Market Watch

May 20, 2012 @ 11:16 AM

Dow Jones Industrials 12,369.38- 73.11
Nasdaq Composite 2,778.79- 34.90
S&P 500 1,295.22- 9.64

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Hardisty Financial & Insurance Services

Life Planning & Financial Protection

Welcome to our Web site, where you’ll find a wealth of information in the form of newsletter articles, calculators, and research reports.

We hope your visit will help you understand the opportunities and potential rewards that are available when you take a proactive approach to your personal financial situation. We have created this Web site to help you gain a better understanding of the financial concepts behind insurance, investing, retirement, estate planning, and wealth preservation. Most important, we hope you see the value of working with skilled professionals to pursue your financial goals.

We’re here to help educate you about the basic concepts of financial management; to help you learn more about who we are; and to give you fast, easy access to market performance data. We hope you take advantage of this resource and visit us often. Be sure to add our site to your list of "favorites" in your Internet browser. We frequently update our information, and we wouldn’t want you to miss any developments in the area of personal finance.

Newsletters

Tax Changes for 2012

Mandatory annual inflation adjustments generally affect federal income tax brackets, retirement plan contribution limits, and estate tax exemption levels. Here are some of the major changes that could affect readers in 2012, with a table showing 2012 income thresholds for the six federal income tax brackets.

Variable Annuities and Your Retirement Strategy

An insurance product may appeal to pre-retirees who want to invest more of their current incomes for retirement and defer taxes on market gains. A variable annuity enables investors to pursue investment gains with the option to purchase guarantees (for an additional cost) to help protect against the downside risks of investing in the markets.

Averaging Ups and Downs

Stock market volatility was the norm in 2011, and that can be hard on an investor’s nerves. Utilizing a dollar-cost averaging strategy may help even out your portfolio’s ups and downs, as explained in this article.

New Opportunity Under the Federal Gift Tax

The 2010 Tax Relief Act raised the lifetime gift-tax exclusion to $5 million. This means it could be a good time to make the most of tax-free gift transfers. If so, it's important to understand the annual and lifetime gift exemption limits, as well as which gifts might not be subject to them.

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Calculators

Life Insurance

How much life insurance would you need to produce a sufficient income stream for your family?

College Funding

Use this calculator to estimate the cost of your child’s education, based on the variables you input.

Cost of Retirement

Use this calculator to estimate how much income and savings you may need in retirement.

Estate Taxes

Use this calculator to estimate the federal estate taxes that could be due on your estate after you die.

More Calculators →