Great Final Photo From Harrisburg

The stop is Harrisburg was very successful and one of our volunteers wanted to show everyone what a beautiful day it was while the bus was in town.


Also, if you have not had a chance to read the article about the stop in The Patriot-News, click HERE.

More Thoughts From Harrisburg, PA

Mike Helveston, a NAPFA Registered Advisor, manned the bus today in Harrisburg, PA. He was joined by several other advisors from Rodgers & Associates of Lancaster, PA.

A lady wanted to know how to open an IRA. She has a few thousand dollars to invest but the last time she open a mutual fund IRA she put it all in an international fund which is now about half of what she invested. Mr. Helveston recommended opening an IRA with a low cost provider such as Vanguard or Fidelity and selecting a Target Retirement Fund or a balanced fund for diversification.

A gentleman approached Lee Pelko of Rodgers & Associates about what he should do with his investments. He had his TIAA-CREF and Ameriprise statements with him. Ms. Pelko helped him to figure out his asset allocation between stocks and bonds and also gave him some tax advice on realizing losses in 2008 due to the down year in the stock market.

Rick Rodgers, president of Rodgers & Associates was approached with questions about how to shelter his new income from a gas royalty. The man was concerned because this will probably only last for 1 year. Rick discussed making retirement contributions or a charitable contribution for a tax deduction to offset this gas income.

Big Success at the Harrisburg, PA Bus Tour Stop!

NAPFA-Registered Financial Advisor Alan Campbell, CFP joined a team of volunteers today at the tour stop in Harrisburg, PA. The bus was located at Strawberry Square, a popular shopping destination right across the street from the State Capitol Building. Although Governor Rendell did not stop by for some advice, several state employees did. Here are some of the questions Alan answered today:

I spoke with a retired man who received royalty income this year from an oil & gas investment and was looking for a way to shelter it. He asked if he could write off the loss by giving the funds to his girlfriend or daughter and I explained that although he may see them as a charity, the IRS does not. In the end, we agreed that he would be better off paying the taxes and keeping most of the funds because he didn’t want to give up control of the funds.

I also meet with a woman who felt that stock in Ford Motor Co. was a great bargain at less than $2 per share and asked how to buy it. I explained what a discount broker was and encouraged her to look into TD Ameritrade or E-Trade.

Overall, I was impressed with the both the quantity and the quality of the questions asked. Our location was across the street from the state capital building and many of the people who approached us were state employees on their lunch breaks. A good number of them were thinking about retirement in the next few years and wondering what to do with their pension options when they do retire.