Finance
Financial advisor Nelson Simmons III uses Roth backdoor to make ‘everyday millionaires’
ORLANDO, Fla. – This week on the Season 4 premiere of “Black Men Sundays,” host Corie Murray interviews Nelson Simmons III, a budgeting coach and financial advisor with years of corporate experience and a mission to make others richer.
It’s what he says he’s most passionate about, helping people win with their finances and doing his part to create as many “everyday millionaires” as he can.
“I kind of want to explain what an ‘everyday millionaire’ is. That’s just a ordinary person just like myself. Like, you didn’t grow up with money, we didn’t grow up with a silver spoon in our hand, we didn’t grow up — at least I didn’t — upper middle class. (We’re the) first generation soon to be wealthy,” he said.
Before going into explaining how to become an everyday millionaire, Simmons said he had to discuss the main hinderances he’s observed. One of them, he advised, is the lack or misuse of an emergency fund.
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“A properly-funded emergency fund is an account with three to six months of living savings in it, and so what ends up happening is, what hinders the people that I sit across from, is when they dip into their retirement savings because they don’t have that appropriate emergency fund set up,” he said. “You’re basically stealing from a future version of yourself to cover something that, if you just had appropriately planned for, it wouldn’t even be a issue.”
Take post-Christmas credit card bills, for instance. It’s in no way an emergency purchase, so if you’re considering spending your savings on getting those paid off, Simmons would warn that it’s probably the worst option, especially in light of how interest rates impact credit cards at the moment.
A great way to set money aside and watch it grow is putting it in a Roth IRA, and though that’s already true with calculated restrictions to contribution amounts in place, Simmons says there are methods of getting more out of a Roth than you may have ever thought possible.
“You can contribute the full $7,000 if your modified adjusted gross income is less than $146,000. So, you have a range; $146,000 to $161,000, that’s the range, it starts to fade as you make more than $146,000 as an individual, right? So once you hit that $161,000, you can no longer as an individual — if you’re filing as single or head of household — you cannot legally contribute to a Roth IRA. As a married person, $7,000 each. Wife and the husband can both contribute $7,000 to a Roth IRA. Once you start making $230,000 or more, that’s when you’re no longer allowed to contribute to a Roth IRA,” he said. “Here’s the Roth backdoor strategy. No. 1, you’re going to open up a traditional IRA account that has no prior contributions. No. 2, you’re going to open up a Roth IRA. No. 3, you’re going to contribute to the traditional IRA, but you’re going to hold the funds in a money market — just in cash — ‘til the conversion. Four, you’re going to convert the money to the Roth IRA, and inside the Roth IRA is when you start picking those investments to help grow your money tax free.”
Hear the full interview in Season 4, Episode 1 of “Black Men Sundays.”
Black Men Sundays talks about building generational wealth. Check out every episode in the media player below.
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Finance
Assess your financial risk before new policies affect the economy
I’ve been thinking about financial risk lately.
Should I change my asset allocation in my retirement portfolio, considering Donald Trump’s successful bid for the White House? Stock market valuations have risen smartly in recent years, which real income growth, productivity improvements, technological innovation, low unemployment rates and healthy corporate profits have largely powered. Yet with the election of Trump, voters have approved a massive economic experiment.
The Trump administration comes into power with many policy goals, but four economic initiatives stand out: Enacting significant tax cuts; imposing broad-based and significant tariffs; sweeping raids, mass deportations and tighter immigration controls; and slashing federal government regulations. The extent that these plans turn into reality and how each policy will interact with the others is uncertain. The risks are obvious. The outcome isn’t.
Enter risk management, a critical concept in finance. Professionals often associate risk with volatility. The tight link makes sense, since owning assets with high volatility hikes the odds of losses if there is a pressing need to sell the asset to raise money.
However, for the typical individual and household, risk means the odds money decisions made today don’t pan out. Managing risk means lowering the negative financial impact on your desired standard of living from decisions gone wrong and when circumstances take an untoward turn.
“Anything that makes reaching or maintaining that more likely reduces your risk, and anything that makes this less likely increases your risk,” writes Bob French, the investment expert at Retirement Researcher. “Everything else is just details.”
The key risk management concept is a margin of safety, a bedrock personal finance idea broader than investment portfolios. It can include having an emergency savings fund, owning life insurance to protect your family and investing in your network of friends and colleagues to hedge against the risk of losing your job. The right mix depends on the particulars of your situation.
In my case, after studying my portfolio, running household money numbers and reviewing lifestyle goals, I’m comfortable with the asset allocation in my retirement portfolio. There is too much noise in the markets for comfort, and market timing is always tricky. The prudent approach with my individual situation is to stay the course.
Finance
Shannon Bernacchia Appointed Interim Finance Director for Regional Schools – Amherst Indy
At a Zoom meeting on Friday, November 22, School Superintendent Dr. E. Xiomara Herman recommended to the Regional School Committee and Union 26 School Committee that Shannon Bernacchia be appointed interim Finance Director for the schools, replacing Doug Slaughter who had served in that position since 2019. Bernacchia has served as Assistant Finance Director under Slaughter. Her appointment was approved unanimously by both school committees.
In recommending Bernacchia for the interim director position, Herman cited her “impressive career, dedication, and accomplishments during this transitional period [to a new administration],” adding, “Since joining our district, she has demonstrated exceptional proficiency in managing complex financial operations, including preparing budgets, overseeing audits, and providing detailed financial reporting to the school committee.”
Bernacchia holds a Bachelors Degree in Business Management from Bay Path University and professional training in school fund accounting. She currently holds an emergency School Business Administrator license valid through 2025 and has completed all requirements for her initial license, except for the 300 hours of mentorship. She anticipates completing that requirement in January, 2025. Former Amherst Regional Public Schools and Town of Amherst Finance Director Sean Mangano is serving as her mentor.
Herman expressed confidence in Bernacchia’s ability to head the district’s financial operations.
In acknowledging her appointment, Bernacchia thanked the school committee members and said that she was excited to work with superintendent who is woman.
Finance
US SEC obtained record financial remedies in fiscal 2024, agency says
NEW YORK (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained $8.2 billion in financial remedies, the highest amount in its history, in fiscal 2024, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
The SEC filed 583 enforcement actions in the year that ended in September, down 26% from a year earlier, it said in a statement.
The $8.2 billion in financial remedies included $6.1 billion in disgorgement and prejudgment interest, a record, and $2.1 billion in civil penalties, the second-highest amount on record, according to the SEC’s statement.
Much of the total financial remedies came from a single action: a $4.5 billion settlement with the now-bankrupt crypto firm Terraform Labs, following a unanimous jury verdict against the firm and its founder Do Kwon. The SEC is expected to collect little of that settlement amount because it agreed to be paid only after Terraform satisfies crypto loss claims as part of its bankruptcy wind-down.
The SEC also obtained orders barring 124 individuals from serving as officers and directors of public companies, the second-highest number of such prohibitions in a decade. Holding individuals accountable for misconduct has been a priority of the agency under Chair Gary Gensler, who is stepping down in January.
“The Division of Enforcement is a steadfast cop on the beat, following the facts and the law wherever they lead to hold wrongdoers accountable,” Gensler said in a statement about the agency’s 2024 enforcement results.
(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis)
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