A former Primary Global Research LLC expert-networking consultant was charged by U.S. prosecutors in Manhattan with selling inside information to portfolio managers at three unidentified hedge funds.
Winifred Jiau, arrested in Fremont, California, as part of a national probe of insider trading, was accused of selling data onNvidia Corp. and Marvell Technology Group Ltd., makers of computer components, through Primary Global, according to a filing yesterday in Manhattan federal court. The hedge funds paid her $200,000 through the firm, prosecutors said. Jiau is the seventh person connected to Primary Global to be charged in a multiyear U.S. insider trading investigation that has ensnared company employees and consultants.
Bloomberg –
To make tax forecasting even more volatile, if no agreement is reached then the Bush Era tax cuts will sunset and much higher income tax rates will kick in for middle and upper income taxpayers. In addition, if there is a lack of agreement, the estate tax exemption amount which was $3.5 million in 2009, and unlimited in 2010, will revert to $1 million in 2011. To make life even more interesting, there are five important new tax laws that are effective in 2010.
For taxpayers to take action, they not only have to consider the volatility in the tax laws, but must consider volatility in their portfolios, as even the bulls are predicting a rocky road. Waiting until something happens is not a good solution because anything that might be done could easily be undone. So what should taxpayers do? According to Lange, they should build enormous flexibility in both their income tax planning and estate planning.
Where income tax planning is concerned, making Roth IRA conversions of at least several different IRA’s can be enormously beneficial for families. Depending on what happens over the next year, all action taken can be undone or re-characterized in the form of a Roth IRA re-characterization that puts the taxpayer in the same position as if he/she had not taken any action. There is a big upside that, other than doing some paperwork, has no downside.
In the estate planning area, an estate plan that offers maximum flexibility is the solution. If you have a traditional family and you have the same children (or possibly grandchildren) as your spouse, you should consider an estate plan that allows a ‘wait and see’strategy and has all the relevant options drafted into your wills and trusts. The surviving spouse then gets to decide who gets what, not now, but within nine months after the first death. This plan offers the most flexibility to beneficiaries – it allows them to respond to their current tax environment, investment environment, and also what is going on in their lives as well as in the lives of their family.
What shouldn’t you do? You should not ignore this particularly in the area of Roth IRA conversions…doing so could be an enormous financial mistake.
For more information on flexible estate planning and solutions using Roth IRA conversions, contact Ascot Media above, or visit:www.retiresecure.com.
