Category Archives: Banking / Asset Managment

By David Kopyc

Asset management is a critical component of financial planning, particularly as individuals transition from their working years to retirement. The strategies used to manage assets during these two life stages are inherently different due to varying financial goals, risk tolerance, and income sources. Understanding the key differences in managing assets during retirement versus working years is essential for long-term financial success and peace of mind.

During the working years, the primary focus of asset management is growth. Individuals in their 20s, 30s, 40s, and even 50s are typically in the accumulation phase of their financial lives. The primary sources of income during this period are wages from employment, business ventures, and any passive income streams. The goal is to grow wealth, save for future milestones such as purchasing a home, funding education, and eventually accumulating enough savings to retire comfortably.

In the working years, individuals tend to have a higher risk tolerance. Since they are still years or even decades away from retirement, they can afford to take on more risk in their investment portfolios. This often translates into higher allocations in stocks, mutual funds, or other growth-oriented investments that carry more volatility but offer higher returns over time. Investment strategies might focus on assets that have the potential for long-term capital appreciation, such as equities, real estate, and business ventures.

During the working years, individuals contribute regularly to retirement accounts, such as 401(k)s, IRAs, or pensions. These contributions help to build the foundation for future retirement income. The strategy in this phase is to maximize contributions, particularly by taking advantage of employer matching contributions to retirement accounts. For individuals who want to maximize their retirement savings, it’s often advised to contribute the maximum allowable amounts to retirement accounts each year.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) recently announced that The Table Rock Group based in Glens Falls has been named to Forbes Magazine’s 2025 list of America’s Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams.

Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Management Teams ranking was developed by SHOOK Research and is based on in-person, virtual, and telephone due diligence meetings to measure best practices, client retention, industry experience, credentials, review of compliance records, firm nominations; and quantitative criteria, such as: assets under management and revenue generated for their firms. 

Provided by Eric Snell

By definition, business owners put a lot of their financial resources into their enterprises. But as an owner, you may need to invest in more than inventories and payroll to help achieve the future you’ve envisioned.

Here are a few investments you may want to consider:

• Retirement account – Depending on the nature of your business and how many employees you have, you can choose from a variety of tax-advantaged retirement plans, such as an owner-only 401(k), an SEP-IRA and a SIMPLE IRA. By contributing regularly to one of these accounts, you can avoid being entirely dependent on the sale of your business to pay for your retirement years.

To fund your 401(k) or other retirement plan, you’ll have many investment options — stocks, bonds, mutual funds and so on. And if you “max out” on your retirement plan, you may even be able to build a separate investment portfolio. In any case, keep in mind that you’re already putting a lot of money into your business, so, to achieve a level of diversification, you may want to concentrate your investment choices in areas outside your industry. However, while diversification can help reduce the impact of market volatility on your portfolio, it can’t guarantee profits or protect against losses in a declining market.

• Property – Your physical space is a key part of your business’ success. So, you may want to invest some time in comparing the pros and cons of renting versus owning. Of course, owning your building may require a big financial commitment, and it may not be feasible, but it could free you from worrying about untimely rent increases.  

by Christine Graf

Clifton Park-based Hedley & Co., CPAs, provides tax and accounting services to individuals and  small and mid-size businesses. Founded by Kevin Hedley, a CPA with 30 years of experience, the firm also offers Internal Revenue Service and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance representation to clients.

HK Wealth Management, the financial planning arm of the business, focuses on a wholistic approach to financial planning offering investment services, retirement planning, insurance, estate planning and how this all integrates with the clients tax situation. 

“For regulatory purposes, the businesses have to be separate, but they work in tandem,” said Matthew Burnell, Financial Advisor at HK Wealth Management and tax accountant at Hedley & Co., CPAs. “For most of our investment clients, we also prepare their taxes. We’re more than just a broker doing their investments.”

According to Burnell, HK Wealth Management prepares comprehensive financial plans that are tailored to the specific needs of each individual client. 

 “We work with individual investment accounts and retirement accounts. We run some smaller 401k and retirement plans for local businesses, and we also help with estate planning as well as a small amount of life insurance.”

Depending on the size of the account, financial advisors meet quarterly, semi-annually, or annually with clients. In the interim, advisors are always available to answer questions.

By Bill Canty

Asset location pertains to the types of investment assets that are best held in various types of accounts. Asset location is a tax minimization strategy that matches various types of investments with the type of account best suited for that type of investment holding. 

Asset location is about strategically holding investments in accounts where you are likely to achieve the highest after-tax returns. This includes taxable investment accounts, tax-deferred accounts such as a traditional IRA or 401(k), or tax-free accounts which are usually Roth accounts. 

Due to the nature of dividends, interest, or capital gains connected with certain types of investments, it might be most tax-efficient to hold them in one type of account versus another. This is the essence of asset location. 

While it is not always possible to align your entire portfolio in a perfect fashion in terms of asset location for each holding, it does make sense to pay attention to this when deciding which investment holdings fit best into your various accounts. 

The following types of holdings can be well-suited for a taxable account: 

• Municipal bonds or mutual funds holding muni bonds. The interest on these bonds is exempt from federal income taxes, and in some cases from state taxes if they are issued by an entity in the state in which you reside.

• Individual stocks that you plan to hold for a year or more. After this time period, any capital gains from the sale of the shares will be taxed at preferential long-term capital gains rates.

By Jason Snyder, Esq.

As the largest living generation in the U.S.—making up 22 percent of the population—and collectively having lived through several “once-in-a-lifetime” crises, the millennial generation has been forged into some of the most adaptable planners to date. 

From setting personal and professional goals, managing and interacting with their finances and investments, to purchasing their first homes and starting families, many in this group are committed to planning further into the future than ever before.

Despite this, 41 percent of individuals ages 18-34 have never discussed estate planning with anyone. While grim, this number did see some downward motion in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as 32 percent of adults under the age of 35 said they only engaged in estate planning due to the pandemic.

So, with these numbers, are millennials right in thinking that they do not need estate plans? What are some of the most common concerns that millennials have when looking to plan their futures? While it’s impossible to capture all aspects of an estate plan in a single article, below is a brief snapshot of why estate plans might be the logical next step for any millennial looking to secure their future.

Broadening our scope, just 33 percent of Americans have a will or living trust, despite the fact that more than 50 percent believe estate planning to be at least somewhat significant. One in three respondents, when asked why they don’t have a will, said they don’t have enough assets to leave behind. 

First New York Federal Credit Union has opened a new in-school branch at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School. 

The new branch is staffed by student volunteers, who will gain valuable experience by providing basic banking services to their fellow students and staff from the school and district, officials said.

The Spartan Branch joins Schenectady High School’s Patriot Branch as area high schools that now have First New York branches. Bank officials said the in-school branches provide a safe environment for student volunteers to practice real-world skills in banking, marketing, business and more.

Students in the Personal Finance Management and Investing 101 classes, which are focused on teaching financial literacy, money management and responsibility as well as how to be financial savvy with investments, will run the bank for their peers and BH-BL staff.

Banking practices can begin for many students at the elementary schools where student banking options are available. And, in sixth grade, students take a financial literacy course that touches upon money saving, how to manage a checking account, interest rates, taxes and much more.

BY Michael Poveda

According to the UHY 2022 Middle Market Trends Survey, over 20 percent of business owners have explored the option of outsourcing their accounting function and given today’s challenging business environment, that percentage is expected to grow.

Today’s business owners have their hands full just focusing on sustaining and growing their businesses, with little time to focus on their businesses’ accounting operations, despite that function’s importance. In fact, according to a survey by SCORE, a small business mentoring organization, a full 40 percent of small business owners say bookkeeping and taxes are the single worst part of owning a business. 

Yet, it is data from the accounting operations that should lay the foundation for important business decisions. Given that and given that few companies have full accounting capabilities in-house, outsourcing their businesses’ accounting functions is increasingly more attractive to business decision makers.

That is where Client Accounting Advisory Services (CAAS) comes in. CAAS allows a business to outsource its finance, back-office and accounting operations. It is a service offered by many accounting firms. It has benefits beyond outsourcing those activities. 

Since CAAS gives the accountant involvement in all data, transactions, trends, monitoring, capturing and analysis of the business’ financial activities, the accountant is in a unique position to provide informed advice on all business decisions and intelligent input on risk/reward situations. 

By Jill Nagy

Community Bank NA opened an office in Saratoga Springs last November, filling a gap between its outposts in Latham and Whitehall and providing a more convenient location for commercial banking customers in Saratoga and Warren counties. Jeffrey M. Levy, Community Bank’s newly named president of commercial banking, who heads the new office, said that it “demonstrates our commitment to the Saratoga-Glens Falls community.”

The office is located on the second floor of The Washington building, 422 Broadway, upstairs from Northshire Bookstore and Kilwins. At least initially, the office will serve commercial clients with lending, insurance and wealth management services. The office will not accept deposits and there are no teller cages. Its four employees are “just the start,” according to Levy. Two of them will concentrate on making loans and one each will provide insurance and wealth management services. 

Community Bank has 11 branches in the Capital Region, including Albany, Latham, Whitehall, and Lake Placid.  Their southernmost office is in Albany’s Corporate Woods. Their community focus places them in non-metropolitan areas, i.e., not in large cities. In addition to the Capital Region, the bank has offices in Northeast Pennsylvania, Vermont, Western Massachusetts, and every county in Upstate New York, Levy said.  

There are no immediate plans for further expansion, Levy said, but noted that Gens Falls “fits in with our whole model.”

Levy has been with Community Bank since 2018. Before that, he held executive positions with NBT Bank and M&T Bank.  “Today, I am from Saratoga Springs,” he said. He has lived in the city for three years, after 21 years in Guilderland.

by Kenneth J. Entenmann

As the world watches the events unfold in Ukraine, it goes without saying that what we are witnessing is tragic and the human toll is something that cannot be understated. Military action always brings uncertainty, and it is difficult to assess the full extent of the situation while it is unfolding. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is no exception, and it has resulted in stunning market volatility.

However, strictly from an investment and economic perspective, geopolitical events rarely cause major bear markets or recessions. The markets tend to view them like natural disasters. That is, they are highly regionalized, they cause significant loss of property and life, but tend to be short-lived. 

Historically, dating back to the Iraq invasion of Kuwait in 1990, there have been nine global military “interventions.” The time period from the onset of the event and the market bottom ranges from 0 days to 70 days. For example, the market bottomed out 10 days after the 9/11 attack in 2001. The average decline in the S&P 500 is -6.9 percent. Importantly, the markets tend to recover quickly. 

The average one-month return after the bottom is 2.2 percent, the three-month return is 5.4 percent and the one-year return is 13.5 percent. Like all geopolitical events, the Russia-Ukraine conflict is impossible to predict. That said, it is likely to follow history’s pattern for a few reasons.

First, when we look at the global economy as a whole, the Russian and Ukrainian economies are small. The U.S. economy is the largest in the world at $21.4 trillion and nearly 25 percent of the total global GDP. By comparison, the Russian GDP is $1.7 trillion and 1.94 percent of global GDP while Ukraine’s GDP is estimated to be $156 billion.