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Common Cents Planning

Written by Wright Design on . Posted in Investor Education, Planning Tips, Resources.

COMMON CENTS
PLANNING

  • SAFETY NET

    In an ideal world, investors should have at least six months, and as much as two years, of living expenses set aside before they invest in stocks. Although you may not be there yet, it is a worthwhile goal. Having a sufficient cash reserve – in good times and bad – should provide flexibility and allow you to make rational, unforced financial decisions. The first step is to create a budget so that you can make saving a habit. The amount of this emergency fund should be based on your circumstances.

    YEAR-END GIFTING

    For 2023, you can make a tax-free gift of up to $17,000 ($34,000 if you and your spouse elect to split gifts on your federal tax return) to an unlimited number of individuals. A gift of an appreciated security is also a great way to transfer wealth while possibly reducing your future tax liability.

  • Senior man with grandaughter gardening in the backyard garden.


HSA: A TRIPLE-TAX ADVANTAGE

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is only offered in conjunction with a High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) – the plan type, if available, you elect during your employer’s health insurance open enrollment period. An HSA can offer much more than just an interest-bearing account to help cover out-of-pocket medical costs. It should be considered as a potential long-term vehicle to cover future medical expenses. Automatic payroll deductions present an excellent way of forced savings into an HSA and the HSA offers a triple-tax advantage: 1. Tax deduction 2. Tax-deferred growth 3. Tax-free withdrawal if used for medical expenses There are more advantages to consider. Additionally, it is good to check with the HSA’s trustee to review your investment options.

ESTATE PLANNING REVIEW

It is a sound practice to review your estate planning documents and account beneficiaries regularly to ensure that they reflect the desired distribution of your affairs. These documents include health care proxies, powers of attorney, last will and testament, and trusts. If you have not had these documents prepared or reviewed by an estate planning attorney, we encourage you to do so to ensure that your objectives will be fulfilled.

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Account Options

Written by Wright Design on . Posted in Investing Basics, Investor Education, Resources.

Account Options

Retirement Accounts

Whether you are just getting started, changing jobs, doing a 401(k) rollover, or in retirement, our team can guide you. Accounts include:

  • Traditional IRA
  • Roth IRA
  • SEP Account
  • SIMPLE IRA
  • 403(b)(7)


Education Savings Accounts

Are you ready to pay for your child’s college education? If not, we can help.

  • Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA)

Other Types of Accounts

  • Separately Managed Accounts
  • Uniform Transfers to Minors Act Account (UTMA)
  • Trust Accounts
  • Business Accounts
  • Taxable Accounts
  • Small Business Retirement Accounts

Open an Account

FIXED INCOME & BALANCED PORTFOLIOS

Are you aware that Fenimore provides fixed income offerings?

  • Our fixed income strategy’s primary objective is capital preservation with income generation. We construct bond portfolios to provide stability with current income.
  • We design balanced portfolios for those who seek both long-term capital appreciation and current income by investing in stocks, bonds, and cash.
  • The minimum Fenimore Asset Management relationship for a fixed income account is $500,000.

Schedule A Meeting

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Remove the Emotion from Investing

Written by Wright Design on . Posted in Investing Basics, Investor Education, Resources.

REMOVE THE EMOTION
FROM INVESTING

The numerous news headlines processed every day can cause an investor to be fearful and make misguided decisions with their assets. The good news is that there is a calm and sensible investment approach called dollar-cost averaging (DCA) that can help mitigate the angst.

  • DCA is a long-term strategy that involves investing a fixed-dollar amount into a mutual fund account (for example) at regular intervals. It takes advantage of the cyclical nature of the stock market and allows you to focus on long-term growth and ignore short-term market conditions.

  • Since you always invest the same amount, you purchase more shares when the price is low and fewer shares when the price is high. DCA’s premise is that your average cost per share may be less than your average price per share, thus reducing your investment risk over time.

  • DCA also allows for small investments that, when done consistently over time, can grow into big savings.

Automatic investing from your bank account is an easy way to make saving a habit while bringing some peace to your life.

Dollar-cost averaging is a plan of continuous investment in securities regardless of their inconsistent prices. Of course, you must consider your financial ability to continually purchase shares. As with all investment methods, there is no performance guarantee.

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TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
FAM FUNDS’ LOW
MONTHLY MINIMUM — $50
Call 800-932-3271 to Learn More

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“America’s Small Stocks Are Leading the Market’s Charge”

Written by Wright Design on . Posted in Investment Insights.

“America’s Small Stocks
Are Leading the Market’s Charge”

December 18, 2020
 

“America’s Small Stocks Are Leading the Market’s Charge” – The Wall Street Journal published this noteworthy article on 12/13/2020. Here are our key takeaways:

  1. Small businesses and our economy = Small-cap stocks tend to do well in a recovering economy. The promise of COVID-19 vaccines has driven expectations for an improved economy and resuscitated industries that have suffered significantly in 2020.

  2. A record month = The Russell 2000 Index, comprised of small businesses, just recorded its best month ever in November. And it has continued to perform well in December.
  • According to the article, “The Russell 2000’s gain for the year surpassed that of the S&P 500 on Tuesday for the first time in 2020, according to Dow Jones Market Data.”
  1. Attractive stock prices = Even with this record performance, the overall prices of small-cap stocks are reasonable – especially when compared to their large-cap counterparts.

Is it time to give small-cap stocks a fresh look? Discover Fenimore’s small-cap strategy and what makes us different.

Learn more

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2020: Lessons Learned & Our Outlook

Written by Wright Design on . Posted in Investment Insights.

2020: Lessons Learned
& Our Outlook

January 20, 2021
 

Lessons Learned

Our lessons learned in 2020 would take up volumes, but there is an axiom that was strongly confirmed: The stock market is not the economy.

  • Because the market is a discounting mechanism, there is often a disconnect between the performance of stocks and the current economic environment. In 2020, that disconnect became a gaping chasm with the market reaching several new highs despite GDP and employment figures that rivaled the Great Depression.

Our Outlook

  • Though the initial rollout of the approved vaccines is moving slower than expected, increased immunization and a second stimulus package should support, if not accelerate, a return to more normal economic activity.
  • Even more, some industries may experience catch-up demand that could lead to periods of over earning that would be dangerous to extrapolate.

Read Fenimore’s Q4 Commentary

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Our research team will continue to take the long view and look for opportunities to invest more in what we believe are quality businesses — both among our current holdings and in enterprises we’ve admired and desired to own but were too richly priced for us.

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