As a financial advisor, one of my most important recommendations to my clients is to review and update their beneficiary designations regularly. Life changes and your estate plan should evolve to reflect your current wishes and circumstances. Failing to update beneficiaries on retirement accounts, insurance policies, and wills can lead to unintended consequences, potentially leaving your loved ones in a difficult situation.
Maximize Your Charitable Impact and Minimize Taxes: How to Donate Appreciated Stock and Equity Compensation
Donating appreciated stock and equity compensation is a powerful way for savvy investors, pharmaceutical executives, and high-income earners to reduce tax liability while supporting meaningful causes. By leveraging appreciated assets like stocks or restricted stock units (RSUs), donors can avoid capital gains taxes, diversify their portfolios, and preserve liquidity for other financial needs.
Science Meets Finance: How The Scientific Method is Applied in Financial Planning | Ep. 6
Anna Marie Mock, a fee-only certified financial planner at Highland Financial Advisors, discusses the dynamic interplay between art and science in financial planning. Drawing inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci's philosophy that "everything connects to everything else," she emphasizes that financial planning is an art involving subjective goal-setting and a science-driven by objective analysis tools. In this video, Anna explains how the scientific method can be applied to financial planning, using equity compensation as a concrete example.
How Pharmaceutical Executives Can Maximize Their Financial Health | Ep. 5
In this video, AnnaMarie Mock, a fee-only Certified Financial Planner at Highland Financial Advisors, walks you through the third step in maximizing the financial health of pharmaceutical executives: defining a purpose for your human and investment capital. Drawing from her personal experiences, AnnaMarie explains the importance of setting clear, specific, and attainable financial goals. She also outlines a step-by-step framework—Identify, Quantify, and Solidify—to help you create a purpose for your assets and achieve long-term financial freedom.
How Can C.O.W. Help Your Estate Plan?
Updating estate documents is crucial because it ensures that your wishes are accurately reflected and legally honored as your life circumstances change. Imagine the birth of a new child, a marriage, a divorce, or the windfall of significant assets. These events can dramatically alter your intentions regarding who should inherit your belongings and how it's managed.
Mastering Equity Compensation: A Guide for Pharmaceutical Executives
Equity compensation is a powerful tool for pharmaceutical executives to enhance their financial health and secure a stake in their company's long-term growth. As a Certified Financial Planner™ at Highland Financial Advisors, AnnaMarie Mock delves into the intricacies of equity compensation, providing valuable insights and strategies. In this video, we explore the various components of equity compensation, including stock options and grants, to help you make informed decisions and optimize your financial plan.
Is Your Stock Certificate the Next Big Thing?
Rummaging around your stuffed filing cabinet, you come across a stock certificate. A glint of excitement enters as you think about the potential value of this forgotten relic. It is not uncommon to stumble upon an old stock certificate in its physical form. There are steps to take to research if the old stock certificate is worthless or if it is a lottery ticket.
Teeing Up Your Financial Future: Unveiling the Hidden Links Between Golf and Financial Planning
Picture this: you stand at the tee box, surveying the undulating terrain ahead with excitement and apprehension. With each club selection and calculated swing, you inch closer to the elusive hole, navigating obstacles and seizing opportunities. Little do you know, every decision you make on the course mirrors the principles of prudent financial management, offering valuable insights into crafting a secure and prosperous future.
Monkey Business: Unveiling the Psychology of Financial Decision-Making
The fascinating interplay between human decision-making and financial outcomes has long intrigued behavioral economics and psychology scholars. However, research has expanded this inquiry beyond human subjects, delving into the behavior of our primate cousins, specifically Capuchin monkeys. Situated on an island off the coast of Puerto Rico, researchers conducted an experiment seeking insights into economic behaviors, risk psychology, and the recurrence of financial crises in our societies, shedding light on the parallels between monkey behavior and human decision-making processes.
Navigating Non-Cash Benefits: A Guide for Pharmaceutical Executives
In today's discussion, we embark on the second step of enhancing financial health for pharmaceutical executives: the strategic utilization of non-cash benefits. Led by AnnaMarie Mock, a fee-only certified financial adviser at Highland Financial Advisors, this video aims to shed light on the often underestimated yet impactful facet of compensation packages.
Donating Appreciated Stock and Equity Compensation to Reduce Taxes
As we’re in the throes of tax season, you may be surprised by the potential tax liability you face. In the realm of tax planning, savvy investors are always on the lookout for strategies to minimize their tax burden while maximizing their charitable contributions. One such strategy gaining traction is donating appreciated stock, funds, and equity compensation. By strategically leveraging these assets for charitable giving, individuals can support causes they care about and reduce their tax liability meaningfully.
A Tax Tale: The Story of Reporting Income Taxes From Stock Compensation
Sarah, a savvy pharmaceutical executive, has accumulated Non-Qualified Stock Options (NQSOs) and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) as part of her compensation package. Sarah had always been meticulous with her finances and records of her stock option grants, exercise dates, and the fair market values at the time of exercise. As her stock compensation vested over the years, she knew proper tax reporting was crucial to avoid any IRS headaches.
Mastering Financial Health: Step Two - Understanding and Managing Cash Compensation
In this video, AnnaMarie Mock, a Certified Financial Planner™, focuses on the second step in her series for pharmaceutical executives, emphasizing the importance of cash compensation in financial planning. She compares compensation to a banana split, with cash compensation as the essential component. Mock advises managing lifestyle expenses based on a stable salary rather than variable bonuses and highlights the need for a spending plan.
When Should I Exercise & Sell My Non-Qualified Stock Options? – Using Merck's (MRK) Stock History
In contrast to the first half of 2023, the second half has had volatile, lackluster returns for some of the stock market and pharmaceutical stocks. Market fluctuations can significantly impact wealth creation, especially when navigating stock compensation.
Reducing Student Loan Balances Using Programs Offered
Student loan payments resumed on October 1st after over three years of forbearance. More than 30 million people are returning with existing loans, and 13 million new borrowers and recent graduates are entering the system for the first time since the Covid-related forbearance. Regardless of whether everything is appropriately structured for the first federal loan payment, you should still review your student loans to ensure everything is in order and understand your new payment.
What I Did on My Sabbatical
We only have 24 hours daily to do all life's necessities like work, sleep, and personal care. According to a 2022 US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) survey, an average day has about 5 hours of leisure time. I'm unsure what the BLS counts towards 'leisure,' but I think it may be overstated. Nonetheless, the takeaway is our time is limited.
How to Evaluate a Job Offer - Salary, Benefits, Stock Options, and More
What Should You Review When Laid Off?
Reviewing and adequately reacting when handed a severance package can be daunting. A flood of emotions and concerns can cloud your judgment and lead to rash decision-making. It's essential to pause and compose your thoughts before proceeding because some of your benefits will still be extremely valuable to your short and long-term plan.
Are you concerned about being laid off in the life science industry?
Pandemic investments and the continuation of gene therapy spurred the growth of companies in recent years. Still, these same companies are feeling the pinch due to growing economic uncertainty. Life sciences do better than other industries during economic and market drawdowns, but it is not immune to global influences.
