The Grinch Who Stole Your Investment Returns
Main Idea: High fees and taxes are the best way to kill your investment returns over a long time period.
"Every Who down in Whoville loved Christmas a lot...but the Grinch, who lived just North of Whoville, did NOT!"
There a many things that can cause havoc in your portfolio, but it's not always as obvious as a 7 foot green guy flanking down the mountain at high speeds to pulverize your town of Whoville.
I'm referring to taxes and fees.
I'm not a proponent of looking for the lowest price, as this is how I ended up with a broken dishwasher, apartment in the worst part of town, and other less than ideal experiences, but being aware of this within your plan is crucial.
TAXES
Some of you may think to yourself, taxes are inevitable.
While this is true, I'm referring to trading more often than one needs to.
Remember, you receive a more favorable tax rate if you wait longer than 12 months before selling a position. (Long term capital gains rate)
If you sell at 12 months or shorter, you take your highest tax rate and multiply it by your earnings. (short term capital gains rate)
This is one way to quickly kill the gains you've made.
It's like getting a solid chest day in, and then stopping by Micky D's on the way home for a double cheese with a large fry.
You're returning a portion of your gains (excuse the "bro" pun).
What is an ideal way to approach tax management of investments?
Below are 5 considerations for approaching your taxes and investments in a more fitting way.
I've also written a shorter article on tax-efficient investing in the past, as well as bunch of linked articles below on these crucial topics.
?? Roth IRAs/401(k)s: These accounts (and other retirement accounts) allow investments to grow tax-free (Roth) or tax-deferred (Traditional). (Click here for more on Roth IRAs)
?? HSAs: Health Savings Accounts offer triple tax benefits: tax-deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free withdrawals for qualified medical expenses.
?? Index Funds and ETFs: These typically have lower turnover compared to actively managed funds, resulting in fewer taxable events (like capital gains distributions that occur in mutual funds). For more on index funds, click here.
?? Municipal Bonds: Interest from municipal bonds is generally exempt from federal (and sometimes state) taxes, making them a great option for high-income investors. In great states like Texas or Florida, we don't have state income tax, so I'd double check before investing in one of these.
?? Selling investments at a loss to offset gains elsewhere in the portfolio. This helps reduce taxable income without necessarily hurting long-term investment strategy.
?? This one is the easiest...just hold onto it!!! As I previously mentioned, tax rates are more favorable the longer you hold it.
If you must sell, implementing tax-loss harvesting or similar strategies might be useful.
?? I've written a lot on giving well and saving on taxes. This starts with understanding deductions as well as how you can make your donation more impactful for both you and the organization.
Fees
When I talk about fees, I’m definitely including the fee you pay your advisor to manage your financial plan.
At the end of the day, it has to make sense for you, but from my experience, the best advisors typically charge around 1% (more for portfolios under a million, less for larger portfolios).
We could debate the validity of this pricing structure, but the reality is that a good advisor is worth their weight in gold.
领英推荐
Again, pardon the pun.
But what I really want to focus on here are the fees associated with mutual funds, ETFs, and products like life insurance and annuities.
What is an Expense Ratio?
Every mutual fund or ETF has what’s called an expense ratio.
This is the fee the company charges you to invest with them.
The fee is generally deducted before you see your final return, but it does affect that return significantly.
I'm not suggesting that you only invest in low-cost ETFs, but if you're considering anything with an expense ratio over 0.50% (50 basis points), make sure it's truly worth the cost.
Examples:
The Worst Offenders
Now, I’ve saved the worst for last, but I don’t want to ruin your holiday season by getting into too much detail.
Annuities and whole life insurance can have ongoing fees that are much higher than what I’ve mentioned above.
It’s not uncommon for an annuity to have fees over 2%, or for a whole life policy to come with a hefty upfront fee and steep charges if you ever want to cancel the policy.
Be extremely cautious with these products.
While there are situations where they might make sense, those cases are usually complex and should only be advised by a knowledgeable financial planner.
In the age of social media, these creatures selling these products are coming out of the woodworks.
They're like the Grinch at the start of the movie when he's still all cranky and mad.
Not like at the end where he softens up a bit.
You've been warned.
CONCLUSION
I don't like when people demonize higher fees outright, because many times the fee makes sense for the service.
If someone can get you where you want to go, there really isn't much to be said about fees at all.
Ultimately, fees only become an issue in the absence of value added.
Whether that's financial planning, investments, or even financial products, everyone must be held accountable and provide an immense amount of value for something as important as managing a family's wealth.
Follow Up to Read or Watch: Too many links today, I'll spare you one more.
Action Item: Take account of:
My name is Jordan McFarland and I'm a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER? at SageSpring Wealth Partners in Dallas, TX.
My goal with these brief articles is not to make you an expert, but get you thinking about ways you can optimize your finances and get ahead for tomorrow.
If any questions or thoughts come up during your reading, you can email me at [email protected].
Unfortunately, I must keep these articles rather vanilla and short in order that I do not trip any compliance wires. I'd be happy to meet with you to hear about your specific goals when the time comes.
This content reflects the opinions of the author and is subject to change at any time without notice. Content provided herein is for informational purposes only and should not be used or construed as financial, legal, tax, or investment advice or a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of any security. There is no guarantee that the statements, opinions, or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. The information contained in the commentaries is derived from sources deemed to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed. This material does not have regard to specific investment objectives, financial situation, or the particular needs of any specific reader. Any views regarding future prospects may or may not be realized. Asset allocation nor diversification guarantees a profit or protect against a loss in a declining market. They are methods used to help manage investment risk.