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With college graduation season upon us, we would like to welcome all graduates to our office for a complimentary financial planning meeting to help get you off on the right foot. Acorn Adviser, Aaron Clarke, discusses some of the meetings topics addressed with millennials in a recent CNBC article here.

In a recent CNBC article, Acorn Financial discusses the pros and cons of using target-date funds in 401(k) plans. These mutual funds are designed to provide a simple investment solution to clients by offering an asset allocation that automatically changes over time. At the beginning of the investment, the allocation is more aggressive and becomes increasingly conservative as the target-date, typically retirement, approaches.

James Gambaccini, CFP®, reminds investors that a cut-and-paste solution doesn’t work for everyone: “Often with target-date funds, the fund managers are making an assumption that the 401(k) is the entirety of the employee’s retirement funds, when in fact the client may have other IRAs or spousal retirement accounts. In doing so, both the assessed risk and portfolio allocation do not meet the client’s needs or retirement goals.”

For more details on target-date funds, view the full article here.

James Gambaccini CFP® and managing partner of Acorn Financial advises on what taxpayers can do to prepare for possible tax reform under the Trump administration, “whenever possible, defer any realized gains to down the road because we may have lower tax brackets during the Trump administration.”

Check out the full article detailing the proposed changes here.

Great piece out today in Reuters. James Gambaccini, CFP® and managing partner of Acorn Financial discusses how deploying non-traditional assets can be a wiser choice than some of the other things cash-strapped parents do, like raiding their own retirement savings or racking up high-interest debt.

“We have seen clients sell everything from Persian rugs to gun collections to classic cars, in an effort to fund their children’s or grandchildren’s college.” Read more HERE.

Acorn Planner, Aaron Clarke, comments on wise budgeting decisions in a recent Barron’s Next article titled, How To Make a Budget — The Shortcut Version. Follow these simple steps to improve your spending awareness and to keep focused on your money goals.

Acorn has been very fortunate in growing our team of expert Advisers in the past few years. James Gambaccini was quoted this week in “Financial Planning” magazine about the key to a successful merger: When merging two books of business makes sense.

This month we would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to our newest member of the Acorn team, Wayne Pampaloni. Wayne has been advising mid-size employers and high net worth individuals on retirement planning and wealth management since the early 1990’s. Wayne comes to the Reston office with a vast array of knowledge and experience after serving as partner in a regional employee benefits consulting firm through much of his career. We look forward to having Wayne as a valuable team member for years to come!

On April 6th, 2016 the U.S. Department of Labor released its “fidicuary rule,” requiring advisers making recommendations on retirement accounts to act in their clients’ best interests. Acorn adviser, Jim Gambaccini, weighs in on the topic in a recent Financial Advisor IQ article here.

Acorn Financial Advisory Services is very proud to announce the addition of three new advisers to the Acorn planning team. As of November 2015, we are privileged to welcome Harvey Reinhardt & Matthew Vaughn of Goldsboro, NC and Charlie Cooke of Wilmington, NC to the group. We also welcome their highly skilled and hardworking client service teams. It will be a pleasure to work alongside them for years to come.

Our Advisory group met last week to discuss investment strategies, share knowledge and to brainstorm ideas to better serve our clients. We’d like to extend a big thank you to Poplar Springs Inn Spa and Manor House Restaurant for their hospitality, and to Pearmund Cellars for the great winery tour!