments referred to in this material. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Any information is not a complete summary or statement of all available data necessary for making an investment decision and does not constitute a recommendation. Any opinions are those of Nick Defenthaler and not necessarily those of Raymond James. Expressions of opinion are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. There is no guarantee that these statements, opinions or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Please note, changes in tax laws may occur at any time and could have a substantial impact upon each person's situation. While we are familiar with the tax provisions of the issues presented herein, as Financial Advisors of RJFS, we are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. Prior to making an investment decision, please consult with your financial advisor about your individual situation.

 

 

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