Wealth Management Newsroom

Earlier this year the Social Security Administration released a completely revamped version of it's website, www.ssa.gov. This new version makes things more intuitive, easier to find, and there's a wealth of things you can do on this new version of the social security website.

Eric Van Der Heide, President at Northwest Wealth Management is pleased to announce Alex Johnson has accepted the position as Wealth Advisor with Northwest Wealth Management in Spencer. Alex joins Dean Jacobsen, also a Wealth Advisor in Spencer. Northwest Wealth Management, an affiliate of Northwest Bank, offers comprehensive financial planning, retirement planning, investment management, and retirement plan services to individuals and families, large and small companies, and non-profit foundations.

Tax planning shouldn't simply focus on hindsight. Upcoming life changes and external factors deserve attention and may offer opportunities to consider. With 2023 bringing the largest inflation adjustments in nearly 40 years, this is especially true, making it a great time to see how they could affect you.

The holidays usher in a joyful time of family gatherings, holiday parties, fun with friends and the promise of a bright new year. But before you put a bow on 2022, there are a few financial housekeeping tasks that you should review.

If you are overwhelmed by the process, definitions and complexities of Medicare, you are not alone. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), almost 64 million Americans were fully enrolled in the Medicare program in October 2021.

Several years ago, I met with a wealthy widow who had been quite a bit wealthier before meeting Mr. Bernie Madoff. After that devastating experience, she was very concerned about finding an advisor she could trust to act in her best interest. I know she is not the only person who has questions and concerns about finding a reputable, honest and skilled wealth advisor. If you are in this boat, I've created a list of five criteria that should be an absolute requirement when vetting a new advisor.

Most investors have a process for deciding which investments to buy in their portfolio—with different objectives for building wealth over time. But once you've selected your investment mix, have you considered how the account that holds your investments affects what you ultimately earn?

Like kingdoms, tides and my teenage daughter's emotions, the stock market rises and falls. Although market downturns are inevitable and expected, they are never pleasant to experience. On the bright side, these dips present an opportunity to make the proverbial lemonade out of lemons by allowing Uncle Sam to share the pain. This is accomplished through a process called tax-loss harvesting. I will break down this strategy into the three “P”s: principle, process and payoff.

Midterm elections are just a few months away. This can mean only one thing … a flurry of political ads interrupting your favorite television shows. All jokes aside, you can also expect to see plenty of platforms built around the President's handling of the pandemic, the response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and our current economic landscape.