Insights & the show
Straight talk on retirement, taxes and the paperwork
Mark is on the air with WDRC Talk of Connecticut radio host Gary Byron every Saturday at 9:30 a.m. His segments are here to watch or listen to, newest first, alongside the firm's articles.
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Showing 34 posts
- Radio episode
Is your bond portfolio safe from rising interest rates and how much you could potentially lose?
Mark covers what's pushing up bond yields, inflation risk, and how much a bond portfolio could potentially lose when interest rates rise.
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- Radio episode
The Four Pillars of Retirement: Income, Running Out of Money, and Legacy
The four pillars of retirement, with an emphasis on tax strategies to lower the tax bill on capital gains and ordinary income, and on planning for income, risk and your estate.
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- Radio episode
The real motive behind slowing down AI development and why you should be worried.
Mark breaks down a researcher's post on X saying that people building advanced AI believe it could kill all humans by the end of the decade, and explains why he rejects that narrative.
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- Radio episode
12 flaws you may have inside your portfolio and how to fix them.
Mark highlights 12 flaws a portfolio may have, how they can harm your retirement, and how to fix them.
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- Radio episode
Why interest rates and bond yields are rising globally. Why that's bad for bonds.
Mark discusses how rising interest rates can hurt what you thought was the safe part of your portfolio, and why you could lose money there.
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- Radio episode
When to take your Social Security! You may be surprised at the timing.
Mark highlights strategies for taking Social Security early, or at retirement, rather than waiting until age 70, and the age at which you break even on income. Consider your health and longevity before choosing a strategy.
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- Radio episode
The Double Bubble. Data Centers and Private Credit mirror 2000 & 2008.
Mark looks at the link between data center capital spending and the private credit that finances it, and why he sees the potential for both bubbles to burst.
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- Radio episode
Funeral Planning and Best Practices
Best practices for funeral planning: ways to protect yourself and pay for funeral expenses, avoid a Medicaid spend-down, and protect your money from fraudulent practices in the funeral industry.
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- Radio episode
Mark highlights SpaceX earnings
Mark talks about SpaceX's first earnings release and his long-term view of the company.
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- Radio episode
How to lower your tax bill
Mark shares two long-standing strategies to lower your tax burden that can also potentially earn a return on your investment.
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- Article
Why Two Identical Salaries Can Lead to Very Different Retirement Lifestyles
The decisions you make in your peak earning years are just as important as the size of your paycheck. How you manage a salary raise today can have a significant impact on your long-term financial security.
3 min read
- Article
Mark Pappa Of Financial Resources Group, LLC Joins Institute of Untaxable Wealth
Financial Resources Group, LLC is thrilled to share that Mark Pappa, with his extensive experience in the financial advisory realm, has been accepted into the Institute of Untaxable Wealth.
3 min read
- Radio episode
How to offset business income, capital gains, and high W2 Wages.
Ways to offset business income, capital gains and high W-2 wages, including qualified opportunity zones, oil and gas programs, equipment purchases, solar credits and donor-advised funds. Mark also covers asset protection and keeping estate documents current.
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- Radio episode
How to maximize your social security and pay less in taxes.
When to claim Social Security: the timing analysis, survivor and divorced-spouse benefits, how Social Security is taxed, and where required minimum distributions and Medicare premiums come in. Mark also talks about the Institute of Untaxable Wealth.
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- Radio episode
Ways to pay less in taxes in retirement.
How to blend retirement income sources so less goes to taxes: a bucket approach, the timing of Social Security and Roth conversions, and how Medicare's IRMAA surcharge can raise premiums when income jumps.
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- Radio episode
Strategies to lower your tax bills in retirement.
Ways to manage a large capital gain, such as on a home bought decades ago: qualified opportunity zones, oil and gas drilling programs, 1031 real estate exchanges, and the IRC 351 exchange into an ETF. Mark also explains why ETFs can be more tax-efficient than mutual funds.
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- Radio episode
How to avoid scams part II, and Income Planning Concepts.
Part two on scams, including romance scams and fake texts and emails. Then the start of an income planning conversation: how withdrawal methods compare with the 4% rule, and how Social Security timing and Medicare premiums fit in.
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- Radio episode
Liberation Day recovery, and Part One of Scams Targeting Retirees.
Why the markets recovered from the tariff sell-off after Liberation Day and what may lie ahead, then part one on scams aimed at retirees: fake checks, impersonators posing as firms like Charles Schwab, and investment schemes that start as friendships.
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- Radio episode
How to build a unique bond portfolio using interest rate hedges.
After a recap of the full checklist review, Mark explains how he builds the bond side of a portfolio: shorter maturities, a core bond fund paired with an interest-rate-hedged one, and where higher-quality bonds, mortgage-backed securities and floating-rate notes fit. He also covers why bonds fell alongside stocks in 2022.
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- Radio episode
How to build a global multi asset portfolio.
Mark explains how he builds the equity side of a portfolio: why market-cap-weighted indexes like the S&P 500 concentrate risk in the largest companies, and how equal weighting, factors such as quality and momentum, international stocks, currency hedging and global real estate spread it out.
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- Radio episode
Episode 12: Mark tackles the taboo topic of Long Term Care Insurance
Long-term care: what it can cost, how a long stay can drain the healthy spouse's savings, and ways to plan for it, from setting aside specific assets to policies that pay money back to your spouse. Mark also explains why he sees the mid-50s as a good time to look at coverage.
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- Radio episode
Episode 11: Why the Stock Market Sell-Off Was Not Just Tariffs
Why the sell-off was about more than the tariff announcements: record valuations had already left the market primed to fall, Treasury yields jumped as confidence in them as a safe haven slipped, and other pressures, including the AI trade, played a part. Mark also discusses the Federal Reserve's role and the odds of a mild recession.
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- Radio episode
Correlation. Are your investments doing the same thing or are they offsetting risk?
Correlation: how to tell whether your funds are doing the same thing or offsetting each other's risk, how several funds can end up owning the same handful of tech stocks, and how currency and interest rate hedges fit into a portfolio.
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- Radio episode
Ways to save money on taxes, and why manager tenure matters
Ways to save on taxes: weighing Roth against traditional contributions, filing a gift tax return, the 20% deduction on business profits, and setting up your own 401(k) as a business owner. Then manager tenure: why Mark checks how long a fund's managers have been in place, and whether each holding pays you enough for the risk it adds.
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- Radio episode
Investment Weighting: What is the proper mix and are you taking on more risk than advertised?
Investment weighting: how Mark measures the risk you are actually taking against the risk you think you are taking, what happens when spouses answer differently, and why the bonds in the safe part of a portfolio can carry more risk than advertised.
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- Radio episode
Episode 9: The Pitfalls of Owning Bonds
How rising interest rates cut the value of bonds, what happened to bond funds in 2022, and why an individual bond is not the same as a bond fund. It opens with the moments that should prompt you to get a will in place.
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- Radio episode
Variable Annuity Fees and why you probably shouldn’t be paying them.
Part two on fees, on variable annuities: what mortality and expense charges and income riders cost, how a guaranteed income can be paid out of your own money, and why the holding period has to match when you need the income.
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- Radio episode
Exposing the truth about hidden and unnecessary fees you could be paying
Part one of a series on fees: what money managers charge, how high turnover, of both managers and holdings, adds hidden trading costs, and why a buy-and-hold approach keeps those costs down.
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- Radio episode
Episode 6: Titling, Beneficiaries, and Estate Planning.
How account titling and beneficiary designations decide where money goes: the risks of adding children to a joint account, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death forms that keep accounts out of probate, and how grandchildren can be disinherited by accident.
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- Radio episode
How to pay less in taxes during your retirement.
Tax-season planning: maxing out a 401(k) and catch-up contributions, the Roth option inside a 401(k), how two couples with the same income can owe very different taxes, and how the order of withdrawals in retirement can lower your bracket.
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- Radio episode
Episode 4: Preventing Identity Theft, Umbrella Policy, and Reviewing your home insurance.
More on preventing identity theft, what an umbrella liability policy protects against, and how to review your homeowner's policy, including replacement cost versus actual cash value, with a licensed property and casualty agent.
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- Radio episode
Episode 3: Mark Talks about having a Quality of Life Directive for your Medical POA
Why your medical power of attorney should be on file where a hospital can reach it, and how a quality of life directive spells out your wishes so the person you name is not left guessing. Mark closes with practical steps to prevent identity theft.
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- Radio episode
Episode 2: Wills, Trusts, and Your Durable Power of Attorney
Whether you need a will or a trust, how grandchildren can be disinherited by accident, and why a durable power of attorney does not work with Social Security, which uses a representative payee instead. Mark also covers identity theft and introduces the quality of life directive.
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- Radio episode
Episode 1: Meet Mark, and the Survivor's Guide
Mark introduces himself and explains the survivor's guide: one place for the documents, accounts, contacts and wishes your family will need. He also explains why a power of attorney can be turned down, and why the guide is reviewed every year.
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