#educationplanning

A 2023 survey revealed a notable shift in public opinion over the past decade about the value of a college degree: 56% of Americans think a four-year college degree isn’t worth the cost due to students graduating with significant debt and a lack of specific job skills vs. 42% who believe college is worth it. The survey numbers have almost reversed from ten years ago, while college enrollment has declined by about 15% over the same period. (1,2)

A big reason many Americans are foregoing college is the cost. For the 2022-2023 year (most recent data available), the average one-year cost for tuition, fees, room, and board was $23,250 for in-state students at a four-year public college, $40,550 for out-of-state students, and $53,430 at a four-year private college. (3) But many schools, especially “elite” private colleges, cost substantially more, with some over the $80,000 mark. (4)

Causes and Consequences

Public misgivings about college intensified during the pandemic, when academic instruction moved online, and students had to pay large tuition bills despite missing out on the positive aspects of campus life. During the 2022-2023 school year, 62% of high school graduates enrolled in college, down from 66.2% in 2019-2020. (5)

Sky-high costs and growing skepticism are not the only factors playing into enrollment declines. A hot job market and higher earnings for less-educated workers has made it easier for high school graduates to justify skipping college and head straight into the workforce. At the same time, alternative forms of job training, such as apprenticeships and certificate programs, have become more prevalent and are increasingly seen as viable educational paths toward a good job. (6)

There has been a surge of interest in public colleges, particularly state flagship universities, many of which offer robust academic and student life opportunities comparable to their private counterparts at a lower cost. Conversely, lower student enrollment is putting financial pressure on many small schools and forcing some to close their doors. (7)

FAFSA Changes Coming Soon

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) typically opens every year on October 1 for high school seniors planning to attend college in the following year and for returning college students. However, due to an extensive redesign of the FAFSA, the filing season for the 2024-2025 school year will be delayed until December.

The simplified FAFSA will have fewer questions — 46 compared to 108 previously — and the direct transfer of financial information from the IRS to the FAFSA will now be mandatory. A new student aid index (SAI) will replace the current expected family contribution (EFC) terminology, and a raft of changes to the formula could impact the amount of need-based aid offered to students.

For example, the simplified FAFSA will expand Pell Grants to more low-income students and will link eligibility to family size and the federal poverty level. The income protection allowance for parents will increase by 20%, and the income protection allowance for most students will increase by 35%, which will shield more income from the needs analysis formula.

The new FAFSA will no longer provide an advantage to parents with multiple children in college at the same time. The current FAFSA divides the EFC by the number of children in college, but the new FAFSA does not. This could decrease aid eligibility significantly for middle- and high-income students.

Cash support and other money paid on a student’s behalf by grandparents or other relatives will not need to be reported on the new FAFSA, so they can help with college expenses without affecting the student’s eligibility for financial aid based on the FAFSA. (Grandparent gifts will likely continue to be counted by the CSS Profile, an additional aid application typically used by private colleges when distributing their own institutional aid.)

The Specter of Student Loans

Even with a discount on the sticker price, many students need to take out federal, and sometimes private, loans to cover college expenses. About 54% of the class of 2021 graduated with student debt averaging $29,100. (8)

Interest rates on federal student loans are based on the rate for the 10-year U.S. Treasury note and reset each year. For the 2023-2024 school year, rates have increased again and are now the highest in a decade.

In August 2022, an executive order cancelled up to $10,000 in federal student loans ($20,000 for Pell Grant recipients) for borrowers with incomes below certain limits, but the order was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2023. (9)

As a result of the action from SCOTUS, The Department of Education recently launched the most generous federal student loan income-driven repayment (IDR) plan to date — the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The SAVE Plan includes multiple new benefits for borrowers, some of which take effect now and others that will take effect in July 2024 when the plan is fully implemented. Learn more here and here.

Nine repayment pauses have been in effect since the pandemic began in March 2020, but payments will soon start again in October — a sobering reality for millions of borrowers after three-and-a-half years of reprieve.

Will College Pay Off?

Many people go to college because they want to pursue a lucrative career and/or qualify for a specific occupation that requires a bachelor’s degree or higher. One smart approach is to treat college choices like any other business decision — by considering the potential return on investment (ROI).

A Georgetown University analysis of public data from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard found wide disparity in lifetime earnings among college graduates. The average difference between a high school and college graduate’s lifetime wages is about $1 million, but the difference between the lowest- and the highest-paying majors is $3.4 million. Degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) had the highest ROI, followed by business and health majors. (10)

Whether a student aspires to be an engineer or a teacher, it’s important to take a hard look at earning potential when assessing the value of any academic program. Students who plan to enter lower-paying fields may fare better if they can keep their costs down and hold borrowing to a minimum.

Tips for Managing Costs

To help avoid overborrowing, here are some ways for students to reduce college costs: pick a college with a lower net price (use the net price calculator on every college’s website); focus on in-state colleges and/or attend community college for one or two years and then transfer to a four-year college; aggressively seek out need-based and merit aid; live at home or become a resident assistant to get free housing; work part time throughout college and budget earnings wisely; and if possible, use college credits earned in high school to graduate from college early.

Sources:

1-2, 5-6) The Wall Street Journal, March 31, 2023, and March 29, 2023

3, 8) The College Board, 2022

4) Harvard University, 2023; Stanford University, 2023

7) CNBC, June 17, 2023

9) The New York Times, June 30, 2023

10) Georgetown University, 2015 (most current data)

Prepared by Broadridge. Edited by BFSG. Copyright 2023.

Disclosure: BFSG does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to BFSG’s website or blog or incorporated herein and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s). Please see important disclosure information here.

The Department of Education recently launched the most generous federal student loan income-driven repayment (IDR) plan to date — the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan. The SAVE Plan comes after the U.S. Supreme Court blocked federal student loan cancellation in June and before payments are set to restart in October after   more than three years of payment pauses. The SAVE Plan will be implemented in phases, but eligible borrowers can sign up online now with a “beta version” of the application.

What should I know about the SAVE Plan?

The SAVE Plan is an income-driven repayment plan that calculates a borrower’s monthly payment based on income and family size. It replaces the current Revised Pay As You Earn (REPAYE) Plan (which, before SAVE, was the most generous IDR plan).

The SAVE Plan includes multiple new benefits for borrowers, some of which take effect now and others that will take effect in July 2024 when the plan is fully implemented.1

Benefits that take effect now:

• The amount of income protected from loan payments under SAVE will increase from 150% of the federal poverty level to 225%. For a single borrower, this equates to earning less than $32,800 a year ($67,500 for a family of four). Borrowers under the threshold will have their loan payments set to $0.
• Unpaid monthly interest outside of a borrower’s monthly payment will no longer accrue, so loan balances won’t increase if borrowers make their monthly payments as required under SAVE (even in cases where a borrower’s monthly payment is set to $0).
• Married borrowers who file their taxes separately will no longer be required to include their spouse’s income in their payment calculation for SAVE. These borrowers will also have their spouse excluded from their family size when calculating payments.

Benefits that will take effect in July 2024:

• For undergraduate loans, monthly payments will be capped at 5% of discretionary income (compared to 10% of discretionary income under REPAYE), and graduate loans will be capped at 10% of discretionary income. Borrowers who have both undergraduate and graduate loans will pay a weighted average of between 5% and 10% of their income based on the original principal balances of their loans.
• For borrowers with original principal  balances of $12,000 or less, remaining loan balances will be forgiven after 10 years of payments. For original loan balances over $12,000, the maximum repayment period will increase by one year for every additional $1,000 borrowed. For example, a $13,000 loan will be forgiven after 11 years of payments, a $14,000 loan will be forgiven after 12 years, and so on. (Under REPAYE, loan balances were forgiven after 20 years of payments.)

How do I enroll in SAVE?

There are different ways to enroll in the SAVE Plan.

• Borrowers who are already enrolled in the REPAYE plan will be automatically enrolled in the SAVE plan, and their monthly payments will be adjusted automatically with no action needed on their part.
• Borrowers who want to enroll in SAVE (or switch from another plan besides REPAYE) will need to log in to the federal student aid website to fill out an application. The application is estimated to take less than 10 minutes to complete, and borrowers will need their FSA ID, financial information, personal information, and spouse’s information (if applicable). The current SAVE application is a beta version, but according to the Department of Education, borrowers who apply using the beta version will have their applications processed and will not need to resubmit another application later.
• Borrowers who are in default on their federal student loans will need to get their loans back in “good standing” before being eligible for SAVE.  Default borrowers can do this through the government’s Fresh Start Program.
• Borrowers who are enrolled in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program will have their remaining loan balances forgiven after 10 years, regardless of which IDR plan they are enrolled in.

For more information about the new SAVE Plan, and to see estimated monthly payments based on income and family size, visit the federal student aid website.

Prepared by Broadridge. Edited by BFSG. Copyright 2023.

Sources:

1) U.S. Department of Education, 2023

Disclosure: BFSG does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to BFSG’s website or blog or incorporated herein and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s). Please see important disclosure information here.

This past June, the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s plan to cancel up to $20,000 in federal student loan debt for qualified borrowers.  As a result, millions of student loan borrowers are scheduled to start paying back their loans in October after a three-and-a-half-year reprieve.

Fraudsters and scam artists have already begun to prey on vulnerable borrowers by posing as legitimate debt relief companies, promising to help them repay their loans. Many of them use aggressive tactics, make false claims, and charge unnecessary fees. If you are getting ready to repay your student loans, you may be contacted by companies offering to help you.  Before you act, here are some signs that you might be dealing with a student loan repayment scam.

Up-front or monthly fees

Student loan repayment scams often try to charge an up-front or monthly fee for programs that you can normally access for free. It’s important to remember that you do not have to pay anyone to help you manage your student loans. Student loan forgiveness, discharge, consolidation, forbearance, and deferment are some of the free programs offered by most loan servicers.

High-pressure tactics

Some scam artists will use high-pressure tactics to try to get you to take advantage of an offer or program.  They may instruct you to act immediately or say that your student loan has been flagged.  They may even threaten you with legal action or wage garnishment.  A legitimate company will never use these types of aggressive tactics or pressure you to act quickly when contacting you about your student loan repayment options.

Requests for personal and/or financial information

A scammer may ask you for personal and/or financial information, such as your Social Security or bank account number or your Federal Student Aid (FSA) login information. Never share your personal or financial information with anyone via email, text message, or over the phone.

False claims of affiliation

Scam artists may also falsely claim to be affiliated with your loan servicer or an official organization, such as the U.S. Department of Education. Never use the contact information provided in an email, text, or voice message from an unknown sender, because it may be tied to a scam. Only use the contact information that is provided on your loan servicer’s website or billing statement.

Attempts to come between you and your loan servicer

Be wary of any company that attempts to come between you and your loan servicer.  Scam artists may do this by instructing you to make your loan payments directly to them or by asking you to communicate with them instead of your loan servicer. Always refer to your loan servicer when making payments on your student loans and contact them directly with any questions about your loans or loan repayment.

If you are ever the victim of a student loan repayment scam, be sure to report it immediately to your student loan servicer, the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov, and your state’s attorney general.

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2022–2023

Prepared by Broadridge. Edited by BFSG. Copyright 2023.

Disclosure: BFSG does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to BFSG’s website or blog or incorporated herein and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s). Please see important disclosure information here.

By: Henry VanBuskirk, CFP®, Wealth Manager

One of the biggest decisions that a person about to graduate from high school can make in life is whether or not they choose to go to college. That’s also why it’s no coincidence that when toymaker Milton Bradley was designing the board game, The Game of Life®, one of the first things you do in the game is to decide whether or not your character will go to college.¹ In the real world, electing to go to college is not as easy of a decision. The actual game of life is much more complicated. Going to college means a significant financial cost for you and your loved ones that has outpaced inflation over time. To highlight this, take the University of Pennsylvania’s tuition and associated expenses in 1960 (the year that the board game Life® was published).

Now fast forward to the 2020-2021 academic year for the University of Pennsylvania and the price tags have increased drastically:

I’m not here to preach one way or the other on whether or not this is wrong. I’m just here to point out that this is the reality we live in. If you went to college in the early 60s, imagine what life was like for you. If you have grandchildren, chances are that you want them to have a better start to the game of life than you did. If their parents do not have the means to fund college, then they will have to use student loans and fill out the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) to receive financial aid to help pay for those post-secondary education goals.

You may want to contribute to an investment vehicle to help them save for college. The most popular investment vehicle for saving for future college expenses is the 529 plan. There have been new changes to the 529 plan and how it interacts with the FAFSA form. My goal today is to show you how you can take advantage of these new changes to help your grandchildren have a better opportunity to graduate from college and have a fulfilling career of their choosing.

What is a 529 plan?

A 529 plan is an investment account that is sponsored by states, agencies, or investment companies, that grows tax-free, and distributions can be tax-free as long as the distributions are made to pay for qualified education expenses (such as tuition or room and board). In 2023, you can contribute up to $17k per person, per beneficiary. There is also the option to “superfund” a 529 plan, which would be making 5 years of contributions to the 529 plan in one year.  This is where you can put $85,000 into the 529 in year one (5 * $17,000) but cannot make additional contributions until year 6. This can also be used to help mitigate the size of your taxable estate at the time of your death. However, careful planning must be done since if the 529 plan is super funded and you pass away within the 5 years of super funding, the 529 plan as the contribution would then be added back to your estate.

The FAFSA Rules

The old FAFSA Rules when it came to grandparent-owned 529 plans were that distributions from the 529 plan would be counted as non-taxable income to the student and 50% of the distributed value would impact potential financial aid. This would impact the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), potentially meaning that less federal financial aid would be awarded to the student.

The new rules are that distributions from a grandparent-owned 529 plan are not counted at all towards FAFSA and are not considered non-taxable income to the student. The EFC is not impacted, and the grandparent-owned 529 plan is just assumed to not exist when it comes to awarding federal financial aid to the student. Keep in mind, however, that grandparent 529 plans are still considered on the CSS Profile (an additional financial aid form used by about 200 private colleges to award their institutional aid).

The rules for a parent-owned 529 plan are that the first $10,000 of a 529 plan account is excluded from FAFSA and only 5.64% of the account’s value above $10,000 is factored into the EFC when filing the FAFSA and determining any potential federal financial aid.

What does this mean for you?

If education planning is important to you and your family, it may be more beneficial to focus on having a greater balance in a grandparent-owned 529 plan rather than a parent-owned 529 plan. There also may be options to change the owner of a 529 plan from a parent to a grandparent, depending on the state that your 529 plan is in. If you have both a parent-owned and a grandparent-owned 529 plan, it is important to coordinate the distributions from each account for the optimal financial aid available for the student. Due to the new Secure Act 2.0, there is also the ability to roll over up to $35,000 of funds in a 529 plan to a Roth IRA for the beneficiary if the beneficiary chooses not to go to college. The funds had to be in the 529 plan for at least 15 years to take advantage of this and the amount that can be rolled over each year is subjected to the annual Roth contribution limits.

Conclusions

As a grandparent, now your grandchildren have all of the tools they need to succeed in any post-secondary education that they choose. You sit down with your grandchild, explain that you started a 529 plan to save for their future post-secondary education goals, and they give you a hug since they know that they can fulfill their dreams now because of you:

Ok, maybe some dreams should be scrutinized. I’m guessing you probably don’t want your legacy walking around in oversized shoes, wearing multicolored overalls, and donning a large fake red nose (and I’m not here to judge if that is what you want for your legacy).² If you wish, you can also change the beneficiary on the 529 plan at any time and as often as you like. Since Bart isn’t planning on using the funds in the 529 plan wisely, it may be prudent for you to change the 529 plan beneficiary to his more responsible sister, Lisa:

While Bart is upset that he won’t get any funds from the 529 plan (he’ll just need to pull himself up by his oversized bootstraps and work hard to finance his Clown College tuition), you and Lisa are ecstatic to learn how the new FAFSA rules for grandparent-owned 529 plans and how you contributing to a grandparent-owned 529 plan can bolster your grandchild’s future educational endeavors and help instill your personal morals and values to the next generation.³

Legacy planning is one of the most important financial planning topics that we address with our comprehensive financial planning services. If you are in a comfortable financial position where you are looking to help others in your family succeed by passing on your personal morals and values, we can help you fulfill those goals. To summarize, I would like to point out this chart from the National Center for Education Statistics:

To reference another board game from my childhood (this time from Hasbro), don’t take the Risk® of waiting to discuss your grandchildren’s future education needs with your family and your financial planner.⁴ The above chart shows that delaying this conversation means funding future education goals will only become more difficult over time. That hurdle can be conquered by setting up an investment vehicle like a 529 plan to fund future education expense needs now. Our team of Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) professionals is here to construct your comprehensive financial plan and be a sounding board for you to voice how you want your family legacy to be remembered by future generations. We’re here to help you win at this game of Life® (at least financially) and the first step to playing is by giving us a call at 714-282-1566 or emailing us directly at financialplanning@bfsg.com to schedule an appointment with our team.

Footnotes:

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_of_Life. Also sometimes called Life®.
2. Bart from The Simpsons
3. Lisa from The Simpsons
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_(game)

Sources:

• https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-history/tuition/tuition-1960-1969/
• https://archives.upenn.edu/exhibits/penn-history/tuition/tuition-2020-2030/
• https://www.forbes.com/advisor/student-loans/college-tuition-inflation/
• https://www.bankrate.com/loans/student-loans/college-tuition-inflation/#years
• https://www.wealthmanagement.com/college-planning/fafsa-gets-overhaul
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertfarrington/2021/10/29/grandparent-529-plans-get-a-boost-from-new-fafsa-form/?sh=4b02026e3acb

Disclosure: BFSG does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to BFSG’s website or blog or incorporated herein and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s). Please see important disclosure information here.

By: Henry VanBuskirk, CFP®, Wealth Manager

If you are a new parent, your mind is probably swirling with a myriad of thoughts about your child’s future. Your head is likely ringing with questions that you need answers to like:

1. Do I have enough life insurance coverage?
2. What changes to my budget do I have to make to maintain our lifestyle?
3. How do I save for my child’s future education needs?

While our firm helps answer these questions and many similar financial-related questions for new parents on a regular basis, I would like to take some time to focus on question #3 – “How do I save for my child’s future education needs?”. The answer to this question is dependent on your philosophy when it comes to saving for your child’s future education needs. College education may be very important to you, you may want your child to go to a vocational school, or you may just want to make sure that your child has a nest egg to use at their discretion when they reach adulthood. If you are a California resident, the state of California has a new program called CalKids that can help answer part of this question. Before we discuss this state program, I would like to briefly go over the ways people traditionally invest and save for minors.

Investment vehicles that offer the most flexibility for the child are UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) accounts or earmarking a taxable brokerage account owned by the parents that are for the child’s use when they become adults, but the parents maintain control of the account. UTMA accounts are considered gifts to the child and when the child reaches the age of majority (normally age 18), they become the rightful owner of the account and can use the proceeds on whatever they would like. Some people don’t like UTMA accounts since they pose a risk. Think about your mental state at 18. Would you want your child to receive that sum of money you saved for up to 18 years to go to your now 18-year-old adult child to spend it on whatever they wanted? Some people wouldn’t mind, but other people would. That’s where earmarking a taxable brokerage account owned by the parents comes in to play. The account owner would retain control of the account even after the child reaches age 18.

If you are gung-ho about making sure your child goes to college or vocational school, the 529 plan may be the best fit for you. The 529 plan allows for tax-free growth and tax-free withdrawals as long as the funds are used for qualified educational expenses such as tuition and room and board. With the new Secure Act 2.0 legislation that passed, up to $35,000 of unused funds can over time be rolled over into a Roth IRA in the 529 plan beneficiary’s name. This allows for some optionality for helping set up your child’s future success in education and/or retirement.

What do these investment vehicles have to do about the CalKids program? They all have one common thread. They are all just mechanisms to help save for your part of your child’s future goals, whatever they may be.

The CalKids program is a program that gives parents of children born on or after June 1, 2022, regardless of the parent’s income, up to $100 for that child to use for college, vocational, or professional schools. Here is the exact breakdown of how that $100 is awarded:

CalKids also offers additional funding for some students in grades 1 through 12 that are deemed in a low-income household by the state, as defined by the Local Control Funding Formula, can receive additional awards from the state:

The CalKids program works very similarly to a 529 Plan, where the funds are invested, grow tax-free and distributions are also tax-free if they are used for qualified educational expenses. Similar to a 529 plan, the investment growth on CalKids funds that aren’t used for qualified educational expenses are taxed at ordinary income with a 10% penalty. Even if you use the funds for items other than qualified educational expenses, if you have an eligible newborn signed up for the CalKids program, they still received that CalKids money for free. BFSG has helped thousands upon thousands of clients in our 30+ year history and we still have yet to find a person that objects to receiving free money. Even if you have no intent on setting up a ScholarShare 529 college savings account (California’s state 529 plan) and you have no reasonable expectation that your child would be identified as being in a low-income household, you can still get $50 from the state of California just for letting the state know you have an eligible newborn and are willing to register the account on the program’s online portal.

If you are planning on having your child go to college, private school, or vocational school and will therefore have tuition costs, utilizing the CalKids program and investing in a 529 plan could be instrumental in helping you reach the goals you have for your child’s future education needs. Educational planning is one of the main pillars of financial planning and might be your highest or lowest priority to you right now. Similar to a tax professional combing through the tax code to try to legally maximize your tax refund, our job as Certified Financial Planner™ professionals is to sift through current and pending legislation to educate you on how to legally maximize your potential for meeting your short-term and long-term financial goals through tailored investing strategies, efficiently using the tax code, and utilizing state and national programs when appropriate to help meet those future financial goals. After all, if you’re a California resident with a child born after June 1, 2022 (and you made it this far into the blog post), you just learned how you can be awarded up to $100 from the CalKids program regardless of your income level.

If you are interested in sitting down with our team of CFP® professionals to help you compartmentalize your financial goals through a comprehensive financial plan, please feel free to email us at financialplanning@bfsg.com or give us a call today at 714-282-1566.

 Sources:

1. https://calkids.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/CalKIDS-Program-Information-Guide-3.7.23.pdf
2. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2022/08/10/california-officially-launches-nations-largest-college-savings-program-for-millions-of-students-and-all-newborns/
3. https://calkids.org/help-resources/frequently-asked-questions/

Disclosure: BFSG does not make any representations or warranties as to the accuracy, timeliness, suitability, completeness, or relevance of any information prepared by any unaffiliated third party, whether linked to BFSG’s website or blog or incorporated herein and takes no responsibility for any such content. All such information is provided solely for convenience purposes only and all users thereof should be guided accordingly. Please remember that different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk, and there can be no assurance that the future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy (including those undertaken or recommended by Company), will be profitable or equal any historical performance level(s). Please see important disclosure information here.