Health Savings Accounts
For people in good health with low medical expenses with access to a High Deductible Healthcare Plan (HDHP), gaining access to a Health Savings Account (HSA) can be a big win. HDHPs have lower annu...
Larry Derany
- Manage your wealth
- Spend smarter
- Navigate tough decisions
Be a smarter bear
Financial Freedom Starts with a Plan
Why Smarter Bear Financial?
No hidden fees. No commissions. No products to sell.
Your success leads to our success.
A Proven Approach
We begin every client relationship by working with you to understand what’s important to you. We’ll analyze your goals and current circumstances and come up with a plan that is right for you. This personal approach ensures that we can provide planning and investment guidance that really matches your objectives, life goals and risk tolerance.
Planning Futures
We're here to help people with complex financial situations create plans and investment strategies to best meet their long-term financial goals. Have questions about investments, taxes, retirement, and/or estate planning? One of our founders would be glad to help.
Why Us?
We are fee-only financial fiduciary advisors who didn't grow up in the financial services industry. We bring a different perspective to helping our clients plan for the future. We've spent a career helping to build some of the most successful companies in America. We couldn't find the kind of advice that we and our peers needed for complex personal and family financial decisions, so we set out to build it ourselves.
From the blog
"Keep up-to-date with us by checking out what's going on in the market, our industry, and around our office!"
Make sure cash is working for you
Banks love their "golden deposits" - highly profitable (for them) non-interest-bearing accounts. These deposits are sticky, representing 25-32% of bank deposits, including personal checking account...
Larry Derany
Delays in accessing your cash.
For folks that are taking advantage of currently high rates by using online banks - check the fine print on the rules for g...
Larry Derany
Asset location matters, too.
Most investors are familiar with asset allocation, which is how a portfolio is divid...
Larry Derany
IRS interest rate increase
As of Oct 1, 2023, the IRS interest rate is 8% annually for taxes owned and not withheld or paid via estimated payments. That increase from 3% 2 years ago reflects the rising interest rate environm...
Larry Derany
Beware of gift cards sold in retail stores.
It isun clear whether clever thieves or someone accessing the computer systems of the company selling and managing the card...
Larry Derany
Can tax-loss harvesting save you some money?
Assets that have lost value since purchase can be sold, and the capital loss can offset capital gains and up to $3000 of ordinary income. Tax losses can be claimed on individual equities/stock and...
Larry Derany
Receipts to save
If you are a homeowner, when you sell your house, there is a nice exclusion from the capital gains due on the sale. If you h...
Larry Derany
Mail theft and check washing
Many of us have read about mail theft and check washing. It recently happened to one of our clients sending in a check to Smarter Bear. The thief stole the letter, changed the payee on the chec...
Larry Derany
Changes for 2024
Tax rules and limit changes for 2024 - 6 things to review and consider adapting your plan
Larry Derany
Government Money Market Funds and ETFs may not be exempt from state taxes
Money Market funds or ETFs, which invest exclusively and directly in assets such as Treasury bonds, notes, and bills, will produce dividend income free of state and local taxes. However, income fro...
Larry Derany
Savings on Mortgages
With rates in the 6-7% range for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, buying down the rate by paying points (an upfront fee that is a percentage of the total mortgage) is worth considering. The savings ca...
Larry Derany
Tax-gain harvesting
Some folks know about tax-loss harvesting; we wrote about it in
Larry Derany
Change in trade settlement rules
As of May 28, trade settlement happens in one day (previously two days). To avoid potential margin charges on purchases that require moving funds from your Money Market Funds to settlement funds, y...
Larry Derany
When planning for retirement and seeking to optimize after-tax retirement income
Smarter Bear recommends careful planning for three key decisions: the timing of the beginning of Social Security payments for you and your spouse, Roth conversions, and the order of withdrawals of...
Larry Derany
Annuities are very popular.
$385 Billion were sold in 2023. The concept is simple: you give the insurance company some money, and they guarantee you a return that might include a lifetime stream of payments. But there are man...
Larry Derany
Collectibles and taxes
Collectibles are taxed at a higher capital gains rate than other assets. They include stamps, coins, metals (like gold and silver), antiques, rugs, and alcohol. The higher tax rate is worth conside...
Larry Derany
More on HSAs
Health Savings Accounts (HSA) are not all or nothing. If there are two working spouses, one can have a regular health insurance plan, and the other can have a high-deductible Health Plan (HDHP). Th...
Larry Derany
Tax-smart moves to consider
Contributing or increasing contribution to IRA/401k
Roth conversions
Balancing capital gains and losses
Tax loss harvesting for equities and fixed income, too,
Bunch charita...
Larry Derany
A new name for "Credit" card?
You are making a mistake if you use your credit card to obtain credit, as in borrowing money to purchase goods and services. The interest rates and fees on outstanding credit card balances are very...
Larry Derany
Key Estate Planning Documents
Several documents are part of a complete estate plan, depending on your circumstances. Smarter Bear works with Estate Planning Attorneys to make sure your financial plan is well coordinated with yo...
Larry Derany
529 accounts have more flexibility
Over the last several years, some of the rules for 529 accounts - previously narrowly targeted to saving and paying for college - have been relaxed. Funds in 529 accounts can now be used for K-12 t...
Larry Derany
"Pump and dump" has been found legal
On March 20, 2024, the United States District Court in the Southern District of Texas, in a head-scratching ruling, dismissed charges against social media influencers for promoting a stock they own...
Larry Derany
Best ways to make charitable donations
If you wish to give to a worthwhile charity, there are several tax-smart ways to do it. These include Qualified Charitable Donations (QCD), donating appreciated assets, concentrating donations in a...
Larry Derany
Target-date funds are popular
According to Vanguard Group, 64% of dollars flowing into 401k plans go into target-date funds—for good reasons.
Companies are auto-enrolling new participants into target date funds, and this...
Larry Derany
It's a good idea to check your social security account.
Anyone can set up an account at ssa.gov to see their projected benefits and annual contributions. If there is an error in W2 withholding, it can be corrected without time limitations. If it's a sel...
Larry Derany
Investing firms are looking for new sources of fee income
Very low-cost index mutual funds and ETFs have become so popular that financial firms are introducing new products to generate income. The old playbook for generating more fee revenue was Activel...
Larry Derany
Tax system anomalies to consider
Many tax rules are based on adjusted gross income, which is not taxable (after deductions) income.
Itemized deductions only matter if, in total, they exceed the standard deduction.
So...
Larry Derany
Legal protection for annuity buyers is at risk.
The Labor Department issued new consumer protection rules for annuity buyers. As we have written in previous newsletters, Annuities are surging in popularity - $215B were sold in the first six mon...
Larry Derany