Financial clarity
for every stage
of your life.

Protecting Your Portfolio While Still Capturing Growth: What 30 Years of Market History Tells Us

Markets go up over time. That much is well established. But what the long-term chart does not always make clear is how painful the short-term periods of loss can be — and how devastating they can be for retirees who cannot afford to wait out a recovery. A look at 30 years of rolling market data from January 1996 through December 2025 tells a more complete and more useful story.

The Data: What Really Happened Over 30 Years

Looking at rolling 1-year, 3-year, and 6-year periods across four major indices from January 1996 to December 2025, here is what the numbers show:

The S&P 500 produced positive 1-year returns about 77% of the time. That sounds reassuring until you consider that in the remaining 23% of 1-year periods, it produced a loss — and 8 of those periods saw losses greater than 30%. For someone in or near retirement, a 30% loss in a single year is not just a number. It fundamentally changes what is possible in the years that follow.

The Case for Protection

This is where buffer strategies become compelling. A buffer absorbs a defined level of market loss before the investor is affected. For example, with a 10% buffer on the S&P 500 over a 1-year period, 87% of all rolling 1-year periods from 1996 to 2025 would not have resulted in a loss to the investor. With a 20% buffer over a 6-year period, that protection rate reaches 100% — meaning in every single 6-year rolling period in the past 30 years, a 20% buffer would have fully absorbed any market decline before it touched the investor's account.

The trade-off is that buffer strategies typically cap the upside. You participate in market gains up to a specified rate of return (called a participation rate or cap), and in exchange you receive that defined downside protection. For investors who are more concerned about what they cannot afford to lose than what they might miss on the upside, this is often a very attractive trade.

What This Means for Your Retirement Strategy

The right allocation between growth, income, and protection depends on your timeline, your income needs in retirement, and your tolerance for watching your balance drop during a market downturn. There is no universal answer. But the data is clear: markets are volatile over 1-year periods and even 3-year periods. If your retirement income depends on your portfolio holding its value during those windows, some level of structured protection is worth considering as part of your overall plan.

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Data covers January 1996 to December 2025, calculated on a rolling monthly basis. Source: Morningstar. This material is for informational and educational purposes only. It is possible to lose money by investing in securities. Index-linked variable annuity products are complex and are long-term investments designed for retirement purposes. Please consult a financial professional before investing. Issued by Pruco Life Insurance Company of New Jersey.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 15, 2026  ·  6 min read

Section 1035 Exchanges: How to Upgrade Your Insurance or Annuity Without a Tax Bill

If you own a life insurance policy or annuity contract that no longer fits your needs, your first instinct might be to surrender it and buy a new one. The problem is that if your contract has accumulated gains, surrendering it means recognizing all of that growth as taxable income in the year of surrender. A Section 1035 exchange lets you avoid that by moving directly from one contract to another without the IRS treating it as a taxable event. The gains continue to defer, your cost basis transfers, and you get into a product that better serves your current goals.

What Is a Section 1035 Exchange?

Named for the section of the Internal Revenue Code that authorizes it, a 1035 exchange allows the owner of a non-qualified life insurance policy, endowment contract, annuity, or qualified long-term care insurance contract to exchange it for another non-qualified contract of the same or permitted type without recognizing any taxable gain at the time of the exchange. The key requirement is that the owner and the insured or annuitant must remain the same before and after the exchange.

Which Exchanges Are Allowed?

The IRS permits only specific types of exchanges under Section 1035. Here is what is allowed:

• Life insurance to: another life insurance policy, an endowment contract, an annuity, or a qualified long-term care insurance contract
• Endowment contract to: another endowment contract, an annuity, or a qualified long-term care insurance contract
• Annuity to: another annuity or a qualified long-term care insurance contract
• Long-term care contract to: another qualified long-term care insurance contract

One important restriction: you cannot exchange an annuity for a life insurance policy or endowment contract. The permitted exchanges move in one direction on the ladder but not the other. You can also consolidate multiple old annuity contracts or life insurance policies into a single new annuity through a 1035 exchange, which can simplify your financial picture considerably.

How Cost Basis Is Treated

When you execute a 1035 exchange, your cost basis in the new contract is exactly the same as it was in the old contract. For example, if you exchange an annuity with a cash value of $300,000 and a cost basis of $210,000, the new contract will also carry a $210,000 cost basis and will reflect $90,000 of deferred income from day one. This means the exchange does not reset or erase your gains — it simply carries them forward into the new contract, where they continue to grow tax-deferred. This applies even if the contract is currently at a loss. If your contract has a value of $160,000 but a cost basis of $200,000, the new contract also receives the $200,000 basis, meaning future gains up to that level would be tax-free.

Partial 1035 Exchanges

You do not always have to exchange an entire contract. It is possible to do a partial 1035 exchange, moving a portion of an existing annuity into a new annuity contract. The basis and income are allocated proportionally based on the percentage of value transferred. Under IRS Rev. Proc. 2011-38, a partial exchange qualifies for tax-free treatment as long as no distributions are made from either the source or receiving contract for 180 days following the transfer. The exception is if the receiving contract is an immediate annuity paying out over at least 10 years or for one or more lives. Partial exchanges are not permitted with life insurance policies.

Watch Out for Loans and Taxable Boot

If the life insurance policy being exchanged has an outstanding loan, the exchange can still proceed but may trigger a taxable event. If the loan is cancelled as part of the exchange and the receiving company does not allow loans, the amount of accumulated income in the policy up to the loan balance will be treated as a taxable distribution. Paying off the loan with cash before the exchange avoids this entirely and is generally the cleanest approach. Prudential annuities do not allow for the mirroring of loans in an exchange, so any client exchanging into a Prudential contract with an outstanding policy loan should plan accordingly.

When Does a 1035 Exchange Make Sense?

A 1035 exchange is worth considering when:

• Your current policy has high internal costs or outdated investment options compared to what is available today
• You want to add a guaranteed income rider or long-term care benefit that your current contract does not offer
• Your current annuity does not align with your income or legacy planning goals
• You want to consolidate multiple policies or contracts into a single, simpler arrangement
• You have built up significant gains and want to preserve that tax deferral while upgrading to a better product

This material is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Section 1035 exchanges involve complex tax rules and individual circumstances vary. Please consult a qualified tax advisor before executing any exchange. Annuities are issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America. It is possible to lose money by investing in securities.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 15, 2026  ·  7 min read

How Annuity Distributions Are Taxed: What Every Investor Needs to Know

Annuities are among the most tax-advantaged financial products available, allowing your money to grow tax-deferred until you take distributions. But when distributions do occur, the tax treatment depends on several factors: whether the annuity is qualified or non-qualified, how the distributions are taken, your cost basis in the contract, and your age at the time of withdrawal. Here is what you need to know.

Non-Qualified Annuities: Two Types of Distributions

The IRS distinguishes between two types of distributions from non-qualified annuities, and each is taxed differently.

Amounts Received as an Annuity (Annuitized Payments)

Once a contract is annuitized, payments are taxed using an exclusion ratio. A portion of each payment is considered a return of your original premium (and is therefore tax-free), while the remainder is taxable as ordinary income. For example, if you invested $100,000 in a non-qualified annuity and the contract is now worth $160,000, and you annuitize over 20 years receiving $11,705 per year, your total expected payments would be $234,100. Your exclusion ratio would be 42.7% ($100,000 divided by $234,100), meaning roughly $5,000 of each annual payment is tax-free and $6,705 is taxable. Once all premium has been returned, every subsequent payment becomes fully taxable.

Amounts Not Received as an Annuity (Cash Withdrawals)

Cash withdrawals, surrenders, living benefit distributions, and GLWB payments are taxed on a Last-In-First-Out (LIFO) basis, meaning earnings are distributed first. Using the same example, if you take a $25,000 withdrawal from a contract with $60,000 of accumulated gain, the full $25,000 is taxable because it comes from earnings. Only once all earnings have been distributed do you begin receiving your tax-free return of premium. This category of distributions includes:

• Full surrenders and cash withdrawals
• Living benefit distributions (GMWB and GLWB payments)
• Loans, assignments, and taxable transfers of ownership
• Payment of contract death benefits

Qualified Annuities: Simpler but Fully Taxable

A qualified annuity is one held inside an IRA, 401(k), or other employer-sponsored retirement plan. Because these accounts are funded with pre-tax dollars, virtually all distributions are fully taxable as ordinary income. There is no exclusion ratio and no tax-free return of premium in most cases. The exception is if you made non-deductible (after-tax) contributions, in which case a pro-rata portion of each distribution is tax-free. For example, if your IRA is worth $100,000 and contains $15,000 in after-tax contributions, 15% of each distribution is non-taxable. Importantly, the IRS requires you to aggregate all of your IRAs when calculating this ratio, not just the one you are withdrawing from.

Roth IRA Annuities: The Most Tax-Friendly Option

If your annuity is held inside a Roth IRA, qualified distributions of both contributions and earnings are completely tax-free. A distribution is qualified if you have held any Roth IRA for at least five tax years and you are over age 59½, disabled, deceased, or using up to $10,000 for a first home purchase. Non-qualified Roth distributions follow a specific ordering: contributions first, then conversion amounts, then earnings, with only earnings subject to both income tax and the 10% early withdrawal penalty.

The 10% Early Withdrawal Penalty

Both qualified and non-qualified annuities are subject to a 10% additional federal tax on early withdrawals if you take distributions before age 59½, with certain exceptions. Common exceptions include:

• Death or disability of the owner
• Substantially Equal Periodic Payments (SEPP/72(t) distributions)
• Terminal illness
• Domestic abuse (up to the lesser of $10,000 or 50% of account value)
• Qualified disaster recovery distributions (up to $22,000 per disaster)
• For IRAs only: first home purchase (up to $10,000), higher education expenses, and health insurance premiums for unemployed individuals

Note that the exceptions differ slightly between qualified accounts and non-qualified annuities. For example, the higher education and first home purchase exceptions apply to IRAs but not to non-qualified annuities.

The 3.8% Medicare Surtax

Taxable income from both qualified and non-qualified annuities may also be subject to the 3.8% Medicare surtax on net investment income if your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $200,000 (single) or $250,000 (married filing jointly). This is an additional consideration that is often overlooked in retirement income planning, particularly for individuals with large annuity contracts or multiple income sources.

A Note on Non-Natural Owners

If a non-qualified annuity is owned by a corporation, partnership, or most trusts (rather than an individual), it loses its tax-deferred status under IRC Section 72(u) and earnings become taxable annually. The key exception is for contracts held by a grantor trust, which the IRS recognizes as an agent for a natural person and therefore preserves tax deferral.

This material is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Annuity taxation is complex and varies by individual circumstances. Please consult a qualified tax advisor before making any decisions regarding annuity distributions. Annuities are issued by The Prudential Insurance Company of America. It is possible to lose money by investing in securities.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 15, 2026  ·  8 min read

5 Estate Planning Mistakes That Could Cost Your Family

Many people put off estate planning because it feels complicated, morbid, or like something only the very wealthy need to worry about. In reality, if you have a family, a home, a retirement account, or any assets at all, estate planning is one of the most important financial decisions you can make. And the mistakes people make are almost always the same ones. Here are the five we see most often and what to do instead.

1. Not Having a Will at All

This is the most common mistake and the most costly. If you die without a will known as dying intestate the state decides how your assets are distributed. That means a court determines who gets your home, your savings, and custody of your children if they are minors. The court will follow state law, which may not reflect your wishes at all. In New Jersey, for example, if you are married with children, your estate may not pass entirely to your spouse. Portions could go to your children directly, potentially at ages where they are not equipped to manage significant assets.

The fix: Have a basic will drafted by an estate planning attorney. At minimum it should name an executor, specify how your assets are to be distributed, and name a guardian for any minor children. This single document can prevent years of legal wrangling and family conflict.

2. Forgetting to Update Beneficiary Designations

Your will does not control everything. Retirement accounts like IRAs and 401(k)s, life insurance policies, and many bank accounts pass directly to whoever is named as beneficiary regardless of what your will says. This is one of the most overlooked problems in estate planning. We regularly see clients whose beneficiary designations list an ex-spouse, a deceased parent, or are left completely blank from when the account was first opened decades ago.

The fix: Review beneficiary designations on every account at least once a year and after every major life event marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or the death of a named beneficiary. Make sure primary and contingent beneficiaries are current and intentional.

3. Failing to Plan for Incapacity

Most people think about estate planning only in terms of death. But what happens if you become seriously ill or mentally incapacitated and cannot make decisions for yourself? Without the proper legal documents in place, your family may be forced to petition a court to be appointed as your guardian a process that is expensive, time consuming, and emotionally draining, even when everyone agrees on what should happen.

The fix: Execute a durable power of attorney naming someone you trust to manage your finances if you are unable to. Pair it with a healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney so that someone can make medical decisions on your behalf. A living will or advance directive should also outline your wishes for end of life care so your family does not have to make those decisions in a moment of crisis.

4. Ignoring Estate Taxes Federal and State

The federal estate tax exemption is currently over $13 million per individual, meaning most families will not face a federal estate tax bill. However, many states impose their own estate or inheritance taxes at much lower thresholds. New Jersey, for example, imposes an inheritance tax on assets passing to certain beneficiaries. Even if your estate falls well below the federal threshold, you could still have a state level tax obligation that a small amount of planning could eliminate or significantly reduce.

The fix: Work with a financial advisor and an estate attorney to understand both your federal and state tax exposure. Strategies like annual gifting, irrevocable life insurance trusts, and charitable giving can significantly reduce the tax burden on your heirs but they require advance planning, not last minute action.

5. Not Coordinating Your Estate Plan With Your Financial Plan

Estate planning and financial planning are deeply interconnected, but they are often treated as separate exercises. We see clients who have a beautifully drafted will but whose retirement accounts, life insurance, and investment accounts are structured in ways that directly contradict their estate planning goals. For example, leaving a large traditional IRA to a non-spouse beneficiary without a tax efficient distribution plan can force heirs to take taxable distributions over just 10 years, potentially pushing them into a much higher tax bracket.

The fix: Treat estate planning as part of your overall financial plan, not a one time legal task. Your financial advisor and estate attorney should be working together, reviewing your complete picture including account titling, beneficiary designations, insurance coverage, and tax strategy to make sure everything is aligned with your goals.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Estate planning laws vary by state. Please consult a qualified estate attorney and financial advisor before making any estate planning decisions.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 15, 2026  ·  7 min read

Cerebras Systems (CBRS) Surges 68% on Nasdaq Debut: What Investors Need to Know

On Thursday, May 14, 2026, Cerebras Systems began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker CBRS, marking the largest U.S. tech IPO since Uber went public in 2019. The company raised $5.55 billion in its offering, selling 30 million shares at $185 each, well above its original guidance range of $115 to $125. Shares opened at $350, hit an intraday high of $386, and closed at $311.07, giving Cerebras a market valuation of approximately $95 billion on its first day as a public company.

What Does Cerebras Actually Do?

Cerebras builds AI compute systems powered by its Wafer Scale Engine (WSE), a processor that uses an entire silicon wafer as a single chip rather than slicing it into many smaller pieces like traditional semiconductors. This architecture gives Cerebras a speed and efficiency advantage for certain AI workloads, particularly inference at scale. The company positions itself as a direct alternative to Nvidia, which currently dominates the AI chip market. Its third generation WSE-3 chip and CS-3 supercomputer system are designed to simplify large scale AI model training by reducing the complexity of distributed computing setups that typically require hundreds or thousands of GPUs working in parallel.

The Numbers Behind the Hype

The financial profile is genuinely impressive for an IPO stage company:

• Revenue: $510 million in 2025, up 76% year over year
• Net income: $237.8 million in 2025, compared to a loss of $481.6 million in 2024
• Net margin: approximately 47%, which is extraordinary for a company at this stage
• IPO proceeds: $5.55 billion raised, with potential for an additional $830 million if underwriters exercise their full option
• Demand: the offering was oversubscribed more than 20 times at original pricing levels

The valuation at close implies roughly 186 times 2025 trailing revenue, which by any traditional metric is extremely elevated. However, investors are clearly pricing in future growth acceleration and the strategic value of Cerebras holding a credible position in the AI hardware race.

Key Partnerships Driving the Story

Two deals have fundamentally changed the Cerebras narrative heading into the IPO. First, in early 2026 Cerebras signed a $20 billion, 750 megawatt compute deal with OpenAI, providing multi year revenue visibility with one of the most important AI companies in the world. Second, Amazon Web Services announced a partnership to offer the Cerebras WSE to cloud customers through AWS Bedrock, with Amazon reportedly purchasing $270 million in Cerebras stock as part of the arrangement. These two partnerships give Cerebras tier one industry validation and a path to enterprise distribution at scale.

The Risks Every Investor Should Understand

The excitement is real, but so are the risks. Before buying CBRS, consider the following:

• Customer concentration: A very large share of 2025 revenue came from a small number of clients, including UAE based entities G42 and MBZUAI, and OpenAI is expected to represent a substantial portion of projected revenue going forward. Concentration risk is real and can punish a stock quickly if one customer pauses, renegotiates, or shifts workloads.
• Nvidia dominance: Nvidia's CUDA software ecosystem is deeply entrenched in AI development workflows. Cerebras must not only compete on chip performance but also win the ecosystem battle, convincing developers and enterprises to adopt its platform and tooling.
• Valuation premium: At $311 per share the stock trades at nearly 186 times trailing revenue. That pricing already assumes significant future success and leaves little room for execution missteps.
• IPO volatility: History shows that IPO first day pops are frequently followed by a period of consolidation or decline as institutional lock up periods expire and early investors take profits. The stock opened at $350, peaked at $386, and closed at $311, already showing intraday volatility of more than 20%.

What This Means for Your Portfolio

The Cerebras IPO is significant beyond just one stock. It signals that institutional appetite for high quality AI infrastructure investments remains strong despite broader market uncertainty. It also opens the door for potentially larger IPOs later in 2026, including SpaceX and possibly OpenAI or Anthropic. For existing investors with exposure to semiconductor ETFs like the VanEck Semiconductor ETF, which is up 58% in 2026, the Cerebras debut adds another data point confirming the AI hardware theme remains very much intact.

That said, buying individual IPO stocks carries meaningful risk. If you are interested in gaining exposure to the AI hardware trend without the concentrated single stock risk of CBRS, there are diversified approaches worth discussing. Reach out to our team to talk through how the current AI infrastructure buildout fits into your broader financial plan.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 15, 2026  ·  6 min read

Week in Review (May 11–14, 2026): Records, Inflation, and the Trump-Xi Summit

Equities Push to New Highs
Despite mixed economic signals, equity markets finished the week on a strong note. The S&P 500 closed at a record 7,444, the Nasdaq hit a new all-time high of 26,402, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged back above 50,000 on Thursday its first close above that level since February. The rally was driven primarily by AI-related technology stocks and semiconductor names, with memory chip stocks leading the charge. The Roundhill Memory ETF surged nearly 30% on the week.

Inflation Remains Stubbornly Hot
The week's biggest concern came from the inflation front. April's Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 1.4% well above the 0.5% consensus estimate and is up 6% year-over-year, the largest annual jump since December 2022. Consumer prices also came in hotter than expected at 3.7% annually. Treasury yields climbed in response, with the 10-year note hitting its highest level of 2026 at 4.47%, and both the 20-year and 30-year bonds eclipsed 5%. For long term investors, this is a reminder that the Fed's path to rate cuts remains uncertain.

Geopolitics: Iran War & U.S.-China Summit
The ongoing Iran conflict continues to pressure energy markets, with crude oil settling above $102 per barrel and the Strait of Hormuz remaining a focal point of global concern. Oil supply disruptions have pushed gasoline prices higher, disproportionately impacting lower-income consumers. Meanwhile, President Trump's two-day summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing occurring right now, May 14–15 has investors hopeful for diplomatic progress. Both leaders agreed the Strait of Hormuz should remain a free waterway, a signal markets responded positively to this morning.

What This Means for Your Portfolio
The market's resilience in the face of inflation pressure and geopolitical tension is encouraging, but it underscores the importance of diversification. With yields rising and energy costs elevated, we continue to favor a balanced approach maintaining equity exposure in quality growth names while ensuring fixed income allocations are positioned for a higher-for-longer rate environment. If you have questions about how current conditions affect your financial plan, we encourage you to reach out or schedule a consultation.

Jack Markowski  ·  Week of May 11–14, 2026  ·  4 min read

Open for Business: Financial Strategies Every Business Owner Should Know

Running a business demands your attention every day, but the decisions you make about your financial structure can shape your company and personal wealth for decades. Here is a breakdown of the four key pillars every business owner should have in their financial plan.

1. Retirement Plans

A quality retirement plan is not just a personal benefit it is one of the most powerful tools for attracting and retaining talented employees. The right plan depends on the size and structure of your business:

• SEP IRA Ideal for sole proprietors and smaller businesses. Simple to set up, no mandatory contributions, and employer contributions are tax deductible.
• SIMPLE IRA Best for companies with 25 or fewer employees. Funded by both employee and employer contributions with straightforward matching options.
• Solo 401(k) A strong option for self-employed owners with no employees, allowing higher contribution limits through a combination of salary deferrals and profit sharing.
• 401(k) The most widely used employer plan for companies with 10 or more employees. Highly flexible, with the highest pre-tax contribution limits and optional Roth provisions.

Many employer-sponsored plans also offer significant tax advantages for the business itself. We work with every client to identify the plan that fits their company size, compensation structure, and long term goals.

2. Insurance Plans

Insurance is not just protection for business owners, it is a critical planning tool. Key strategies include:

• Succession Planning Ensures a smooth ownership transition when an owner retires or is unable to continue working.
• Buy/Sell Agreements A funded plan that provides immediate financial protection and a fair valuation when an owner exits the business.
• Disability Insurance Protects your income and assets if you lose the ability to work, preventing the need to liquidate savings or retirement funds.
• Key Person Insurance Provides the business with funds to recover from the loss of a critical employee, covering recruitment costs and protecting the balance sheet.
• Deferred Compensation A powerful tool to attract and retain top executives by deferring a portion of income to a future date using an employer-provided insurance arrangement.

3. Cash Management

A successful business generates cash but how you manage that cash has a real impact on your annual revenue. We offer access to a range of cash management solutions, from short-duration fixed income strategies for 9 to 24 month time horizons to portfolios of Treasury bills, agency discount notes, and commercial paper tailored to your specific cash flow needs. The goal is to maximize yield on reserves while preserving liquidity and principal stability.

4. Personal Wealth Management

Your business success should translate into personal financial security. Personal wealth management brings together asset allocation, estate planning, charitable giving, college savings, and retirement planning into a single comprehensive strategy. We consider your financial goals, family needs, and time horizon to build a diversified portfolio designed to optimize returns and manage risk. Because no two clients are the same, every plan is built specifically for you.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Please consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 2025  ·  6 min read

The Roth Conversion Window: A Strategy Most People Don't Know Exists

A Roth conversion is the process of moving money from a traditional IRA or 401(k) into a Roth IRA. You pay income tax on the converted amount today, but all future growth and withdrawals are completely tax free. The question is not whether a Roth conversion is good. The question is when to do it.

Why Timing Is Everything

The ideal window opens after you retire and before Social Security and Required Minimum Distributions kick in at age 73. During this gap, your taxable income drops to its lowest point in decades, allowing you to convert at a lower tax rate than you paid while working and far lower than you will pay once RMDs force distributions.

The 5-Step Process Behind a Smart Conversion

• 1. Define the Relationship We start by understanding your objectives, walking through the process, and completing a full financial profile covering your income, assets, and tax situation.
• 2. Establish Goals We set measurable goals around retirement income, inheritance planning, and tax minimization to determine how much to convert and over how many years.
• 3. Analysis We model different conversion scenarios, project your lifetime tax liability, and stress test the strategy against market and legislative changes.
• 4. Plan Review We walk through a multi year conversion schedule designed to keep you in your target tax bracket without crossing into a higher one.
• 5. Execute and Monitor We execute the conversions and check in annually to adjust as your income and tax laws evolve.

Key Benefits

• Tax free growth All growth and withdrawals in retirement are completely tax free.
• No RMDs Roth IRAs have no Required Minimum Distributions, giving you full control over when you withdraw.
• Estate planning advantage Roth IRAs pass to heirs income tax free, one of the most powerful wealth transfer tools available.
• Protection against future tax increases Locking in today's rate protects you if Congress raises rates down the road.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Roth conversions may not be appropriate for all investors. Please consult a qualified tax professional before making any conversion decisions.

Michael DiGiovani  ·  May 2025  ·  5 min read