These versatile savings accounts might be the estate planning vehicle you need to learn about.
Sure, most of us associate 529 accounts as college-saving vehicles. They’re flexible, allowing you to transfer assets to anyone, including yourself, for the express purpose of furthering the education of your beneficiary. But did you know that a 529 can be a powerful estate planning tool, too?
J SINGLETON FINANCIAL and Teton Literacy Center
August 9, 2018
Early on in my career one of my mentors pressed upon me the importance of giving back. That advice has continued to pay dividends throughout my 24+ year financial career. The joy and fulfillment received in helping others remains one of my fundamental drivers. Furthermore, this giving back mentality is also shared with our partner – Raymond James Financial. Each year Raymond James dedicates the month of August to giving back and challenges all of its employees and partners to participate. Challenge accepted!
This month the JSF team volunteered at Teton Literacy Center. Hopefully you already know about this wonderful organization providing after school enrichment clubs, summer camps, tutoring, and family literacy programming – all at zero cost to their clients. I have listed their website below if you want to find out more about how they continue to make Jackson Hole a better place.
Last Thursday afternoon our office purchased the entire back to school supply list for all of TLC’s summer camp students. We set up a store of the supplies and then passed them out to the excited students. Seeing the children’s enthusiasm for learning was by far my favorite take away. Organizing events like this take a great deal of work and I would like to personally thank Laura Soltau – Executive Director, Kristin Livingstone – Associate Director, and the entire Teton Literacy Staff for helping make the afternoon possible.
Sincerely,
Judy
Raymond James is not affiliated with Teton Literacy Center, Laura Soltau or Kristin Livingston.
As the number of cyber breaches increases, efforts to safeguard your business should increase, too.
A recent report on data breaches says that 58% of malware attack victims are categorized as small businesses. And the attacks are increasing: 61% of small businesses have experienced a cyber breach in the past 12 months – up from 55% in 2016.
With this kind of data, it’s no wonder that the MAIN STREET (Making Available Information Now to Strengthen Trust and Resilience and Enhance Enterprise Technology) Cybersecurity Act of 2017 has been proposed. Once law, it will require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to provide cybersecurity resources specifically geared for small businesses.
A Monthly Chart Presentation and Discussion Pulling Together the Disciplines of Economics, Fundamentals, Technical Analysis, and Quantitative Analysis Published by Raymond James & Associates
July 7, 2018
In researching 10th anniversary gifts I came across an article that explained the traditional anniversary gift is tin, or aluminum… That just didn’t seem to fit so I read a bit further and saw that the modern day gift is diamonds. That struck a chord with me, being that I feel like – on the 10th anniversary of J SINGLETON FINANCIAL – I am surrounded by a group of diamonds. Colleagues and clients alike.
This past week JSF celebrated 10 years with a company gathering in my back yard. It seems like yesterday that I packed everything up at the Jackson State Bank and walked across the street to open my own practice. I feel blessed not only by a great staff but also by all of the wonderful clients that I have had the pleasure of working with – some for over 20 years! On this anniversary I say thank you to everyone who has helped make J SINGLETON FINANCIAL the practice it is today. Thank you for putting your trust with us, and I look forward to seeing what the next 10 years hold.
Sincerely,
Judy
For the first time since 1982, Social Security is dipping into its trust fund to pay benefits. What does this mean for future recipients?
The board of trustees for Social Security recently issued their 2018 annual report. Once again, this year’s report provided a dark reminder that the fiscal health of the program has further deteriorated. Like last year’s report, Social Security’s trustees said the program’s trust fund would be depleted in 2034. However, unlike last year, for the first time since 1982, Social Security has to dip into the fund to meet its obligations. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement that “lackluster economic growth in previous years” and an aging population have contributed to the shortage.
June 7, 2018
This last month Hadyn and I attended Raymond James’ national conference in Washington D.C. Time was spent visiting historic sites (The White House & Mount Vernon), professional development, and meeting with some of the best and brightest the financial industry has to offer. A few highlighted speakers that we heard from were Andy Friedman, commonly referred to as “one of the nation’s most sought-after speakers on all things political”, Robert Gates, former US Secretary of Defense, and Adam Alter, who spoke about our society’s current addiction to screens.
We also attended two intimate dinners – one with Jeff Saut, Raymond James’ Chief Investment strategist, and one with James Camp Co-portfolio manager of Eagle Strategic Income. Both dinners were very productive.
The conversation at dinner with James Camp centered on the discipline that it takes to stick to an investment strategy when it is out of favor with what is currently popular. In a day and age where everyone seems to have the secret to the next investment home run it was good to hear some level headed thoughts about keeping it simple and investing in high quality – so called “boring” investments.
Our night out with Jeff Saut was a real treat. We went to dinner a top the W Hotel adjacent the White House. Being able to discuss the markets one on one with Jeff was amazing. He reiterated why he thinks the markets are headed higher and we are in a secular bull market – “The economy is stronger than a garlic milkshake!”.
All in all it was a very productive trip. Every now and then it is good to step away from day to day obligations and spend time focusing on how we can better serve our clients. We cannot wait to take the insights we learned and improve our deliverables to our clients.
Sincerely,
Judy
Any opinions are those of Judy Singleton and not necessarily of Raymond James.
June 5, 2018
This past weekend J SINGLETON FINANCIAL sponsored the 6th annual Touch-A-Truck. This event is put together by the wonderful staff and volunteers of the Jackson Hole Children’s Museum. The event allows children of all ages to explore vehicles of all sorts in a safe supervised environment. Our kids and grandkids – as you can tell – had a fabulous time!
May 13, 2018
Mother’s Day is a time to take a moment and show appreciation to some of the most important people in the world – our Moms. We celebrated a few wonderful mothers by hosting a brunch at The Club at 3 Creek on Mother’s Day this year. Thank you to all of the other mothers out there doing the million things that assure that this world is filled with love. – Judy
