Articles by Donald Cummings
Don founded Blue Haven Capital in 2006 after decades on the institutional side of the business serving the very largest mutual funds, trust departments, and family offices. All articles
Showing 1–15 of 32
A Narrow Window to Visit Positano
I was recently in Positano, Italy for the first time and would recommend, with caveats, the town to almost anyone. I happened to take the train...
HSA Accounts: Triple Tax Exemption
HSA accounts are one of the last bastions of 1) truly tax deductible contributions, 2) tax exempt withdrawals all while paired with 3) tax free growth....
Why Create an Irrevocable Gift Trust?
At a certain point in their lives, many of our clients decide to gift money to their children. As many of us know, when you gift...
Traveling to Europe this summer?
It's hard to imagine summer when it's the middle of February in Chicago, but summer, as always, will be here soon. If your summer travel plans...
Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA)
One of the frustrations that many 401k participants have is the lack of support from their employer when they have questions regarding the investment choices in...
Higher interest rates give us a little breathing room
As they near retirement, one of the first questions soon-to-be retirees ask is "how much of my savings can I spend each year and still maintain...
Bonds: Equity-like losses followed by equity-like gains?
For anyone with bonds, bond etfs, or bond funds in their portfolio in 2022, it was a year to remember. The Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index...
What Is a Bond Ladder? A Simple Example
A bond ladder is a set of bonds or CDs bought with staggered maturity dates, so a portion of your money comes due at regular intervals....
More yield with Less Risk
Markets, as we've learned, are very efficient over time. Companies that make money have stocks that tend to go up, companies that do nothing tend to...
Is the fed behind the curve?
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell is accused of being "behind the curve" on inflation. Let's take a look at what that criticism means. The Fed is...
Paris Restaurant Experience in an Intimate Atmosphere
I was recently in Paris visiting with expat clients and had the opportunity to attend a dinner that reminded me of the "closed door dinners" I...
Accessing Liquidity Without Generating Capital Gains – Pledged Asset Accounts
In many parts of the country, the real estate market is red hot. People are moving from large urban areas to areas that were once considered...
Tax Equivalent Yield in Municipal Bonds
Municipal bonds are bonds issued by municipal entities such as cities, states, library districts, school districts, etc. For decades, most municipal bond interest has been federally...
Where Will You Travel?
Rather than an article about interest rates (they've risen a bit), the stock market (up overall with small caps outperforming large caps), or taxes (we'll examine...
Small business retirement plans: SEP IRA vs solo 401K
As the end of the tax year approaches, we've had an increase in the number of business owners inquiring about small business retirement plans. Let's take...