Up 1,000, down 1,000, up 1,000, and then down yet another 1,000. The past week shows the confused state of the stock market. And, that doesn’t even count the 4,500 point decline the week before last. This is the age of coronavirus. And, this too shall eventually pass.

As most people with an opinion should state on this subject, I am not a doctor. I don’t intend to share any profound insights on the virus itself. My focus and expertise is on its effect on money and markets.

Having managed portfolios through the financial crisis of 2008, much of the last two weeks has felt reminiscent. To be clear, the proximate cause of the market volatility during those two periods couldn’t be more different. However, the commonality begins and ends with the effect that fear has on investors’ collective decisions. Like all forms of panic, fear of the unknown has created a self-reinforcing negative feedback loop. I’m optimistic that once this particular fever breaks, the current negative feedback loop will too.

Until then, the pace, breadth and severity of the spread of coronavirus remains largely uncertain. The opinions espoused by medical experts, and the many untrained among us, are built on layers of assumptions. These assumptions relate to both the pathology of the virus and the public policy decisions we’ll choose to make to slow its spread.

The sensationalized headlines that feed off the din of opinions in today’s noisy world naturally adds to investor uncertainty. Filtering out the hard science from the pure conjecture is admittedly difficult. Regardless, it’s highly important to apply a clear filter to your flow of information. This is especially the case if you are trying to make important decisions about your money.

The global economy is slowing. We are more interconnected than ever before and our economy’s complex web of supply chains has been severely stressed. Beyond the negative effects of these bottlenecks, we’re just now starting to see some impacts closer to home. Many companies and some schools and organizers of large gatherings of people are choosing to push pause on their plans.

It’s rational to expect that most business leaders are likely to delay executing on their short- and intermediate-term plans. This entire negative feedback loop has clearly caught the attention of our financial markets and public policymakers.

Here’s a simple message for readers of this column. As it was during the recession scare of late 2018, your investment portfolio and your approach to risk management is being stress tested, yet again. My general advice to you is to only move with methodical moderation.

For those who have been excessively conservative, consider taking some baby-steps back into stocks. Use these 1,000 point declines as your friend. And, for those who failed to prudently rebalance during the longest bull market in modern history, consider reducing your risk as this coronavirus fever breaks. Every 1,000 point rebound should be an easy opportunity to do what you’ve not done before.

Jason P. Tank, CFA is both the owner of Front Street Wealth Management, a purely fee-only advisory firm and the founder of the Money Series, a non-profit program committed to providing open-access to financial education, for all.

Q: My husband and I are in our mid-60s. We are planning to retire very soon. We are having a bit of a disagreement about when we should file for our Social Security benefits. I want to wait and he wants to collect right away! Who is right?

A: Congratulations! Of course, I can’t tell you who is right without all the facts. But, I can tell you that your decision may open up interesting opportunities during the “gap years” marked by the end of your work life and the start of your Social Security. Given that you’re the one who asked the question, I have to give you the preliminary nod!

To start, most people know the advantages of delaying Social Security. The boost in benefits can be big, if you can afford to wait. That decision, of course, depends on good genes, good health and good luck, too!

Delaying Social Security not only boosts your future benefits, but it also widens the length of your “gap years” and, with it, it also opens a nice tax planning window.

First, there’s a little-known wrinkle in the tax law that’s been around for about 15 years. For people who pay tax in the 12% federal bracket, realized capital gains are afforded a special 0% federal tax rate. If you are able to live off of your already-taxed savings during your gap years, you might be able to strategically sell some of your highly-appreciated stock without taking any federal tax hit at all.

To be clear, selling that stock doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to immediately re-buy it for your portfolio. You are just getting a tax-free shot to effectively “step-up” the cost basis to today’s price. That’s a shot that usually only happens when you die. This way is much more satisfying!

Next, you might consider doing some strategic Roth conversions during your gap years. A Roth conversion is just a fancy term for taking some of your pre-tax, regular IRA money and moving it over into a tax-free, Roth IRA. Of course, the income tax you’ll owe with any Roth conversion should always be paid with money that’s outside your regular IRA.

The main motivator for doing a Roth conversion is when your current tax rate is the same, or preferably less, than your expected future tax rate. During your gap years, when you might choose to draw down your already-taxed savings to cover your needs, you can purposely look much poorer to Uncle Sam and sneakily squeeze Roth conversions into your tax return at a temporarily low tax rate.

While recently traveling around London during a very special visit to my older brother, I got very used to the constant warning to not fall through the absurdly wide crack between the subway and the platform. So, as the English like to say, as you make your Social Security timing decision, be sure to “Mind the Gap!”

Q: I turned 70.5 last year and my wife is going to turn 70.5 this year. I heard that the SECURE Act was signed into law right before the start of 2020. Do we both still have to take our required minimum distributions (RMDs) from our IRAs in 2020?

Just when you thought you understood the magical age of 70.5, you can now add the magical age of 72 to your repertoire! For people born before July 1, 1949, you will still live under the old RMD rule of age 70.5. For everyone else, your first RMD isn’t required until you reach age 72.

So, in your case, while you will still need to take out your RMD in 2020, your wife won’t have to take her first RMD until she turns age 72. Depending on her actual birthday and your tax situation, she might take her first RMD in 2021, 2022, or possibly even 2023.

As a little background, last summer, the House passed the SECURE Act with a nearly unanimous vote of 417-3 and sent it over to the Senate. For over six months, the Senate just sat on the bill. Some began to wonder if it might never become law. At the last minute, the SECURE act was sneakily tacked onto a routine year-end spending bill and signed into law on December 20.

The SECURE Act features a few other things to keep straight. It used to be that people had to stop contributing to their IRA once they reached age 70.5. That silly rule is now gone. And, you can still make charitable donations from your IRA once you reach age 70.5, even if you don’t actually have an RMD to take until age 72.

Q: I recently discovered a major problem with my taxes. My brokerage firm sent me a tax form that completely ignored the charitable donations I made from my IRA. I actually paid taxes on those donations. What are brokerage firms required to report to the IRS when it comes to the donations I make directly from my IRA?

Your question is literally a public service announcement. You are correct, brokerage firms report to the IRS all of the money you’ve taken out of your IRA. And, when I say all, I mean all! Nothing on your Form 1099-R (usually sent in early February) will indicate that you gave some of that money to charity.

As you found out, be sure to tell your tax preparer that you donated some of your IRA distributions directly to qualified charities. The donation you made then should be subtracted from the figures shown on your Form 1099-R.

For interested readers, you might want to review your old tax returns to make sure you got this right. If you find that you’ve made a mistake, remember you still have until April 2020 to amend your 2016, 2017 and 2018 tax returns!

Jason P. Tank, CFA is both the owner of Front Street Wealth Management, a purely fee-only advisory firm and the founder of the Money Series, a non-profit program committed to providing open-access to financial education, for all. Contact him at (231) 947-3775, by email at Jason@FrontStreet.com and at www.FrontStreet.com

What a difference a year makes! At Christmastime a year ago, financial markets were in steep decline and fear was all around. The Fed had stubbornly been raising interest rates and the foreboding inversion of the yield curve was the topic of the day. Yet, after just one quick trip around the sun, financial markets in 2019 turned out to be simply marvelous.

If things stay steady for the final week, the stock market will be up about 25% to 30% for the year. This more than makes up for last year’s moderately negative year. The results rival the fantastic returns of 2017 and 2013; the best years of this current bull market. And, this year even stands toe-to-toe with the recession-recovery years of 2009 and 2003. It was a surprisingly good year.

As we all know, it’s not like things have been all peaches and cream lately. In the face of a slowing economy, the Federal Reserve suddenly reversed course and cut interest rates. The trade war with China was being waged basically all year long. Our largest companies delivered almost zero earnings growth. And, finally, we ended the year with an impeachment vote. With all of this, I don’t think many investors would have predicted such a strong market.

What made 2019 more marvelous was the big return in bonds. For the year, bonds delivered about 6% to 12%. Ironically, the driver that led to the great year in stocks was the same factor that drove up bonds; the Fed’s interest rate cuts in response to the fear of a possible recession. It’s not very often that worry of a recession produces both a rip-roaring move in stocks and bonds. But, it happened!

Politics aside, my current take on the state of the economy is it’s holding its own. The dangerous trade war has now morphed into a trade truce. And, the Fed has signaled that it is standing at the ready on the sidelines as it watches how things will unfold. Perhaps most importantly, the past concerns of an impending recession have all but disappeared.

You might be wondering, how did an investment adviser, like me, manage through a year like 2019 and what’s the game plan for 2020? As markets rose considerably throughout the year, I took two steps to lighten up on stocks and lower overall risk. My latest risk adjustment was done in August. The result is a larger-than-normal current allocation to short-term, safer investments. However, this type of conservative positioning can never be viewed as an endpoint.

After 20 years in the investment business, I’ve come to recognize that the tool that’s needed most to be successful is not a crystal ball. Rather, I rely most on an old-fashioned scale; working to weigh current risk against future reward. With many of the past clouds seemingly parting, I have some work to do in 2020. And, for that, I am thankful.

Jason P. Tank, CFA is both the owner of Front Street Wealth Management, a purely fee-only advisory firm and the founder of the Money Series, a non-profit program committed to providing open-access to financial education, for all. Contact him at (231) 947-3775, by email at Jason@FrontStreet.com and at www.FrontStreet.com