Tag: Company stock

Financial tips for corporate executives

The December 2014 issue of Financial Planning magazine had an article about “Strategies for Wealthy Execs.” It begins:

Just because your clients are successful executives doesn’t mean they understand their own finances.

And that’s true. Successful executives are good at running businesses or giant corporations. But that does not make them experts in personal finance.

One of the ways executives are compensated is with stock options. But options must be exercised or they will expire. Yet 11% of in-the-money stock options are allowed to expire each year. That’s usually because they don’t pay attention to their stock option statements.

Executives usually end up with concentrated positions in their company’s stock. Prudence requires that everyone, especially including corporate executives, have to be properly diversified. Their shares may be restricted and can only be sold under the SEC’s Rule 144. To prevent charges of insider trading, many executives sell their company stock under Rule 10b5-1.

An additional consideration for executives is charitable giving. Higher income and capital gains tax rates make it beneficial for richer executives to set up donor-advised funds, charitable lead trusts, charitable remainder trusts, or family foundations.

For more information on these strategies, consult a knowledgeable financial planner.

Family Business Financial Planning

A family business is one of the ways that individuals build something of value for themselves and their family. Suffolk is a great example of a community where family owned restaurants, hardware stores, gift shops, bike shops, jewelry, sporting goods, clothing and furniture stores line the streets. Suffolk has its national chains, but its most recognizable businesses – in the pork and peanut industry – began as family businesses.

These family shops often provide a comfortable living as well as job opportunities for family members of the founders. Whether they stay small and local or grow into large businesses, there are challenges that everyone running a business has to face.

The first is competition. For every business there is a better financed competitor. The supermarket doomed the family-run grocery store. Wal Mart is a feared competitor for anyone selling groceries, clothing, furniture, electronics, toys, eyeglasses; and now it’s even getting into banking.

The second challenge is a bad economy. Many communities have seen their downtowns shuttered when local industry left. The businesses depending on housing have still not fully recovered from the crash of 2008.

Finally, most small businesses are very dependent on one or a few key people. If the children don’t want to get into the business when the parents are ready to retire, the business often closes. There is no guarantee that a business can be sold when they owner is ready to retire. Unless the owner has prepared for this, the financial results can be devastating.

For all these reasons, the family business owner has to make sure that they have prepared themselves financially for life after the business. Succession planning is critically important and should be part of the business plan from the moment the business is started. If a business is a partnership, buy-sell agreements should be in place to avoid complications from the death of a partner. If a business is going to be passed along to children, the owners should be clear about the division of assets. Otherwise there is likely to be wrangling – or even lawsuits – over who is entitled to what.

Most people in business choose to convert from individual proprietorships to limited liability companies. This protects the business owners’ personal assets in case of a lawsuit against the business. Some convert to “Chapter C” corporations for tax purposes. If a company wants to grow even larger, it may want to raise cash by “going public” and selling shares to the general public.

One of the most common mistakes that business owners make is to invest too much of their money in the business. It’s a fact that a family business is a high-risk enterprise. Competition, the economy – even a change in traffic patterns – can bring a business to its knees. Building an investment portfolio should go hand-in-hand with building a business. When most of your money is tied up in your business you are making the same mistake as the investor who owns only one stock. Diversification reduces risk and provides a safety net. Factors that are out of your control could end up severely damaging your business value, thereby crippling your total savings and your future goals and ambitions.

In addition to the traditional savings and investment accounts, the tax code provides many ways for business owners to put money aside in a variety of tax-deferred accounts such as SEP-IRAs, 401(k) plans, and SIMPLE-IRA plans. As a business owner you can even set up a “Defined Benefit Plan” which works much like a traditional pension.

There are a great many things that running a business entails beyond offering customers a great product or service. People who start a business are usually focused on this aspect of the business. But to insure that the business – and the family – survives and thrives, business owners should seek the assistance and guidance of a team consisting of an attorney, an accountant and a financial planner. They may be in the background, but they are critical for the financial success of the family business.

How To Invest Like Bill Gates

Bill Gates’ fortune has ballooned to $82 billion according to the Wall Street Journal. It puts him at the top of the Forbes 500 list of the world’s richest people. And it’s not due to the price of Microsoft stock.

Over the years, Bill Gates has done what any savvy investor does, he’s diversified. He has sold about $40 billion of his Microsoft shares and has given $30 billion to charity. So what’s he done to get even richer? He has hired a money manager. The man’s name is Michael Larson and Gates has given him his “complete trust and faith.”

Gates gave a party in Larson’s honor, toasting him by saying that “Melinda [Gates wife] and I are free to pursue our vision of a healthier and better-educated world because of what Michael has done.”

The way Bill Gates has managed his fortune is a lesson for every investor. There are three distinct things that are worth noting.

1. Diversification. The first rule of risk control – making sure you don’t lose your money –  is diversification. This issue has been beaten to death, yet we still see people with portfolios which are concentrated in one or two stocks. This is often the case of an employee who has bought his company’s stock over many years. Small business owners are even guiltier. Often their single biggest asset is their business. It’s even more important for the owner of a chain of dry cleaners, fast food outlets or a real estate developer to build an investment portfolio that will be there if their business declines. Only about 15% of Gates’ fortune is invested in Microsoft stock. If Microsoft were to close up shop tomorrow, Gates lifestyle would not be affected. He would still be immensely wealthy. Many business owners can’t say the same thing.

2. Hire an investment professional to manage your money. Gates knows computers and computer software. He’s smart, savvy and knows that he lacks investment expertise. Gates hired Larson in 1994, realizing that if he was going to diversify he had to hire someone who was an expert investor to manage his money. The Gates fortune grew from $5 billion when he hired Larson to $82 billion today. Larson has autonomy to buy and sell investments as he sees fit. His portfolio includes stocks, bonds and real estate. He has a staff of about 100 people to help him do the hard work of managing the Gates fortune.

3. Focus on what you enjoy and do best. Because they have someone they can trust managing their money, Gates and his wife can pursue their vision. Most people’s interests revolve around their family, their work or hobbies. Managing the family investments is a distraction from what people want to do. Besides, few people are investment professionals. That’s why Gates example is worth following. Unless you have Gates’ wealth you can’t afford your own dedicated, private, investment manager. But there are investment managers – like Larson – who manage the assets of multiple families.  They can take care of your investments while you focus on the things that are important to you.

Gates gets an update on his investments every two months. Not every investment has been successful, but they are good enough to have returned Gates to the top of the wealth list.

If you are still managing your own money, or have an account with a broker who calls you with investment ideas from time to time, isn’t it time to think about the way the richest man in the world handles his money? Call Korving & Company and let us show you what we can do for you.

10 Common Mistakes Made with Company Retirement Plans

Surveys say that most people don’t take full advantage of company sponsored retirement plans.
What are some of the most common mistakes?

1. Many people never participate at all, and others wait months or years to participate.
2. Failure to make enough of a contribution to obtain the full company match.
3. Failure to increase your contribution after getting a raise.
4. Failure to study the investment choices.
5. Putting too much of the money into company stock.
6. Failure to re-balance the portfolio on a regular basis.
7. Leaving the plan behind when changing jobs.
8. Failure to name a beneficiary.
9. Failure to review beneficiary information.
10. Cashing the plan out before retirement.

Investment Mistakes Millionaires Make

Think millionaires don’t make investing mistakes?  Think again. The deVere Group asked some of its wealthy clients to tell them about the biggest investing mistakes they made before getting professional guidance. It demonstrates that the rich are not that much different. Keep in mind that many people get rich by starting a successful business or inheriting money. That does not make them smart investors.

Here’s a list of five common investment mistakes, and how to avoid them:

5. Focusing Too Much On Historical Returns

Too often investors look at stocks, bonds and mutual funds in the rear view mirror, expecting the future to be a repeat of the past. This is rarely the case. It’s why mutual fund prospectuses always state “past performance is no guarantee of future results.” Too many investors buy into last year’s top investment ideas, only to find that they bought an over-priced lemon. Investment decisions need to be made with an eye to the future, not the past.

That’s why we build portfolios based on what we think the markets (& investments) will do in the next 6-36 months. Of course we also look at track records, but in a more sophisticated way than buying last year’s winners.  And when investing in mutual funds, it’s vitally important to examine who is responsible for the fund’s performance and if that person’s still managing the fund.

4. Not Reviewing the Portfolio Regularly

Things change and your portfolio will change with it, whether you watch it or not. If you don’t watch it you could own GM, Enron or one of the banks that closed during the crisis in 2008. Every investment decision needs to be reviewed. The question you always need to ask about the investments in your portfolio is “if I did not own this security would we buy it today?” If the answer is “no,” it may be time to make changes.

We review your portfolios regularly, to make sure you’re on track with your stated goals.  We also offer regular reviews with our clients and prepare reports for them to show how they are doing.

3. Making Emotional Decisions

The two emotions that dominate investment decisions are greed and fear. It’s the reason that the general public usually buys when the market is at the top and sells at the bottom.

We help take the emotion out of investing.  We have a system in place that helps keep emotion out of the equation.

2. Investing Without a Plan

Most portfolios we examine lack a plan. In many cases they are a collection of things that seemed like a good idea at the time. This is often the result of stockbrokers selling their clients investments without first finding out what they really need.

We always invest with a plan.  You tell us your goals, timeline, etc and then we use that as an investment guide.  We don’t care about beating arbitrary indexes; we care about helping you achieve your plans with the least amount of investment risk possible.

1. Not Diversifying Adequately

One of the biggest risks people make is lack of diversification. It’s called putting all your eggs in one basket.   This often happens when people work for a company that offers stock to employees via their 401(k) or other plan. Employees of Enron, who invested heavily in their own company via their retirement plan, were devastated when their company went broke.   Sometimes investors own several mutual funds, believing that they are properly diversified only to find that their funds all do the same thing.

Nobody has ever accused us of being under-diversified.  We champion broad diversification in every one of the MMF (Managed Mutual Fund) portfolios we create. We choose funds that invest in different segments of the investment market. We own many assets classes (bonds, stocks, etc.). We diversify geographically, including some overseas funds. And we have style diversity: growth vs. value, large cap. vs. small cap. With rare exceptions, there is always something in our portfolios that’s making you money.

What is the purpose of a stock market?

Before there was a stock market, there were stock companies.

A stock company allows individuals to pool their money to create an organization to operate and grow.  Stock is used to determine how much a person owns of a company.  Owning a stock does not necessarily create wealth.  Wealth creation can only occur if the stock can be sold to someone else who is willing to pay you more for it than what you originally paid.  This led to the creation of a market for people who owned shares in stock companies.

A stock market has two functions.  First, it allows the owners of stock to sell their ownership interest easily and quickly.  Second, it also allows people who would like to be owners to buy an ownership interest quickly and easily.  Now even people who do not have substantial financial resources can participate in the growth in value of large enterprises.

For example, the founders of Apple were able to raise money for their company by selling their shares of Apple stock to people who were willing to bet that the company would be successful.  That was 1976.  In 1980 the shares of Apple were first allowed to be publicly traded.  As a result, the founding shareholders were able to profit from their original investment and the company itself raised millions of dollars that it could invest in growth.  It also allowed people who did not personally know the founders to become partial owners and benefit from the company’s growth.  The stock market allowed people who believed in Apple computers to bet on the company’s future, and also provided them with a ready market for their shares if they needed to sell or decided they no longer believed in the company’s future.

The bottom line is that the stock market creates liquidity.  Without liquidity it becomes much harder for a company to raise the capital it needs to grow in a modern economy.

What is an IPO?

An “IPO” or “initial public offering” is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. IPOs are often issued by smaller, younger companies seeking the capital to expand, but can also be done by large privately owned companies looking to become publicly traded.

An example if the recent offering to the public of the common stock of Facebook.  This company was private until it decided to offer it shares to the general public and allow itself to be traded on a major exchange.  From Investopedia.

In an IPO, the issuer obtains the assistance of an underwriting firm, which helps it determine what type of security to issue (common or preferred), the best offering price and the time to bring it to market.

The benefit to the founders of the company is that it gives them the ability to sell part of their stake in the company to the public, often making them millionaires or even billionaires overnight.   It also provides the company with much more capital than it previously had for purposes of expansion and growth.

The benefit to the public is their ability to participate in the company’s growth alongside the founding shareholders.

IPOs should be viewed with a great deal of caution.

IPOs can be a risky investment. For the individual investor, it is tough to predict what the stock will do on its initial day of trading and in the near future because there is often little historical data with which to analyze the company. Also, most IPOs are of companies going through a transitory growth period, which are subject to additional uncertainty regarding their future values.

Investors in the IPO of Facebook found this out when the excitement and hype surrounding its initial offering resulted in such a demand for the stock that people were willing to pay much more for the stock than was warranted.

What is a dividend?

Experienced investors know all about dividends but we thought it would be a good idea to explain dividends to newer investors.  And perhaps even experienced investors can learn something new here.

A dividend is money that corporations pay our to shareholder.  Older, established US companies will pay dividends to shareholders based on what they expect to be able to pay on a regular basis.  Dividends are usually paid out quarterly, although there are exceptions and investors should be aware of that.  American companies try to maintain the same dividend from quarter to quarter even if earnings fluctuate.  Many raise the dividend as they become more profitable.   This is not the case for foreign corporations whose dividends can be irregular and based on the profit for the quarter or the year.

Not all corporations pay dividends.  Most corporations in their start-up phase use their income to invest in the business for growth.  Shareholders in these growing businesses are rewarded by watching their stock price appreciate if the company is successful.  But after a while a company will reach a limit on its rate of growth and decide to reward its shareholder with a steady income.  There are some issues with dividends however  and they have to do with the tax treatment of dividends that differ from the tax treatment of capital gains.

Unlike interest payments to bondholders, corporations cannot deduct dividends as a business expense.  For this reason, corporations pay out dividends from after-tax profits.  When a stockholder receives a dividend, he also owes taxes in the dividend income.  For this reason, dividend income is generally considered to be taxed twice, one at the corporate level and once at the individual level.  For example, if a corporation earns $100 it can be taxed  up to 39.2%.  That leaves $60.80 that can be sent to shareholders as a dividend.  If all of it is distributed as dividends, the maximum tax rate on qualified dividends is currently 15%, leaving the shareholder with $51.68.  Next year the special 15% rate will be repealed exposing your dividend to a maximum of 43.4%, tax, leaving you with $34.41.  Of course these rates apply only to the top tax brackets but they do illustrate how taxes can affect what people have left to spend and why they change their behavior to avoid excessive taxation.

There are a few other things that investors should be aware of when investing in dividend paying stocks and that has to do with dates.  A corporation will announce its dividend on one date.  It wil also announce what is known as the “ex-dividend date.” 

A stock’s ex-dividend date is the first day an owner can sell the stock without losing the rights to its upcoming dividend. Obviously, it’s also the first day a buyer who purchases the stock will not receive that same dividend. A good way to remember how the ex-dividend date works is to think of it as a synonym for “without dividend.”

A third date is the “pay date”  which is the date on which the shareholder actually receives the dividend.

 

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