The CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act of 2020 provides a huge boost to business and individuals to keep the economy afloat. The most talked about provisions are direct payments to many individuals and couples (actually a new refundable income tax credit that is scaled down based on 2019 adjusted gross income), lending […]
Please join us in welcoming Allison Miller, who joined Armor in August as an Associate Financial Planner. Allison supports the firm’s lead advisors in providing holistic financial planning and wealth management services to our clients. From 2016 until 2019, Allison was a Financial Planning Associate for a large, independent RIA in the Baltimore area, and […]
When Walt, Jeff, and I joined together in 2007, I was the designated technology expert and we introduced state of the art systems that served us well for many years. But time moves on and technology evolves. Over the last twelve months, under the guidance of our Director of Operations, Graham Shepherd, we have made […]
Every year or so, I feel the need to write an article about the Fiduciary Standard because large financial firms or regulators muddy the differences between true fiduciary firms and product salespeople like stockbrokers and insurance agents. In January 2017 I wrote on this topic when the Department of Labor introduced new regulations (which were […]
If you’ve met with our team recently, you’re probably familiar with our “Risk Analysis Grid” that is used to guide financial planning meetings. One area of the grid that I’ve spent time talking about lately is “Education Cash Flow Planning”. Fall semesters are right around the corner, and with many of our clients transitioning their […]
If you’ve met with our team recently, you’re probably familiar with our “Risk Analysis Grid” that is used to guide financial planning meetings. One area of the grid that I’ve spent a lot of time in lately is “Retirement & Financial Independence Cash Flow Planning”. Financial Independence sounds wonderful, but when the rubber meets the […]
With one child in college and two more quickly approaching, I am intimately aware of the soaring costs of a college education. For the 2018–2019 school year the average cost of Tuition and Fees, not including Room and Board, was $35,830 for private colleges and $10,230 for public colleges according to data from the College […]
Our clients are aware that they have each signed new advisory agreements during the past year. The new agreements are exactly as before except for the addition of federally mandated exceptions to the confidentiality provisions. Now, if we ever suspect that a client is experiencing “diminished mental capacity” or “elder abuse,” we are authorized and […]
Every year, there are cost of living adjustments to various numbers that affect financial planning, for instance, Social Security payments increase in 2019 by 2.8%. Here is a summary of some important changes. Please let us know if we can help you understand how these numbers affect you. Your ability to save on a tax […]
At Armor, one of the areas that we consistently strive to improve is our communication style. To me, perhaps the most important part of communication is listening – more specifically, making sure our clients trust that we are hearing what they have to say. Fortunately for us, as 21st century risk managers, technology has provided […]
