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Show BUSINESS EDITOR: NANCY BUSS J44-25- THE DAILY HERALD (www.hereldtttTi.com) ' , 7 m yi itik. Age 70 important for investors to make IRA choices "you're approaching age 70, you may have some important decisions to make about your retirement savings. Generally, if your savings are in an IRA or an employer retirement plan, you must start taking minimum annual withdrawals beginning in the year after you reach age There are some major exceptions, however, so let's look at the rules. The minimum withdrawal requirement for IRAs does not apply to Roth IRAs, although it does apply to regular JRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and For these plans, you must begin taking minimum withdrawals 'before April 1 of the year after you There is no minimum tttfti withdrawal requirement at any age ,a Roth IRA. The same minimum withdrawal rule applies to employer pension plans, including 401(k) plans, unless yoiLare still employed. In that case you can defer your withdrawals until April 1 of the year after you retire. BUVthis exception does not apply if you own 5 percent or more of the business. If you're required to make minimum withdrawals, youH face several important decisions. The amount of the minimum annual distribution can De"based on your life expectancy or trie combined life expectancies of you . and your benefldarv'(within Hmits), bttfryou must decide this ur front. Yetrcould also have the choice of "locking in" your life expectancy at 2 or recalculating it every age 70-1- 2. SEP-JRA- s. 2. nies all but ignored the Pax World Fund. When Pax researchers called with questions about a firm's environmental record,' company officials were indig-- 5 nant, confused, or both. That sort of information is proprietary, they said. Besides, why would investors care? Today, the story is very different. Some companies that aren't included in Pax World, launched in 1971 as the nation's first socially responsible mutual fund, now call to ask why they were left out. deluding your financial situation, the "$gand health of you and your beneficiary, and your retirement and estate planning goals. But the decisions you make can have a major g npact on your financial retirement. during well-bein- Socially responsible, investing has taken off. In Orange County and across the country, many investors are asking for more than strong returns. They want ; companies with a conscience. Assets in socially responsible mutual funds now total $8.5 billion, up 252 percent from five years ago. That is a big increase, though the sector's growth was .matched by the booming mutual fund market in general, according to Morningstar, a Chicago company that tracks mutual funds. Socially responsible funds represent a small but noticeable portion of the mutual Use your accountant Your tax return serves as a window into the rest of your financial matters. Since most financial dea- . they should be reviewed with taxes in mind. Even Jjhugh the tax aspects of your investments shouldn't govern your final decisions, it is best to review the tax considerations before finalizing major transactions. ' Your accountant should be used for mote than just doing your tax return. J0?ake advantage of all that your accountant can offer, you should visit wjth him or her a couple of times during the year. This will allow you to discuss tax and other financial maXters when your accountant isn't buried in tax returns. Most taxpayers are concerned about income taxes. But did you kjBJto that your accountant can also: '.Help you select the best way to college funds for your children. Tell you the best assets to gift to ' children or to charity. to use best the approach Suggest in Applying for, a bank loan. "TSy? Help you plan for retirement so tHat you don't retire broke. J7 Sort through the issues relating to any major financial decision. 41 you only see your accountant at ta&return filing time, the most he or sheican do for you is record the history f your transactions. Oh yes, there ta few tax decisions to be made. But most of the financial impact, both tax and nontax, were determined when J took place. If you r V for the feea you will be want the most accountant in on paying, let your matters before they happen. m . : By STEVEN RAY HABERLIN Trie Providence Journal. PROVIDENCE, . ' Qrem CPA, Poster Knmenburg. owner of J&gnenburg Accounting & Tax Service, can w"redched at MfHpkckaol.com or ermail 224-45- ' " ; . R.I. James Cavaliaro obtained a second education this past summer when he bought a colonial and began renovating it so that he could , , sage. Toddlers, for example, need to hear "No, you can't have that toy today." The phrase, which should be a parental mantra, teaches the idea of waiting and eventually saving for something, whether a toy or, later, college tuition and then a retirement fund, Rowe said. (Older children should be encouraged to or even invest in comparison-sho- p mutual funds.) t Janus funds putting on milder spin i more about socially responsible investing, contact: The nonprofit Social Investment Forum, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 650 Washington, D.C., 20006. On the Phone: (202) 872-531Internet www.sociaiinvest.org. Morningstar The Internet company v SocialFunds.com at www.social-funds.co- t big-ca- p V fund universe; where assets in stock funds are approaching the $3 trillion mark. Investing with an eye to something other than the bottom line is a strange concept for Wall Street, where nothing but buying low and selling high is mid-Octob- Z J H. LORREN AUOnnge County Register Good guys: Jocelyn Earnhart, a financial adviser, looks to socially responsible companies for investment opportunities. gospel. But socially responsible shouldn't hurt anybody doing ' investing is sticking. Lake Forest businessman it." Lee is happy with his James Lee began questioning returns. his investment choices five "I could maybe make 1 peryears ago, after reading articles about the depletion of cent or 2 percent more with the rain forests in South other companies, but it's not America and the prevalence worth it," he said. Mutual funds are the easof sweatshops ' in Asia, directs his money toward iest route to socially responsible investing, but not the companies with solid records. "I want companies to be as most popular. More money responsible as they can," said is invested by socially Lee, who owns a heating and focused investors through their individual stock portcompany. should make a profit, folios. "They Smith Barney, for examof course. That's ' the American way. But they ple, manages $1.8 billion in socially screened assets, and more than half of that $1.1 billion to $1.2 billion is in individual accounts. In the last year, the value of socially screened accounts under the firm's management soared nearly 70 percent. Socially responsible investing does have drawbacks. Mutual funds that run companies through social as well as financial screens before deciding what to buy tend to more expensive, because of the additional research. . He-no- sound-contr- CHICAGO Putting a slightly milder spin on the Janus formula hasn't hurt Janus Growth and Income Fund's returns. Like the rest of its family's offerings, this offering lands in the category's upper reaches for the year to date through The story behind the fund's success is a familiar one for Janus watchers. With stocks like Nokia among its top holdings, the fund has trounced the competition. And while manager David Corkins believes most Net stocks are overvalued, he has also had success with small positions in a few Internet names, including Verisign and Doubleclick. The fund's great showing so far in 1999 is all the more impressive when one considers that Corkins hasn't kept as concentrated a portfolio or stuffed as much in tech as funds like Twenty. And while Corkins could hardly be labeled a bargain-huntehe says he is eyeing a few unloved industries these days, arguing that whole industries have been tarred with the same brush. ol . r, Planning makes first home easier financial venture . 1 Inquirer To learn A generation ago, compa- "Which choices are right for you depends on a number of factors, , to children, making a purchase just a click away. Here's how it works: An adult deposits funds in a child's name into a site account. Children can then click on the site and shop until the account drops to zilch, buying CDs, toys and more. Given all this, children need to learn some basic lessons. The approach allowances, spending money or neither doesn't matter as much as the mes ER Philadelphia daughter, Hannah, The Orange County Register " long-ter- RUN TARV Never too young: Cindy Applebaum watches as her empties her piggy bank as they learn a lesson on saving. when you buy shoes, you don't also get the Star Wars doll." When Hannah, then 2, wanted a $4 book she saw while shopping for a friend's birthday present, Mom reminded her "We're not here to buy you a book. We're not making a purchase for you today." Of course, most preschoolers would throw a fit. Hannah, though, liked the idea of using change she had collected from around the house to purchase the item the next day. Soon after that, Appelbaum decided to encourage her daughter's enthusiasm for saving money by paving her for certain household tasks, such as sweeping the stairs or wiping the kitchen cabinets chores, for now, above and beyond the child's other responsibilities, such as putting away toys and such. Barbara and Jeff O'Donnell of Montgomeryville, Pa., thought their boys were too young for allowances, choosing to hold off until middle school. But they did offer the boys something else. In lieu of allowances, the ODonnells put $50 a month into the Young Investors Fund, a Stein Roe & Farnham Inc. mutual fund geared toward kids with its flashy newsletter, cool Web site (http:www.lriaBtock.com) and investments in stocks of enterprises, such as McDonald's and Toys R Us. By JENNIFER HIEGER year- - tax-relate- d, "7 Socially responsible funds gaining in popularity 70-1- ling are IW "no, KM PHILADELPHIA Hannah Silverman, all of 4, knows a penny saved is a penny earned. For every extra chore the preschooler does around her home, she gets 60 cents, money divided between two piggy banks and several purchaskept close for those must-hav- e es. "Everywhere you go, you want things," said Hannah's mother, Cindy Appelbaum. Tart of the lesson is that you don't just get things every time." So Appelbaum, like many of her friends with young children, introduced the rudiments of money management starting with coin recognition when her daughter was only 2 years old, and then added payment for chores and an allowance. Two? That might sound awfully young. But it's not "Money management ought to start very early," said Denise Rbwe, of Parenting Services for Families and After Adoptions in Philadelphia. Earlier than ever, she might add, because marketers are sending a clear message to younger and younger children: buy, buy, buy. And they can. Children spend or influence the spending of $200 billion a year. And, it just got easier. New ventures such as and iCanBuy.com, DoughNet.com RocketCash.com offer virtual wallets Peter Kranenburg 70-1- 13. "I remember saying to my children just so they hear 'no," said Rowe, a mother of two. "So they get the idea that UNI S. KADABA Knight Rkkler Newjpapen ; SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1 By 1 B7 move in. . Take the house's baseboards. Rather than use a brush, Cavaliaro used spray paint to give them a new coat. "Most base boards come right cffT he explained. "You 'can take them in the garage and spray paint them in a few minutes. Pop them back oh find they look brand new." ' Added Mark Goodwin, mans Co. ager at in North Providence: "They r . ; . Shennan-William- will also look better because you won't see any brush marks." A can of spray paint also costs only about $4. When moving into a first home or apartment, things can get expensive and pitfalls seem to always loom. Plus, working with limited dollars can make the move a real challenge. Cavaliaro, 24 and an auditor at Fleet Bank, had been living at home when he bought the colonial his first home. He owdb it with his fiancee, Carta Leitao. ,,:, , ; According to Domenic Fiorio of Fiorio Brothers Floor Covering, money can be saved ' when laying down hew carpet or other flooring. He Suggests shopping around before going with a certain rug, but also warns of purchasing a cheaper , '' Williams, recommended going y with a paint for the walls that costs about $17 to $20, which will eliminate the need for extra coats. As far as using a primer, Goodwin said he felt it was more important to clean and dry the walls before painting. In wallpapering, Cavaliaro suggested doing it yourself u3ing a wallpaper that will stick better and save you money on glue. high-qualit- product. "If you go with a cheap carpet, it may not last, costing you more money in the long run," said Fiorio. His advice, in terms of saving money, is to rip ' out old carpeting yourself before putting down a new rug, thus avoiding an extra charge that would be added to your pre-past- installation bill ' Fiorio also mentioned that r would be another If funds are really tight, in tile and linoleum flooring. Monica Brum, a Northeaatern When replacing tile, Fiorio ' University student who rented a house in West Roxbury, said that linoleum would cost about half Mass., this summer, explained the prioe of installing new tile. that she used a mixture of red Painting and wallpapering vinegar and water to help peel of old wallpaper instead of pur- can alflo drain limited ftindg. of Sherwin- - 'chasing a removal solution. Goodwin, money-eave- :' ;, high-qualit- y Fund Profi Fund Manager: David Corkins farcd Inwrttnmfa Largest Investment Sector: Services Style: The fund's median .", investment is in growth stocks of companies with large mar-' ket capitalizations. Total return as of Nov. S . 28.16 percent One Year: 49.03 percent Three Year Annualized: 34.00 percent Five Year Annualized: 31.21S t percent Year-to-Dat- e: gsssral tefematlon Risk vs. Domestic Equity V ' Funds: Average Morningstar Rating: 5 Stars t , Maximum Sales Charge: Hens Phone Number: (800) 525- - 8983 . |
