Table of Experts: Reading the tea leaves
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- Table of Experts: Reading the tea leaves
- Educating Your Board About Optimizing Cash Management
- Alternative Assets in Defined Contribution Plans
- Busting Three Popular Succession Planning Myths
- Answers to Every Early Retiree's Questions This Year, From a Wealth Adviser
- Wisconsin Bankers Association Honors Sam Johnson as Leader in Banking Excellence
- Jeff Pierce Named President of Johnson Wealth
- The Retirement Landscape with Greg King
- Jim Popp Joins Fox Cities Chamber on Local 5 Live in Green Bay
- What Are Money Market ETFs?
- High Mortgage Rates Are Holding My Retirement Hostage: Can I Still Downsize and Retire?
- How Do I Move From Short-Term Savings to Mid-Term Savings for Unclear Goals?
- Volatility Prompts Banks to Hoard Cash and Implement Financial Hedges
- Why Johnson Financial Group is Investing in its Branch Network
- No, The End Is Not Near for Bonds
- Lifetime Gifting Strategy Part I: The Math of Lifetime Giving
- $14bn Gatekeeper Outlines EM Moves, Real Estate Adds
- Do You Need a Local Bank in 2025?
- Mortgage Rates Ease for the First Time in a Month
- THIS Is How You Can Buy a Great Piece of Undeveloped Land, According to Real Estate Pros
- Retirement Reality Check: Four Risks You'll Want to Avoid at All Costs
- Johnson Bank to Replace Kenosha Branch with Updated Building
- A Rise in 'doom spending': Americans buying more to avoid future high costs
- Johnson Financial Group announces leadership change
- Notable Nonprofit Board Leaders: Alvaro Araque
- Johnson Financials' Ceci: The Longer Uncertainty Lasts, the Deeper a Recession Gets
- Johnson Financial Group's West Milwaukee Branch Wins MBJs Real Estate Award for Retail - New Construction
- Here's What Some Local Economists Say About What's Been Going on With the Stock Market
- How will Trump Administration Impact Wisconsin's Economy? Experts Weigh In.
- As Bear Market Looms, Advisors Turn To Trusted Survival Tactics
- 30 People Shaping Milwaukee’s Future: John Chidester
- Three Essential Estate Planning Steps to Protect Your Nest Egg
- Johnson Financial Group Named #1 in Top State Banks in MBJ's Financial Flex
- Johnson Financial Group Continues Support of Marcus Performing Arts Center With Multi-Year Extension
- Fitness and Finance: Parallels in Achieving Goals
- Business Leader of the Year: Karla Krehbiel
- How Will the Trump Administration Impact Wisconsin's Economy? Experts Weigh In
- Finding 'Your Money's Mission': Local Experts Share How to Succeed at Financial Resolutions
- Changing Winds: What’s Likely to Happen to Taxes, Immigration and International Trade Now That the Election is Over
- CIO Dominic Ceci's Gives Investing Insights on Koss Corp. 'Meme Stock' Craze
- Jim Popp Honored Among BizTimes 275 Most Influential Leaders in Wisconsin
- Dividend ETFs Are Taking Off, But Advisors Recommend Caution
- America's Top Financial Advisory Firms 2025
- Are You Doing Your 401(k) Rollover Wrong?
- Johnson Financial Group Honored with Corporate Philanthropy Award by United Way of Kenosha County
- KABA Names Karla Krehbiel: Business Leader of the Year
- Women of Distinction 2024: Johnson Financial Group
- Johnson Financial Group Breaks ground
- Dominic Ceci: Three Preelection Topics for Wisconsin Investors
- 4 Reasons Why Retirees Should Still Be Checking Their Credit Report
- C-Suite Stars: Here are the Milwaukee Business Journal's Top Finance Executives for 2024
- Johnson Financial Economist on the Election and the Economy
- Johnson's Ceci Sees Normalized Earnings Leading to a Sideways Market
- Most Corporate Charitable Contributors in Wisconsin, JFG Ranks #16
- Deloitte Ranks Wisconsin's 75 Largest Privately-Held Companies by Revenue
- Retirees, It’s Time to Give Yourself a Raise. How to Keep the Cash Flowing for Decades.
- Notable Women in Wealth Management: Kelly Mould
- Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin Contest Now Open
- Life's Financial Milestones; Expert Shares Formula to Navigate Challenges
- What is the Average Retirement Savings for Gen X?
- Johnson Financial Group's CIO, Tim Brown, Nominated for Prestigious ORBIE Award
- Why One 69-year-old Woman Initiated a 'Gray Divorce'
- Johnson Financial Group Expands Wealth Management Team with David Dauchy and Brad Mazola
- Divorce Rates Among Baby Boomers are Soaring, Putting Women’s Financial Security at Risk
- The Latest Tech Trends in Financial Services with Tim Brown, CIO at Johnson Financial Group
- Johnson's Ceci: Hard Landing Potential Rises Until Rates Start Falling
- Peter Speca Joins Johnson Financial Group
- When Retirees Give Away Too Much Money
- $10bn Shop's Top Gatekeeper Gets ‘Interesting’ With Fixed Income
- After ‘Rock Fight’ in 2023, Banks See Businesses Taking Wait-and-See Approach
- What Does Your Spouse Want in Retirement? 6 questions to Ask
- When Retirees Give Away Too Much Money
- Johnson Financial Group: Expands Presence in Madison New West Towne Location
- Johnson Financial Group Shares Tips for Buying a Home in 2024
- Advisors Urge Caution On Penalty-Free IRA, 401(k) Early Withdrawals
- Donations of Nearly $70K Pour in Following Tool Theft from Waukesha Habitat for Humanity
- Dominic Ceci appointed Chief Investment Officer for Johnson Financial Group
- Associated Bank, Johnson Financial partner to provide funding for affordable-housing project in Madison
- Understanding Interest Rates and Unlocking Financial Power
- Ben Pavlik, Top Corporate Counsel Award
- Your Guide to Women’s Wealth Management
- Tim Sheehy appointed to Board of Directors
- WMC, Johnson Financial Group: Announce 2023 Coolest Thing Made in Wisconsin
- Johnson Financial Group ready to serve Lake Country community
- Most Corporate Charitable Contributors in Wisconsin
- Preparing Clients For The Risk Of Cognitive Decline
- Johnson Financial Group expanding with acquisition in Appleton
- How Big A Gamble Is Monte Carlo For Advisors?
- Johnson Financial Group CEO discusses branch strategy with one set to open and another in the works
- Squire to retire after nearly two decades as Johnson Bank regional president
- Bringing a Personal Touch to Digital Banking
- At This Rate: Financial Institutions Dealing with Higher Interest Rates and Lower Loan Demand
- Checking in on Wisconsin banks
- Beyond Lip Service In DEI
- Johnson Financial Group to sell its insurance business to Boston firm
- Johnson Financial Group plans new branches, including in West Milwaukee
- New Johnson Financial Group Branch Planned In West Milwaukee and Delafield
- Johnson Wealth Fixed Income Tilts at Emerging Markets Debt, Mortgage Backed Securities
- Your Financial Foundation with Al Araque on the Lifeblood Podcast
- Unexpected health insurance surprise possible when pandemic insurance programs expire
- Bond Investors: Be a Prudent Pig, not a Yield Hog
- Women Insurance Pros on Balance, Community and the Future
- Financial Planning For Couples Who Totally Disagree
- How To Help Clients Who Own Businesses in Declining Industries
- Johnson Financial Group presents 'Lightfield' coming to Cathedral Square Park
- Three Essential Estate Planning Steps to Protect Your Nest Egg
- Johnson Financial Group Named Top LGBTQ Workplace
- Financial advice is the midlife job that women want – but don’t know exists
- Expert Insight for Beginner Rental Property Investors
- Coolest thing made in Wisconsin announced by WMC and Johnson Financial Group
- Corporate Charitable Contributors in Wisconsin
- 'Coolest Thing Made in Wis.' voting begins
- Johnson Financial Group and Habitat for Humanity Kenosha work together to help homeowners
- We have a responsibility to be solution providers for our customers
- Being a leader is a team sport
- Jason Herried Joins Chuck Jaffe on Money Life
- Have questions about "Gray Divorce"? Attorney Kelly Mould, CRP® can help.
- Jazz in the Park Is Back Thursday Nights Starting July 21
- People in Business - Al Araque
- 2022 Housing Market Overview: Everything You Need to Know
- "Give Back More Than You Take" - Helen Johnson-Leipold
- A Brief History of Economic Crises, Crashes and Recoveries
- Kelly Mould and Kate Trudell Earn State Bar Award for Outstanding Service
- JFG Supports Affordable Housing through FHLBank Chicago
- Helen Johnson-Leipold shares business tips for success at Marquette speaker series
- Notable Commercial Banking Leaders: Thomas Moore
- Notable Commercial Banking Leaders: Viktor Gottlieb
- Johnson Financial Group partners with Racine Habitat for Humanity to service mortgages at no cost
- Upcoming Lineup Of Broadway Shows Announced At Marcus Performing Arts Center
- See the Milwaukee Business Journal's 2022 Real Estate Award winners
- Joe Maier “Employers are going to have to rethink their practices”
- Emotional Investments: Why They Happen and How to Avoid Them
- Inflation advice for younger colleagues
- Amber Krogman: 40 Under 40
- Evoking change within the Milwaukee community with Johnson Financial Group's Jim Popp
- A Shift in the Tech Landscape
- Evoking change within the Milwaukee community with Jim Popp, CEO of Johnson Financial Group
- The Rising Trend Of "Gray Divorce" with Kelly Mould of Johnson Financial Group
- Evoking change within the Milwaukee community with Jim Popp, CEO of Johnson Financial Group
- Johnson Financial Group Recognized on Financial Planning's 2021 RIA Leaders List
- Find out why these business leaders are 2021 Milwaukee-area power brokers
- Thoughts for business executives on future-proofing a business
- Jim Popp Joins Fox 6 to Announce the Milwaukee Holiday Light Festival
- Milwaukee’s Holiday Lights Festival Kicks Off This Week!
- #FreeBritney: When Protections Turn Toxic
- WisBusiness: the Podcast with Jim Popp, president and CEO of Johnson Financial Group
- WE Energies Customer Spotlight On Energy Efficiency
- Johnson Financial Group donates $500,000 to United Way organizations across Wisconsin
- Madison’s Moving Business Forward Podcast
- Thoughts for business executives on return-to-office technology
- First look: Johnson Financial Group's new Downtown offices and branch
- Johnson Financial Group Shows Off High-Rise Office
- Six Tips for Developing a Business Plan for Uncertain Financial Times
- Is Bitcoin Here to Stay? An Assessment of Opportunities and Risk
- You may have a ‘huge edge over high-powered investors,’ says investing risk expert: Here’s why
- Executive Insights with Jim Popp
- CEO Jim Popp Honored as Distinguished Executive
- Webinar: Cybersecurity Made Simple
- 2021 Guide to Wealth Management: A War on Wealth?
- Notable Alumni: Scott Cooney
- Jason Herried Joins Chuck Jaffe on Money Life Market Call
- Top Workplaces 2021: Q&A with three CEOs who were recognized for their leadership during a challenging year
- How will Biden's new tax plan affect you?
- American Jobs Plan: Potential Implications for You and Your Business
- Get on the Right Track to Financial Freedom
- Greater Madison area Top Workplaces 2021
- The Crazy Housing Market: Buy, Sell or stay on the sidelines?
- UPAF Ride for the Arts series will take place over three June weekends
- Financial services industry helped guide businesses through sharp downturn: Banks hustled to meet massive PPP demand
- Financial services industry helped guide businesses through sharp downturn: Banks hustled to meet massive PPP demand
- Johnson Financial Group matches food donations to help feed Wisconsin families
- Johnson Financial Group: To donate $300,000 to help feed Wisconsin families
- Women in Leadership: Sharing & Celebrating Women's Stories
- 2020 Milwaukee-area power brokers
- Dow Surges to Highest Level Since February on Vaccine Results, Biden Win
- Johnson Financial Group Named One of Wisconsin's Largest Corporate Charitable Contributors
- Don't forget about the "I" in D&I
- Johnson Financial Group to move Milwaukee offices to Cathedral Place
- Pandemic Uncertainty Leaves Wisconsin Bankers Ready To Reserve
- What's going on in the financial markets right now with Jim Popp of Johnson Financial Group
- Downside risk is now a pit, not a chasm. Still, underweight stocks & overweight (some) bonds.
- Why You Want To Keep Your Politics Separate From Your Investing
- Johnson Financial Group growing, still hiring on its 50th anniversary year
- The COVID Calculation
- Pleasant Prairie company gets boost from Paycheck Protection Program
- Banks locally, statewide step up to help businesses obtain $8.3 billion in PPP
- Johnson Financial Group donates $200K to support United Way, other nonprofits during COVID-19 pandemic
- Second round of PPP starts slowly as Milwaukee-area businesses still await loans
- Wisconsin lenders ready to shell out hundreds of millions in Paycheck Protection Program loans
- Planning opportunities under the CARES Act
- BizTimes Media Announces Milwaukee’s Notable Women in Commercial Banking
- Johnson Financial Group adviser honored
- Tech-driven R&D goes beyond the budget. Some Milwaukee execs speak up
- What would cause markets to react after Fed meeting
- Banking official remains confident in local economy's growth
- Rock County home prices continue to climb
- The coolest thing made in Wisconsin
- Dan Defnet named president of Johnson Bank
- Future Returns: Ignore Politics When Investing
- Local banker to get Forward Janesville's Lifetime Achievement Award
- Wisconsin Could See Economic Slowdown This Year, Not Recession
- When Corporate Bonds Are a Risky Investment
- Johnson Financial Group becomes Broadway at the Marcus Center title sponsor
- Getting Ready to Exit: What Baby Boomers know and should know about getting their business ready for sale
- Take Five: Putting some Popp in banking
- Jim Popp in the News
- Jason Herried's Take on the 'Booms and Busts' of the Economy
- Johnson Insurance creates new 'workplace of choice'
- Paul Ryan lauds Harvard award-winner Helen Johnson-Leipold
- Business Leader of the Year Helen Johnson-Leipold leads big parts of the Johnson family business
- Johnson Financial Investment Expert: More growth, low inflation ahead
- Foxconn's Balance Sheet Tipped in Mt. Pleasant's Favor
- JFG honored by Department of Defense
- The Open Road comes to the Milwaukee Art Museum
- 3 business lessons from the new Johnson Financial Group CEO
- Executive Q&A: Jim Popp takes the helm at Johnson Financial Group
- Banking exec Jim Popp named president of Johnson Bank
- Banker: Focus on millennials, not president
- American Birkebeiner Legacy Lives on with Support from Johnson Bank and Johnson Family Foundation
- TEMPO MILWAUKEE 2020
Fluctuating market conditions, inflation and looming political uncertainty have wealthy individuals pondering the steps they should take to ensure their own financial security as well as their legacy. If Congress takes no action, there will be major changes in estate and income taxes starting Jan. 1, 2026, that will increase those taxes and have a dramatic impact on estate planning. In addition to the political uncertainty surrounding the 2024 presidential election, estate planners and their clients are keeping a close eye on market fluctuations to evaluate the most appropriate assets and wealth management tools. The Milwaukee Business Journal recently sat down with experts to talk about how current market conditions and the changing political environment are impacting what people are doing to protect their wealth and preserve their legacy.
Moderator: Political and economic trends can have a major impact on estate planning. What are your clients most concerned about today when it comes to managing their estates?
Kelsey Berns, Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren: It is an interesting time for a lot of our clients. Many are owners of closely held or family businesses and, generally speaking, they are doing very well. The labor shortage is probably top of mind, as are rising interest rates, which are making it increasingly expensive to finance expansions. From a political perspective, our clients are always concerned about a potential change to the composition of Congress or control of the White House. So, I think the 2024 election and the 2026 sunset of estate and income tax laws are top of mind as far as estate planning.
Joe Maier, Johnson Financial Group: Many business owners are not experiencing the recession we are supposed to be going through, but they are not immune to what they hear on television, and they are wondering if or when the proverbial shoe is going to drop. It is a weird, uncertain environment right now.
Berns: It is an exciting time to be in the planning world because I think people are understandably being conservative in their approach to things, but we have a lot of opportunity to plan right now with exemptions being so high and before any tax law changes.
Moderator: What economic, legislative and political dynamics are you paying the closest attention to and how might they impact your recommendations for estate management and planning?
Maier: The 2024 election matters a great deal because it is going to have an outsized impact on planning. Income tax provisions and estate tax exemptions are going to sunset if there is deadlock, which will do away with a lot of great planning techniques. We are watching the Fed because interest rates matter when it comes to estate planning.
Berns: Interest rates are hugely important to what we do. We have had such low interest rates for the last decade that we have been able to take advantage of grantor-retained annuity trusts, intra-family loans, loans to trusts and things like that. With interest rates on the rise, some of those wealth-transfer vehicles are less appealing, while others, like charitable-remainder trusts and qualified personal residence trusts become more attractive. Making wealth transfers when valuations are down is ideal, but that is also when people are least comfortable with parting with their assets.
Maier: Exactly. If you know that values are temporarily low, you can get people to act. But human beings are wired to think that when things are going in one direction, they will continue to go that way. Markets have ups and downs. A down market presents an opportunity, but as Kelsey noted, people are fearful to give things away when the market is down.
Moderator: Many Baby Boomers are looking to sell or transfer ownership of their businesses. How does the current market volatility and uncertainty impact those plans?
Berns: The pandemic is having a lingering impact on many of our clients and their businesses. Many went out of business, but others prospered because of the pandemic. As a result, valuations are kind of weird right now. Owners of businesses that saw a lot of growth during the pandemic want top dollar for their businesses, whereas people looking to purchase those businesses are concerned that growth is an anomaly. And if interest rates continue to rise, it will be more difficult to borrow funds, so buyers will want to pay less or defer to a later date.
Maier: Five or six years ago, one of the biggest impediments to selling a business was the purpose that owning and running a business gave to the owner. The pandemic caused many people to think differently about life and what they really want. Because of that, we see more people willing to sell their business and move on to a different purpose in life. On the other hand, business owners like having control over their financial futures. The performance of the market over the last couple of years has caused some business owners to be more trepidatious about selling the asset they understand and control and handing the proceeds from that sale over to someone else to invest.
Moderator: The Biden Administration wants to change grantor trust rules and decrease estate, gift and generation-skipping tax exemptions. Are any of these proposals likely to pass with a divided federal government?
Maier: Logic would say no, because when you have divided government, you are going to have deadlock around important issues like tax policy. But back in 2011, when the estate tax exemption was going to drop from $5 million to $1 million, lawmakers cut a deal even though we had divided government.
Berns: I am more of a pessimist than Joe. In 2021, when Democrats had a three-way sweep, there were several proposals concerning exemptions, grantor trusts and other high-net-worth planning vehicles floating around Congress, but nothing got done. And with the sunset provisions, lawmakers don’t need to do anything to have a significant change. It will happen automatically. If there is a GOP sweep, they might push the sunset out, but otherwise I don’t think lawmakers are going to do anything.
Maier: Kelsey has the better bet, but I do think lawmakers will take into account how well the stock market performed between 2017 and 2021 and some of that performance had to do with tax policy. Moderator: From your perspective, what are some of the most common pitfalls people fall into when it comes to their estate planning?
Berns: One pitfall that comes to mind is failing to coordinate assets with your estate plan. A lot of clients create revocable trusts that leave their kids’ inheritance in a trust, but they also have life insurance policies, IRAs and 401(k)s that all name their kids directly as beneficiaries. By doing that, they unintentionally end up circumventing their own plan by not coordinating things with their revocable trust.
Maier: One pitfall is assuming that a generalist can do what a specialist should be doing. There is a science and art to estate planning, so it is important to turn to someone who does it all of the time. They know which tools to use in different interest-rate environments. Another pitfall is looking at estate planning as a simple math or distribution exercise. Those two things are critically important, but there is a piece that comes before: determining your values and how you want them to translate to your legacy. Failing to have that discussion is a mistake I see many people and planners make.
Berns: I agree. Sophisticated planners start with the non-tax portion of the estate plan: What is your long-term legacy? What do you want your money to look like for future generations? They take those non-tax goals and put them into a tax-efficient document.
Moderator: Many people consider estate planning to be a once-and-done process. Why is that not the case? How often do you recommend clients review their estate plans?
Berns: Estate plans are drafted against the backdrop of state property law and federal tax law. Both of those change with some frequency so you need to update your plan to react to changes in those laws. How often? It depends. You should review it more often as you get older. We review it once a year for our very high net-worth clients. For others, we recommend every five years or so, or whenever there is a major life change, like getting married, having kids or starting or selling a business. Those are good times to pull out your plan and look at it.
Maier: We meet with some of our high-net-worth clients four or five times per year. We evaluate their lifetime assets – the assets that will impact them while they are alive – and their legacy assets, the assets that will have an impact after they die. Someone like Kelsey can put together an infrastructure that allows us to move things back and forth as market conditions change.
Moderator: What are the one or two things you would like our readers to take away from this discussion?
Berns: People who are pondering a sale or generational transfer of business should come talk to us now because there are many tax-minimization strategies we can deploy prior to a letter of intent. People tend to make the mistake of negotiating a potential sale and then trying to do some last-minute tax and estate planning. A lot of avenues can be closed when you take that approach.
Maier: My favorite estate plan was for a couple who had no kids, some pretty significant wealth and a bunch of nieces and nephews. Their plan was to leave everything equally to their nieces and nephews until we started having a conversation about what made them happy. It turned out they loved to travel and had kept detailed journals on the different places they visited around the world. We incorporated that into their estate plan. They left money that their nieces and nephews could do whatever they wanted with, but they also set aside a multi-generational fund to provide annual trips to follow the journals. I would invite people to think about what their estate plan says about them as human beings. What is the impact you want your wealth to make? What is the legacy you want to leave and does your estate plan reflect that?