Mother’s Day is this Sunday, May 8
According to the US Census Bureau, the first Mother’s Day was organized by Anna Jarvis on May 10, 1908, in Grafton, West Virginia and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was such a success around the country that Jarvis asked Congress to set aside a day to honor mothers. In 1914 Congress made the second Sunday in May Mother’s Day.
Team VNFA is hard at work this week refreshing the Community Bike Works garden for our 2022 Volunteer Challenge project.
Did You Know…?
Voting is open for the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley Volunteer Challenge. Team VNFA is partnered this year with Community Bike Works.
View all the project summaries and cast your votes at https://www.volunteerlv.org/poll-organizations Tickets for this in-person event are also available now. We hope to see you there! Volunteer Center of Lehigh Valley | Volunteer Challenge (volunteerlv.org)
Did you know that the first Friday in March is Employee Appreciation Day? Employee Appreciation Day began in 1995, as a response to Boss’s Day, and is meant to honor employees everywhere, in all industries. We know that our employees are our company’s greatest asset and so we sent our gratitude to them for their continued contributions and dedication to Valley National Financial Advisors and our clients.
Cybersecurity is something Team VNFA takes very seriously. We participate in regular trainings to stay on top of the latest and to keep ourselves alert. Here are a few quick tips to protect your digital privacy at tax season and year-round:
The IRS provides regular updates to its resource page to help protect taxpayers: irs.gov/taxessecuritytogether
VIDEO: Help the IRS protect your identity
VIDEO: Find out how you can protect your phone and computer.
Today is GivingTuesday!
November 30, 2021 is recognized around the world as GivingTuesday, a movement to encourage generosity.
Learn more at givingtuesday.org/united-states and find local opportunities to share your time, skills and support at volunteerlv.org.
The IRS released a one-page guide for taxpayers to protect from identity theft. The PDF includes tips on keeping your computer and mobile phone secure, advice to avoid phishing scams and malware, and resources to protect your tax return. View and download the guide at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4524.pdf.
The IRS accepts online payments. To begin using the IRS online services, taxpayers must first create an online account. New York also requires account setups to submit payments online. Pennsylvania will allow a taxpayer to make income tax payments without the creation of an online account. New Jersey allows one time or scheduled online payments without a personal login. Our Tax Department has created a step-by-step guide to setting up and using these online payment portals. It is available HERE and on our website at valleynationalgroup.com/tax
Many other states also offer electronic payments options. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding these other state payments.
Third quarter estimated tax payments are due September 15, 2021. These estimates may include federal, state and/or local vouchers depending on your situation.
There may be situations where the estimates were generated, but an overpayment was applied in full or in part. If your income or withholdings have significantly changed since last year, please contact your tax preparer to review. If you change or do not make the estimates, please let your tax preparer know at tax filing time.
VIDEO: Saving for College 101
Saving for college can be a daunting task, but with some wise planning, one can be better prepared for the future. There are several great ways to save up. Step into our classroom and let’s review your choices. WATCH NOW
Inflation and Your Portfolio
The VNFA Investment Department takes a long-term approach to managing inflation. Although our team stays abreast of all regular data points, we do not endeavor to alter the portfolio meaningfully based on short-term metrics because we feel that we are strongly positioned for a range of long-term inflationary scenarios. Our fixed income portfolio maintains a duration approximately 2/3 of that of the Barclays Aggregate Bond Index, our benchmark. In turn, our fixed income is likely to outperform in an inflationary scenario under which interest rates increase. While our fixed income holdings may underperform in a falling-rate outcome, our investment personnel believe that a persistent declining rate environment is improbable given how low rates are at present. On the equity side, we are invested with a modest growth tilt. Generally speaking, growth companies are relatively insulated from inflation as they oftentimes have pricing power, enabling them to pass higher prices onto their customers and maintain profitability. On the other hand, our equity managers have proven their long-term outperformance in recent periods, which were characterized by tame inflation.
VNFA’s Investment Department remains adaptable to new information but disciplined with respect to a long-term outlook. WATCH A SHORT VIDEO to learn more about the general impact of inflation on your investment portfolio and reach out to your Financial Advisor or our Investment Department with any questions.