Your Post-CARES Act Guide

Explore the act’s impact on year-end planning.

Signed into law on March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act offered an estimated $2 trillion in fiscal stimulus to help individuals and businesses cope with the economic impact of COVID-19. But what effects could this legislation have on your year-end planning? More than you may think, starting with your retirement savings.

Deciphering the fine print

If you’re among those with required minimum distributions (RMDs), perhaps the biggest impact of the CARES Act was the waiver of RMDs for the 2020 tax year, which also pertained to inherited and beneficiary-qualified account holders. Do keep in mind, however, that while this means you do not have to take an RMD at all this year, your future RMDs could be slightly higher as a result.

The CARES Act also gives you until December 31, 2020, to withdraw up to $100,000 in what’s called coronavirus-related distributions (CRDs) if you or another qualified individual experienced a financial hardship (e.g., healthcare expenses, layoffs or furloughs) due to COVID-19.

While CRDs aren’t subject to the IRS’s mandatory 20% withholding fee and are exempt from the 10% early distribution penalty tax, it’s important to note that doesn’t waive your potential tax liability. Fortunately, you have options. For instance, you can elect to have your CRDs taxed in 2020 or ratably over a three-year period. You can also repay all (or even a portion) of your CRDs to an eligible retirement plan within the three-year limit and file an amended tax return to receive a refund on any taxes you already paid. And if you’re worried about exceeding your plans’ annual contributions limits, there’s more good news: These re-contributions, which are considered a tax-free rollover, won’t count against you.

Heeding caveats

When it comes to the CARES Act’s impact on your retirement planning, there are crucial caveats to keep in mind. If you had already withdrawn your 2020 RMD prior to the legislation going into effect, for instance, you cannot now repay your plan. Additionally, if you think you’ll end up in a lower tax bracket for 2020, you may still want to withdraw your distributions. You may also want to consider converting your assets from a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA – since you don’t have to satisfy the RMD requirement that normally accompanies these conversions.

All things considered, you may be unsure if now’s the right time to convert your assets to a Roth IRA. While you’ll certainly want to discuss the matter with your advisor and tax professional, you might conclude that the answer is a resounding yes. That’s because converting when your retirement account values are low helps diminish your potential tax impact. Another worthy consideration? You’ll have to pay income tax on whatever amount you convert – and income tax rates are set to increase after December 31, 2025, when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act expires.

Prioritizing philanthropy

True to its acronym, the CARES Act also included temporary provisions to promote charitable giving and provide additional gifting opportunities. If you itemize your charitable cash contributions, for example, the act allows you to deduct up to 100% of your adjusted gross income (AGI), instead of the usual 60%. Even if you don’t itemize, the CARES Act still works in your favor with an above-the-line deduction for cash contributions up to $300. So no matter how you go about it, prioritizing philanthropy under the CARES Act is sure to be a win/win.

Next steps

As you prepare for year-end and the upcoming tax year:
•Speak with your advisor to determine whether to skip or withdraw this year’s RMDs.
•If you need to take a distribution from a qualified plan, your advisor can help you determine the best options.
•Consider if now’s the best time to convert from a traditional to a Roth IRA.
•Maximize your impact by reviewing your charitable giving plans under the CARES Act.

Sources: proconnect.intuit.com; forbes.com; investornews.vanguard; pillsburylaw.com; washingtonpost.com; aarp.org; tannerycompany.com; vanwiefinancial.com; ibmadison.com

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 Raymond James, we are not qualified to render advice on tax or legal matters. You should discuss tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.

Links are being provided for information 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. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

Double Marinated Prawns Carpaccio

Carpaccio (Raw fish) brings us back to ancestral traditions that have now been made popular with growing popularity of sushi. Behind such an elementary (apparently) dish are hidden techniques, skills and different stories, which have developed over the centuries. We take precautions, to ensure the safety of this dish. Here we share with you the secrets behind a Prawns Carpaccio, with his extremely delicate double marinade, that gives you an explosion of sea flavors.

Ingredients

8 jumbo shrimp (prawns) (If you buy fresh jumpo shrimp, make sure you freeze them for at least 24 hours before you expect to cook with them, then defrost them and store in the refrigerator so that you begin with thawed shrimp)

1 lemon

1 orange

4 slices of Rye bread

2 raspberries

6 mint leaves

Extra virgin olive oil

Mediterranean Sea Salt

Ground Black Pepper

Directions

On a cutting board, clean the prawns as follows: remove the outer shell on the tail by using your hands and make an incision at the back of the prawn with a knife to eliminate the black gut. Set aside the prawns heads. Once the prawns are cleaned, put them in a bowl.

Now proceed with the marinade of the prawns. Add a drizzle of EVO oil, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and the zest of a lemon and an orange. Mix by hand, or gently with a spoon.

By using a round teacup, obtain four round slices (molds) of rye bread and toast them in the oven for 5 minutes at 350 °F.

Now take the bowl with the heads of the prawns and squeeze them by hand to obtain the juice and emulsify with a drizzle of EVO oil (stir it with a fork).

On a cutting board, coarsely chop the marinated prawns into cubes.

Serve by laying a slice of toasted rye bread on the bottom of a plate, then lay a dose of prawns (about a full tablespoon) on it and drizzle with the emulsion sauce. Garnish the top by adding half of a raspberry and the chopped mint leaves, then serve.

This dish pair perfectly with a Vermentino white wine.

Buon Appetito!

Recipe from La Cucina Sabina: https://www.lacucinasabina.com/recipe/double-marinated-prawns-carpaccio/

Links are being provided for information 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. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

From the Desk of Dale Crossley and Evan Shear

Introducing Voyage – CrossleyShear Wealth Management’s Quantitative Investment Process

We hope that you and your loved ones are staying well during these trying times. While the past few months have presented unprecedented challenges for all of us, one positive has been the market’s bounce back from the lows of March and April.  Despite this, we understand that the 24/7 news cycle and uneasiness that surrounds us these days can be stressful.  We also understand it’s during times like these you need us most. 

As we’ve stressed over the past few months, emotional investment decisions are notorious for yielding poor results for individual investors. Through this period of instability, we’ve relied more than ever on our time-tested and methodical investment process to successfully guide our clients through these extremely turbulent times – a time when fear and emotion could easily drive less disciplined decisions. As you know, our planning process is much more sophisticated than a traditional comprehensive financial planning approach.  It’s founded on a customized long-term strategy for all our clients, driven by time-tested research, a rich understanding of the markets and a proprietary algorithm that serves as the cornerstone of our process and drives emotion-free decision making.  The process has enabled us to mitigate losses and pursue long-term investment opportunities despite the market instability. 

For some time, we have explored formalizing our planning approach to demonstrate its uniqueness and the critical role it plays in delivering success to you as clients and extended members of the CrossleyShear family.  We’re excited to announce and unveil Voyage – the new identity of our comprehensive investment process. Voyage is intended to reinforce our commitment to you and remaining by your side through both the good and challenging times, leading the way by taking emotion out of investing, basing decisions on a sound financial strategy and most importantly, helping you achieve your financial dreams of today and tomorrow.

We invite you to read more about the Voyage process by clicking here.  

In the coming weeks, we’ll be formally introducing Voyage but we wanted to give you -  the main beneficiary of its performance and benefits –  an exclusive preview. If you have any questions about Voyage or would like discuss your financial plan, please don’t hesitate to reach out. As always, please feel free to refer us to any family or friends that we can help through these challenging times.   

Take care and stay well. 

Dale and Evan

Links are being provided for information 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. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

Sustainability’s Imprint on the Business World

As investors and consumers seek sustainability, companies transform their approach to solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Big-box stores bumping up wages. Plastic straws and mini shampoo bottles going the way of the dodo. Shoes and shirts fashioned from recycled bottles. Welcome to the new normal, where sustainability is increasingly woven into your everyday life.

Behind the small changes you see is a big shift in how companies are tackling environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues – everything from working conditions and energy efficiency to data security and business ethics – as money managers factor sustainability into investing.

“Investors want business leaders to focus on ESG … [it] isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore,” Oxford University professor and sustainability scholar Robert Eccles told Harvard Business Review. “It’s something shareholders will demand, because they believe it’s going to drive everything else they care about: growth, market share, profitability.”

Demand is the right word. This year some of the world’s largest asset managers have called sustainability the “new standard” for investing. Governments and consumers are getting on board as well. For example, the European Union now requires that corporations disclose how they manage social and environmental challenges. And at supermarkets and stores in the U.S., sustainable products have accounted for 50% of the growth in packaged goods.

So, how are corporations shaping the future? Raymond James Equity Research analysts across industries offered their insights into how an increased focus on ESG issues is driving change.

Data as the common thread

One common theme that spans from food producers to big-box retailers is the innovation fueled by data accessibility and transparency. This empowers farmers to reduce food loss and waste, enables retailers to use RFID chips to help recycle and resell clothing, and helps airlines optimize efficiency and reduce their carbon footprint. Companies are also gaining more transparency into their supply chains as they seek to measure – and mitigate – ESG risks and avoid any link to issues such as forced labor, unregulated deforestation and other practices with negative social and environmental impacts.

While big data represents opportunity, it’s also a big challenge: What ESG metrics should industries report on? Which ones are so closely tied to company performance that they can’t be ignored? After all, hazardous waste disposal may pose a significant ESG risk for a chemicals company, but not a professional services firm.

To answer those questions, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board in 2018 published voluntary guidelines mapping material ESG issues to 11 sectors. This recent shift to pinpoint ESG factors that could hamper growth or increase costs for a particular industry is a crucial one, experts say, because it promises more relevant information and greater insight into the risks and opportunities companies are facing.

Powered by clean tech

Another sustainability theme is the adoption of renewable energy across industries. This is happening as costs for wind and solar have plummeted and technologies improve. Examples include data centers pledging to go “carbon negative” with wind and solar, and “green” buildings becoming mainstream.

We are still awaiting breakthroughs in clean battery technology that would allow us to power everything from air conditioners to airplanes when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. But even electric aviation, an idea that once seemed out of reach, is closer than you might think. Eviation’s electric prototype plane, unveiled in 2019 with an 8,200-pound battery and a range of 650 miles, is proof of that.

A shift toward “enduring value”

As companies embrace sustainability, many investors have stopped viewing it as a niche strategy.

Strikingly, 26% of all U.S. professionally managed assets, nearly $12 trillion, are already classified as sustainable, and that number is rising. ESG-aligned mutual funds and ETFs available to U.S. investors raked in $20.6 billion of total new assets in 2019, data provider Morningstar reported, four times the $5.5 billion captured in 2018. Worldwide, these assets more than doubled from 2012 to 2018, surpassing $30 trillion.

These are the kind of eye-popping numbers behind a global movement. Though barriers related to ESG information and measurement persist, the desire to focus on the long term seems here to stay.

As a 2020 report from consulting firm KPMG plainly states, “Sustainable investing is about creating businesses of enduring value” – something most anyone can appreciate.

Learn more about how industries are making future-minded progress at RaymondJames.com/PoweringForward.

Sources: Raymond James Equity Research, EU's Non-Financial Reporting Directive of 2018; NYU Stern’s Center for Sustainable Business; Harvard Business Review; Morningstar; Lazard’s 2018 Levelized Cost of Energy report

Investing involves risk and you may incur a profit or loss regardless of the strategy selected. Sustainable investing considers qualitative environmental, social and corporate governance, also known as ESG criteria, which may be subjective in nature. As with any investment, there is no guarantee that sustainable investing products or strategies will produce positive returns. Investors should consult their investment professional prior to making an investment decision.

Links are being provided for information 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. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.

Tips for Creating an Inheritance That Lasts Generations Option

Preparing your heirs for sudden wealth can help prevent unwise spending.

If you have wealth to transfer, you may worry about the sometimes adverse effect of sudden wealth and the squandering of assets within a generation.

There is a good reason to be concerned: 70% of family money disappears by the second generation, and 90% by the third generation, according to the Williams Group wealth consultancy. The cautionary tales of families like the Vanderbilts also feed into this worry.

The result? Around 60% of parents think their children aren’t prepared to receive a large inheritance, a study by U.S. Trust shows.

If you’re in this position, you have a number of options to help ensure your legacy lasts.

Consider taking advantage of a trust

Trusts can help eliminate some of the guessing game of where money might end up, while allowing you to dictate how and when your assets are distributed after you die.

For individuals with relatively young heirs, age provisions that dole out trust income to beneficiaries only when they’ve reached certain ages can be beneficial. A common threshold for distribution is reaching age 25 or 30. Generation-skipping trusts are another helpful vehicle. In some cases, this type of trust can allow you to transfer money tax-free to your grandchildren or great-grandchildren.

Connect through philanthropy

Making charitable giving a family affair can provide opportunities to connect with younger generations and communicate values and ideals. When a philanthropic mission is shared among your family, it provides a forum for communication and sharpened decision-making in a situation where the money is going to others and there is no personal interest at stake. Donor advised funds and private foundations can be effective vehicles for this type of endeavor. Charitable remainder trusts (CRTs) can also help if you wish to give assets to charity in order to leave a smaller inheritance.

Talk to your heirs about your vision

Many squandered inheritances can be traced back to a root cause – poor communication. In nearly 60% of boom-and-bust inheritance cases researched by the Williams Group, trust and communication breakdown among family members played the largest role.

To help prevent a communication breakdown, consider sharing history, values and a vision for the future of your family. This can be done in person at a family gathering or through a written statement, also known as an ethical will or legacy letter. With a common purpose and shared story, your family stands a better chance of preserving assets for future generations.

Leverage a professional’s perspective

The Williams Group research points to failure to properly prepare heirs as another cause of lost inheritance, affecting about 25% of the cases studied. Your financial advisor can play a role in educating you and your family about inheritance, as well as wealth management and its important principles.

Creating a lasting legacy is neither easy nor impossible – the difficulty lies in the details. Finding the tools and resources that will benefit your family and situation can help make the difference between a squandered fortune and an inheritance that lasts generations.

Raymond James is not affiliated with the Williams Group.

Links are being provided for information 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. Raymond James does not provide tax or legal services. Please discuss these matters with the appropriate professional.