Encouraging news reported in the Wall Street Journal this week:  The 5.5% average growth rate in college tuition over the last 30 years is down to a mere 1.9% in 2016 – in line with the general level of inflation. A quick list of contributing factors: Supply is up: the number of two and four […]

The short answer: If you pay the premium for your employer-sponsored (“group”) disability insurance, then, in the event of a qualifying disability, the benefit is paid to you tax free. If your employer pays the premium, the benefit paid to you would be fully taxable as ordinary income The long answer: Many employers offer disability insurance to […]

Depending on plan specifics, the answer could be yes! Below are the plan characteristics we look for to make that determination: A 15% discount on the stock price at the beginning or end of the purchase period, whichever is lower. For example, if the stock price rises over the accumulation period, you’d benefit from a […]

A new study by Hendrik Bessembinder, a finance professor at Arizona State University, explains why it’s so difficult to successfully pick stocks that beat broad market returns – because very few actually do. He discovered “a mere 4 percent of the stocks in the entire market … accounted for all of the net market returns […]

As reported in Barron’s this week, the hard data on active versus passive investments over the last 15 years doesn’t leave a whole lot left to debate: “Last week S&P Dow Jones published its 15th annual S&P Indices Versus Active, or SPIVA, scorecard, and the results were hardly surprising. Most active mutual funds, across a […]

Nobody carries their checkbook with them these days. And mailing a check is just one more inconvenient to-do on life’s long list. Fortunately, technology has intervened and Boston Standard now accepts credit and debit cards for the payment of our annual retainer (without it costing us a small fortune). It’s a bold step into the […]

Please take a minute to read Morgan Housel’s beautiful description about the creation of wealth, who’s capable of it, and why: http://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/let-me-convince-you-to-save-money/

From 2007 to 2011, our practice operated as a franchise of Ameriprise Financial. We shared our Winchester office space with two fellow Ameriprise advisors. In 2011 we founded Boston Standard, won the coin flip, and got to keep our office suite. The Ameriprise advisors moved to Burlington, leaving us with plenty of breathing room and […]

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a place to set aside money for current health care expenses. But if you’re eligible to contribute to one, don’t underestimate an HSA’s value to your retirement plan. Most people recognize that health care spending will consume more of their budget as they age. A 2015 study by Fidelity projected […]

Princeton economist, Angus Deaton, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics last year, is best known for his work on the relationship between a household’s earned income and how the members of that household report their feelings of emotional well-being (e.g. happiness). The 2010 study suggested once annual income exceeded $75,000 (national average), it […]