By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM, Kimberly Renners, MBA

If you are like most Americans, you feel less secure about the U.S. economy. Certainly, this is justified. While we may be technically out of the recession, our dependence on foreign oil, behemoth deficits, and the weak dollar are all fundamental threats to our national fiscal health and our investment marketplace that are not going away anytime soon. For this reason, it is crucial that savvy investors, including physicians, learn from the past two years and adjust their investment behavior accordingly. This article touches on a few thoughts in this arena.

By Terry Allman, CPC, QPA, QKA, CRPC®, Kimberly Renners, MBA

Over the last few years, many physicians have re-examined not only their investment assumptions, but also their relationships with investment advisory professionals. Declines in market values, like the 2007-2008 40% drop in the S&P 500, often cause investors to rethink their investment strategies. Today’s investors have an even greater concern with their investment advisory firms. The unraveling of Bernie Madoff’s and Allen Stanford’s ponzi schemes made headlines nationwide. Many investors were shocked at the collapse of the “supposedly-elite” Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers as a result of their own mismanagement. In April of 2010, the SEC filed fraud charges against Goldman Sachs for actions that allegedly cost their investors over $1 Billion. The volatility of the market returns along with the cracking of the Wall Street foundation leaves many doctor-investors very uncomfortable with the idea of just “staying the course.” Who can blame physician investors for looking at other options for investment advice?
If you have thought about changing the direction you go with your investments or would value a second opinion on your current strategy, this article should prove helpful.

By Dinah Bird, Ph.D., CFP(R), CIMA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

"U.S. Baby Boomers fear running out of money in retirement more than they fear death."(1)

As you already know, those of you born between 1946 and 1964 are part of the 77-million strong Baby Boomer generation - one that is now contemplating retirement.(2) If you were born before 1946, you may already be retired or are seriously considering it. If you fit into either of these groups, the following issue will be paramount for all of your financial decisions moving forward: "How do I take the wealth I have saved and efficiently turn it into cash income to sustain me during retirement?" No wonder, as the quote above makes clear. Many soon-to-be retirees are very worried about running out of money in their retirement.

In this article, we will explain problems with the solutions retirees typically rely on to generate cash income in their retirement and suggest alternatives which may be safer and more efficient.

By Carole C. Foos, CPA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

As a physician, do you realize that - between income, capital gains, Medicare, self-employment and other taxes, you spend 40 to 50% of your working hours laboring for the IRS and your state? That is a lot of time with patients for someone else's benefit. Given the significance of this fact, shouldn't your advisors be giving you creative ways to legally reduce your tax liabilities? How many tax-reducing ideas does your CPA regularly provide you? If you are like most physicians, you probably get very few tax planning ideas from your advisors.

By Terry Allman, CPC, QPA, QKA, CRPC®, John Kelly, Jason O'Dell, CWM

Defined Benefit Pension Plans as well as Cash Balance Plans are generating a lot of interest with medical practices, both large and small.

Medical practices find that these retirement plans are a great way to increase retirement savings and reduce taxes at the same time. As an additional benefit, the plans provide asset protection for doctors. In addition to reducing income taxes, the significant contributions are a great way to catch up if you have not saved enough in the past or if your retirement account balances are down due to market losses during the recent economic turmoil.

By John Cornish

Sales of fixed indexed annuities hit a record-breaking $8.7 billion, a 16% increase from the year-earlier period.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

In this one-hour lecture, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA covers a broad range of practice management, wealth accumulation, and asset protection topics for physicians. Mr. Mandell has written four books for physicians, including For Doctors Only: A Guide to Working Less & Building More and Risk Management for the Practicing Physician. He is a practicing attorney and principal of national consulting firm OJM Group.

By Carole C. Foos, CPA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Learn techniques you can implement now to reduce your tax bill April 15th, 2011, including:

Corporate Structure. Pros and cons of different business/practice structures and strategies that can reduce taxes for 2010 with an addition or change to your corporate structure before year-end.

Qualified, Non-Qualified Hybrid & Other Benefit Plans. Pros and cons of different benefits plans and how you can adjust your existing plan or implement a new plan before December 31st for 2010 tax savings.

Captive Insurance Arrangements. The most powerful insurance strategies can create significant advantages for certain businesses or professional practices and there is still time to implement them in 2010.

Changes in tax legislation and their effects on planning for your 2010 taxes.

Tax-Favored Investments. Tax managed accounts, tax loss harvesting, conservation easements, oil and gas investments - and how to implement them in 2010.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Kimberly Renners, MBA

The purpose of this article is to give you a better understanding of what inflation and deflation are, explain the investment risk associated with each, and share a few suggestions on how to hedge your bets so that your portfolio is not unnecessarily at risk.

By Larry Boord, JD, ChFC, Steve Haxton CPA, Tom Wyatt, JD CFP®

Overview of retirement planning options, from 401(k)s to Defined Benefit Plans.