December 2013 Market Commentary

DECEMBER MARKET COMMENTARY:

November marked the third consecutive month of positive returns for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 Index, a measure of domestic large-cap stocks, gained 3.05%, while the Russell 2000 Index, which tracks U.S. small-cap stocks, returned 4.01% (Source: Morningstar, Inc).

Overseas, equity market returns were less robust. The MSCI World ex U.S. Index edged up 0.61%, while the MSCI Emerging Markets Index fell 1.46%. Fixed income lost ground as the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a measure of the domestic investment-grade bond universe, slipped 0.37%, and the Barclays U.S. Corporate High-Yield Index, which tracks the non-investment grade bond market, managed a 0.51% gain (Source: Morningstar, Inc).

Thank you for your continued support of White House Financial & Settlement Consulting. We wish you all a happy holiday season!!!

White House Financial & Settlement Consulting LLC

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114 South Main Street • Suite 300 • Chelsea, Michigan 48118 • Phone: (734) 433-1670 • Fax: (734) 433-1671

www.whitehousellc.com

Securities offered through Sigma Financial Corporation. Member FINRA/SIPC

Fee-based investment advisory services offered through Sigma Planning Corporation, a registered investment advisor

White House Financial & Settlement Consulting, LLC is independent of Sigma Financial Corp. and Sigma Planning Corp.

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COVID will not stop us providing unique settlement solutions using structured settlement annuities!

I hope that you are doing well! We just FINALLY completed the settlement of a case for a minor (age 17) that we were initially engaged by our plaintiff attorney client in February 2021, to provide structured settlement annuity quotes! Although the claimant was very close to the age of majority the key to the case was not giving him all of the settlement proceeds, which was over $120,000, at age 18. Having been in this business for over 20 years I cannot tell you the number of sad cases we have witnessed where the young claimant receives their settlement proceeds at age 18 only to blow through all the funds before anyone can blink and make bad decisions with the proceeds! This case involved two liability insurance carriers Liberty Mutual and Member Select. We coordinated multiple rounds of document revisions and had to have a separate set of different documents for each insurance carrier. In addition, one of the carriers would not fund the annuity until we had a fully executed court ord

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We recently were engaged by the Guardian Ad Litem (GAL) in the case of an 11 year old boy who was struck by a care while riding his bike. The father of the boy settled the case directly with the liability auto insurance carrier pre-suit and the GAL contacted us to ensure that the boy's settlement funds were handled appropriately. The case settled for a total of $65,000 and $59,000 was being allocated to the structured settlement annuity for the boy as follows: $5,000 paid immediately upon settlement $10,000 at age 18 $20,000 at age 21 $25,000 at age 25 $35,718 at age 30 this is total benefits of $95,718! The annuity was placed with a large life insurance company rated A+ by the A.M. Best rating agency and provided the family and GAL with the peace of mind that the young man would not receive the entire amount at age 18. In addition, due to the use of the structured settlement annuity, all of the interest gained during the payout period ($31,718 to be exact) is INCOME TAX FREE! T

SECURE ACT 2.0 New Retirement Rules Workshop

The SECURE Act is by far the biggest retirement-oriented legislation to be enacted in over a decade. Many Americans are left wondering, “What does this mean for me?” Here’s what you need to know. If you have any questions or if I can do anything for you please do not hesitate to email me at cyril.white@fourfinancial.com or call me at (734) 272-4322! I recently did three webinar workshops covering the SECURE Act and what it means for our clients. Click on the video link below to watch the full webinar workshop! The SECURE Act, passed in late 2019, is by far the biggest retirement-oriented legislation to be enacted in over a decade. The new law is a very good thing for some retirees and not such a good thing for others. Barely half of the workforce is covered by a retirement savings plan through their employer, and the SECURE Act is meant to address this issue, among other things. Here are some key provisions in the Act that may affect your retirement plans. 1. Required minimum distrib

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