Your Advisor's Thoughts

Simplify Your Life!

As your "One-Stop Investment Shop", the "Your Best Interest" Financial Services team brings together investment, insurance, and tax expertise along with outstanding customer service to provide a comprehensive approach to your unique financial situation.

Unlike traditional financial services firms, we can simplify your life by addressing all the areas of your individual financial plan under one roof. Integrating investment knowledge with tax advice is a YBI distinctive. There are significant potential benefits to incorporating tax preparation services with:

Retirement Planning

Financial Planning

Investment Advice

401(k) Advice

Life Insurance

Income Planning

Real Estate

This year, take your financial planning a step further: let the YBI team help you build personalized investment strategies that have tax advantages as well. Come talk to us and see what we can do to simplify your life!

With warmest regards,

Phil Giambri

Founder and Owner, "Your Best Interest" Financial Services, Inc.

To contact "Your Best Interest" Financial Services, e-mail us at ybifs@ybifs.com, or call 610-485-1010.

Securities offered through Trustmont Financial Group (TFG) Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC Advisory services offered through Trustmont Advisory Group (TAG) Inc. 200 Brush Run Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 724-468-5665 Neither "Your Best Interest" Financial Services, Inc. nor 401kPRO are affiliated with TFG or TAG.

2011: The Year in Review

When the history books are written about 2011, what will be the highlights that will stand out in your mind? It has been a year in which we have experienced hurricanes, blizzards, a tsunami, tornadoes, sandstorms and earthquakes. We have watched our politicians struggle in so many areas as they attempt to revitalize America. Many Americans are out of work and many more have lost their homes. As I look at 2011 in retrospect, I will remember it as a year of challenges and blessings, natural disasters and phenomenal accomplishments.

On the financial front we have watched the stock market go up and down sharply on almost a daily basis. It seems as though the slightest bit of news, either negative or positive, has tremendous repercussions for the market. Most of you reading this have been touched personally in some way by the effects of our wavering economy.

Well, is it all doom and gloom? Absolutely not! Is the cup half full or half empty? From my view point, it is not only half full, it is full and running over. Despite all the challenges facing our nation, we still live in the most amazing country in the world. While my family has not been immune to the challenges of 2011, I still believe the opportunities and blessings far outweigh the issues we face.

You may question my optimism, but it is based on the following: When you chart both the S&P and the DOW over the past two years, both of these indices have actually seen slight increases. When compared to the current economic situation in many other countries across the globe, this is an unquestionable positive. In addition to those documentable figures, I have also noticed a growing regional trend of increasing numbers of “Help Wanted” signs. I am not referring here to seasonal jobs, but rather jobs that will generate income and benefits for families.

Personally, the most significant lesson that I learned in 2011 as I spent time reading through the book of Proverbs is that we need to show more mercy to one another. I was struck by how much more pleasant our lives would be if we routinely treated one another with attitudes of compassion and forgiveness. I look forward to 2012 with great anticipation as it is my desire to grow in knowledge, wisdom and understanding.

I know you will agree that as you get older, each year seems to go by much, much quicker than the year before. 2011 has not been an exception. This year has flown… as we watch 2011 go out, we have great expectations for next year. It is my hope that 2012 will be one of the most wonderfully memorable years of your life.

With warmest regards,

Phil Giambri

This is a guest blog by Philip M. Giambri, the founder and owner of “Your Best Interest” Financial Services, Inc.

Securities offered through Trustmont Financial Group (TFG) Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC Advisory services offered through Trustmont Advisory Group (TAG) Inc. 200 Brush Run Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 724-468-5665 Neither “Your Best Interest” Financial Services, Inc. nor 401kPRO are affiliated with TFG or TAG.

Does Your 401(k) Contain Treats or Tricks?

The Treats - The GOOD Things:

401(k) plans are among the most successful investment instruments ever created to help American workers accumulate wealth. A majority of employers have generous matching programs available. For many of our retired clients, their social security checks are augmented by withdrawing retirement funds to provide for a desired standard of living.

The Tricks - The BAD Things:

The very legislation that provides for 401(k) plans is arguably the most complicated section of IRC code that exists. The simple fact that the law is complicated forces the plans to be complex and this often results in very high internal costs. Many participants believe that their plans are free, but this could not be further from the truth! The worst offending plan I have analyzed had 5.8% internal fees. A majority of plans commonly have over 3%. To put this in real terms, assuming a $150,000 account balance, this amounts to $8,700 in fees. When compounded over 10 years at 8% this is equates to $126,000 in potential retirement savings lost to fees.

In addition, 401(k) plans are legally permitted to be stretched by your beneficiaries. However many employers prohibit stretching simply because of the costs that can be incurred, and consequently your beneficiaries will not enjoy the full advantages of your savings.

The good news is that in many cases, the "Treats" of a plan do outweigh the "Tricks"… but it can be difficult to ascertain unless you know the important questions to ask your company Benefits Manager. Often even these employee fiduciary managers are unaware of the hidden costs that lurk within retirement plans, and this can make planning even more frightening! At “Your Best Interest” Financial Services, Inc., our 401(k)PRO service provides a complimentary analysis which will examine any plan for your employer to determine how tricky the "Tricks" are, and identify methods to maximize the benefits to employees.

If you are currently in a situation where you do not have a 401(k) or 403(b) plan, it is often advantageous to move your existing savings to an IRA to reduce costs, and allow stretching. A note of caution though: there are 3 caveats to moving your retirement plan to an IRA. Stay tuned for future information on this.

The bottom line, no matter your current situation, is that you need to work with someone who has vast experience and specialized knowledge in this area. If you have questions about your 401(k) plan and its costs and benefits, please contact us for an appointment to review your individual situation.

Stay tuned… and happy October!

Greg

Securities offered through Trustmont Financial Group (TFG) Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC Advisory services offered through Trustmont Advisory Group (TAG) Inc., 200 Brush Run Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 724-468-5665 Neither “Your Best Interest” Financial Services, Inc. nor 401kPRO are affiliated with TFG or TAG

Did You Take An Early Distribution From Your Retirement Plan?

If you took or will take an early distribution from your retirement plan in 2011 you should be aware that there is a potential tax impact. Here are ten facts about early distributions.

1. Payments you receive from your Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) before you reach age 59½ are generally considered early or premature distributions.
2. Early distributions are usually subject to an additional 10 percent tax.
3. Early distributions must be reported to the IRS and on your income tax return.
4. Distributions you rollover to another IRA or qualified retirement plan are not subject to the additional 10 percent tax if you complete the rollover within 60 days after the day you received the distribution.
5. The amount you roll over is generally taxed when the new plan makes a distribution to you or your beneficiary.
6. If you made non-deductible contributions to an IRA and later take early distributions from your IRA, the portion of the distribution attributable to those non-deductible contributions is not taxed.
7. If you received an early distribution from a Roth IRA, the distribution attributable to your prior contributions is not taxed.
8. If you received a distribution from any other qualified retirement plan, generally the entire distribution is taxable unless you made after-tax employee contributions to the plan.
9. There are several exceptions to the additional 10 percent early distribution tax, such as when the distributions are used for the purchase of a first home, for certain medical or educational expenses, or if you are disabled.
10. For more information about early distributions from retirement plans, the additional 10 percent tax and all the exceptions see IRS Publication 575, Pension and Annuity Income and Publication 590, Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs). Both publications are available at IRS.gov or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

Early distribution rules are not the same for the IRS and the state taxing authorities. If you took an early distribution from a retirement account in 2011, you will receive Form 1099-R reporting the amount of the distribution. You must include Form 1099-R along with a record of the total of your contributions to the retirement account and all previous distributions from the retirement account with your tax preparation documents.

If you have questions about an early distribution and would like to discuss the possible tax implications call us at 610-485-1010 or e-mail Jackie at jward@ybifs.com.

Stay tuned for more…

This information is provided by Jacqueline M. Ward, the Tax Operations Manager at "Your Best Interest" Financial Services, Inc. She combines her education in accounting, years of experience and attention to detail to provide her clients with confidence and peace of mind that their tax returns are completed accurately and in a timely manner. Jackie is the mother of 7 children, 2 girls and 5 boys. Two of her sons are presently serving our country in the military; one in the U.S. Marine Corps and the other is a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy.

Securities offered through Trustmont Financial Group, Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC

Advisory services offered through Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc.

200 Brush Run Road, Greensburg, PA 15601 724-468-5665

Neither "Your Best Interest" Financial Services Inc. nor 401kPro are affiliated with either Trustmont Financial or Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc.

A 5.9 Earthquake and a Category 2 Hurricane...

All of us on the East Coast are being reminded this week that some natural disasters can be anticipated, and others cannot. When the unexpected occurs, individual reactions may vary widely, as we discovered last Tuesday in the “Your Best Interest” office. During the earthquake, each of us reacted differently: one of us moved under a doorway, some jumped up to run outside, and one (the native Californian in the bunch) crawled under her desk. Phil calmly continued on with his appointment, appearing slightly amused by the collective alarm.

As if the earthquake weren’t enough for one week, the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Irene quickly moved to the top of the headlines! Local authorities and news outlets stressed the importance of making appropriate preparations for the expected torrential rain and high winds.

Our financial markets have been rocked recently as well. As with natural disasters, we each respond to these “financial tremors” differently. Some are tempted to run away, some stand their ground, and still others look for opportunities.

At “Your Best Interest” Financial Services, we understand that everyone has a different comfort zone when navigating the financial marketplace. Personal risk tolerance does not fluctuate with the market, but sometimes our feeling of uneasiness does. We are here to help you proactively create your individualized investment strategy and then encourage you to stay the course with professional guidance, perspective and objective assessment of the market.

Stay tuned…

Greg

You can contact Greg at his
office by calling 610-485-1010.

Greg Teal is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc. 200 Brush Run Road,
Greensburg, PA 15601. Trustmont can be contacted by calling 724-468-5665

Should You Focus on 11-Month Losses or 12-Month Gains?

In case you have been living under a rock, let me inform you that throughout the past few weeks the stock market has been rather unpredictable. To put it in technical terms, it has been absolutely crazy! Month to date the S&P 500 index is down 7.6%. We have seen huge increases and declines over days, and even hours at times!

A sharp increase in volatility will make even ultra-long term investors squeamish. This is exactly the time, however, to fight our natural urges to flee despite the talking heads on TV who cry that the sky is falling. The United States of America is no different today than it was three weeks ago. Our national potential is truly amazing despite such valid concerns as debt, unemployment issues, and even occasional political silliness.

In light of the current climate, let me give you a few of my thoughts in a nutshell...

• The current stock market conditions are a "normal occurrence"
• We are not facing imminent default
• We will not be overtaken by another country any time soon
• I see no signs of an impending recession
• Conventional wisdom says to avoid commodities at historically high values: currently this means gold and silver

My crystal ball is currently in for repairs, therefore I am not willing to venture a guess at the duration of the current spike in market volatility or valuation decline. I am confident that patience will pay off in investing appropriately for your individual time horizon and risk preference. As a part of our service to our clients, we manage risk levels and invest appropriately. If you feel there is too much risk in your portfolio, please call us so that we can discuss your individual situation.

Stay tuned for more!

Greg

You can contact Greg at his office by calling 610-485-1010.

Greg is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc. 200 Brush Run Road, Greensburg, PA 15601. Trustmont can be contacted by calling 724-468-5665

 

HAVE YOU ABANDONED YOUR RETIREMENT?

Many people we talk to have not been paying attention to their retirement plans.  This last year has been absolutely unprecedented.  Some investors have not even opened a statement for their investments this year, because they are afraid of what they might see.  Others have 401(k) or 403(b) plans that they have abandoned when they last changed jobs.  This may have been 5 or 10 years ago, or even last week.

My professional advice to you is don't ABANDON your retirement; CLAIM it as your own.

 

Make sure you have your money working hard for you, by investing it appropriately for your time horizon and risk tolerance.  If you don't know how, get help.

 

BTW:  We have a cutting edge service called 401KPro to do exactly what is mentioned above.  Find out more by going to http://www.Your401kPro.com

 

Stay Tuned For More...

 

Greg Teal is an investment advisor representative of Trustmont Advisory Group, Inc.

Oh Doughnuts!

I absolutely love doughnuts.  Words can’t describe how much I enjoy them.  Last week they put up a Dunkin Donuts across the street from our office, coincidently last Sunday I read the following quote in the Inquirer.

 

“It’s like doughnuts.  You swear them off.  You’re never going to have them again.  Then you try them and slowly you get back into them again”  - Jack Ablin, Chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank, on investing in stocks.

 

I fully identify with the quote from Jack about exquisite doughnuts.  I can also relate because, recently I have experienced many people reluctant to invest in the market.  For the most part, I get it.  There is intense pain in losing principle over and over again.  We all know this is the time to buy in (at a low) but we are all scared.

 

So next time you see me I may be a few pounds heavier as a result of our new neighbor and you now know the reason why.

 

Stay tuned for more…

Greg Teal is an investment advisor representative for Trustmont Advisory Group, Member FINRA, SIPC