BWFA News

By:  Michael LaVina | Portfolio Manager & Director of Trading In the fall of 1977, a handful of local string players in Howard County got together and formed the Columbia Chamber Orchestra.  Over the next eleven years this group grew… Read More

By Meghan Manas | Office Manager We are excited to introduce a new feature, “Tell Me Something Good,” that we plan to include twice a year in The Advisor magazine.  If you know or would like to nominate someone who is… Read More

By: Meghan Manas | Office Manager New Service for Divorcing Couples Offered by BWFA We are pleased to announce that our Director of Tax Services, Benjamin Dorsey, CPA, CFP®, MST, recently completed a specialized education program in professional divorce analysis… Read More

By:  Rob Carpenter | President & CEO Today’s investment landscape is more complex than it has ever been. Increasingly, it takes a team of dedicated experts to manage your money, and more and more people are realizing the value of… Read More

By:  Meghan Manas | Office Manager On August 16, 2014, more than 600 runners/walkers turned out for the second annual 2 Miles for 2 hearts charity event. BWFA was proud to be the premier sponsor. In August of 2012, two… Read More

By: Thad Ismart, CFP ® | Financial Planner As your retirement approaches, it is important to understand how Social Security factors into your retirement income. Having a clear picture of all of your Social Security options can help you create… Read More

By:  Mark Stinson, CPA, CFP ®, MBA | Director of Planning The IRS has issued new “guidance” for IRA rollover rules, and investors are confused. Here is what the IRS website states: “Beginning as early as January 1, 2015, you can… Read More

As U.S. stocks hit record highs in the first half of 2013, some commentators raised concern that our markets are entering another “bubble.” However, when BWFA’s investment team examined the state of the U.S. economy and the condition of our… Read More

For many business owners, their personal life and business life are practically inseparable. That is why it’s important to integrate all the aspects of owning a business in developing a personal financial plan. To deliver the combined expertise that a… Read More

Think your identity is safe from hackers? Think again, especially if you live in South Carolina. A hacker struck the South Carolina Department of Revenue in October of 2012, stealing 3.6 million Social Security numbers and data from 387,000 credit and… Read More

Congress and the last two presidents have put legislation into effect that makes the payment of college education expenses a potentially lucrative tax savings tool. Parents and college students should plan carefully so that they maximize these tax savings. Unfortunately,… Read More

By: Meghan Manas, Office Manager Adopting our daughter was the biggest decision Eric and I made; not only that, it was an expensive decision that could have affected our finances in the future if we had not planned properly. In… Read More

By:  Meghan Manas – Office Manager Employee Spotlight  – Ben Dorsey | CPA, CFP®, MST – Director of Tax Services Tell us a bit about yourself. where did you grow up?  I grew up in Mt. Airy, MD and went… Read More

By:  Mike LaViña – Portfolio Manager and Director of Trading Last quarter, BWFA announced a partnership with the Community Foundation of Howard County as part of our effort to facilitate charitable giving in our community. We believe that giving back… Read More

By:  Jim Edwards | CFP® – Financial Advisor and Portfolio Manager The stock market can be compared to an ocean with individual companies representing boats traveling on its seas. There are times when certain parts of this ocean are choppier than… Read More

By:  Brian MacMillan – Managing Director M&A The majority of medical practice owners do not know how to sell their practices, and many are not aware that selling to a third party is even an option. Since many doctors are… Read More

By:  Philip Weiss | CFA, CPA – Chief Investment Analyst Background Each year on the first weekend in May, value investors flock to Omaha, Nebraska, for Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK) annual meeting, which has also been referred to as “Woodstock for… Read More

By: Joseph Caputo – Chief Information Officer and Associate Portfolio Manager Has your business established a retirement plan that is right for you and your employees? If you are like many business owners, you probably do not have the time… Read More

By:  Mark Stinson | CPA, CFP®, MBA – Director of Planning America’s residential sector was once the preserve of “mom-and-pop” investors or local developers. The role of hedge funds became apparent only when those who bet massively against the housing market—”The… Read More

By:  Thad Ismart, CFP ® – Financial Planner What do Picasso, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Howard Hughes have in common? They all passed away intestate—that is, they passed away without a Will. If you have not created a… Read More

By:  Debbie Daskaloff | Development Officer, Community Foundation of Howard County Baltimore-Washington Financial Advisors is pleased to partner with the Community Foundation of Howard County to offer our clients the ability to participate in donor-Advised Funds.  The Community Foundation of Howard… Read More

By:  Meghan Manas | Office Manager Our Family Continues to Grow At BWFA, we strive to provide the best possible customer service for our clients. with that goal in mind, and to keep up with the needs of our growing… Read More

Most tax professionals breathe a sigh of relief after tax returns are filed  and tax season ends. Many seasoned tax professionals see April 16 as an opportunity to take an industry-sanctioned holiday and recharge their batteries at the tropical venue of… Read More

A strategic fit is defined as “a situation that occurs when a specific project, target company, or product is seen as appropriate with respect to an organization’s overall objectives.” Most executives seeking to expand their company through a merger or… Read More

By:  Rob Williams | CFP ®, MSF – Chief Investment Officer  Market timers believe they can earn superior investment returns by identifying the best time to buy and sell stocks based on their analysis of economic and market indicators. Market timers… Read More

By:  Philip Weiss | CFA , CPA – Chief Investment Analyst When selecting stocks for client portfolios, we seek securities that we believe have the potential to generate total annual returns of at least 10 percent to 15 percent over a… Read More

By:  Joe Caputo | Chief Information Officer and Associate Portfolio Manager  Investing at an early age is now more important than ever. With pensions becoming a thing of the past and uncertainty surrounding the future of Social Security, self-funding your… Read More

By:  Jim Edwards | CFP ® – Financial Advisor & Portfolio Manager We are at interesting generational crossroads these days between the well- to-do “baby boomers,” who have large investment accounts, and their children, who have lesser means and are sometimes… Read More

By:  Thad Ismart | CFP ® – Financial Planner Whether you’re 21 and fresh out of college or 81 and deciding if it’s time to move to a retirement community, you should always have a working financial plan. Accomplishing long-term financial… Read More

Client Advisory Board By:  Rob Carpenter I President & CEO Without feedback from our clients, it’s difficult to know whether we are living up to their expectations. That’s why, more than 15 years ago, we formed the Client Advisory Board—a small group of… Read More

Recently, Brian MacMillan, BWFA’s Managing Director of Mergers & Acquisitions, published an article for SmartCEO. Brian is known as one of SmartCEO’s Thought Leaders. He presented the BWFA process of helping business owners sell their small- to medium-sized business. You can… Read More

At BWFA we strive to provide the best possible customer service for our clients. With that goal in mind, and to keep up with the needs of our growing client base, BWFA is pleased to welcome our two newest staff… Read More

By: Meghan Manas The Green Spring Tennis & Educational Foundation The Green Spring Tennis & Educational Foundation helps promote the development and growth of tennis for adults and youth in the local community. BWFA was a premier sponsor for their TennisFest… Read More

By: Joe Caputo Our world is now almost entirely a digital reality. Facebook has led the way with its 1.1 billion users. YouTube has over a billion users. LinkedIn and Twitter each have well over 200 million users and are still… Read More

Sue Kelley is already scheduling appointments for the 2013* filing season. If you haven’t scheduled your annual meeting with your BWFAtax advisor, or if you’re new to BWFA’s tax services, she’d love to hear from you to set upan appointment!… Read More

By: Sharolyn Hockey It’s dejà vu all over again! Last year it was the late-hitting American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 tax law changes, and this time it’s the shutdown, but once again the Internal Revenue Service won’t be ready… Read More

By: Sharolyn Hockey The Patient Privacy and Affordable Care Act (also known as the “ACA” or “Obamacare”) dominated the headlines before and after its rollout. What many Americans still don’t realize is that the ACA included way more in its… Read More

By : Brian MacMillan If you ask a business owner how much he’d like to get for the sale of his business, the answer inevitably is, “As much as possible!” While this might seem to be the obvious answer, getting… Read More

By: Chris Kelly With the seemingly infinite amount of information available at the fingertips of individual investors – from financial websites, to mobile investment apps, to investment do-it-yourself media personalities (and the list goes on and on) – some investors… Read More

By: Philip Weiss It’s well-known that dividend-paying stocks can be an important part of retiree portfolios. These stocks can provide cash flow for income needs while giving retirees the opportunity to hold investments that will grow in value. But dividends… Read More

By: Thad Ismart At the beginning of every year, many of us make resolutions to become healthier and to have a more active lifestyle. However, often very little time is given to address our financial lives. Financial goals can be… Read More

By: Mark Stinson …we all think we’re above-average investors, just like we all think we’re above-average drivers… -Jack Bogle Author and financial advisor Carl Richards spoke at the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA) East Conference in Philadelphia in… Read More

By: Rob Carpenter Fiduciary Vs. Suitability  There are two primary groups that offer investment advice and services to clients – investment advisors, such as BWFA, and investment brokers who generally work for broker-dealers. The key distinction between these two groups… Read More

Adopting our daughter was the biggest decision Eric and I made; not only that, it was an expensive decision that could have affected our finances in the future if we had not planned properly. In January 2011 the U.S. Department… Read More

Employee Q & A with: Phil Weiss, CFA, CPA Chief Investment Analyst Hire Date: June 3, 2013 Tell us a bit about yourself. Where did you grow up? I grew up in Livingston, NJ. My family (I also have a… Read More

By Brian MacMillan (bmacmillan@bwfa.com; (410) 461-3900) Most business owners are so focused on running and growing their business that they have not planned for the eventual sale or transition of that business. Yet, most of their wealth is tied up… Read More

It’s hard to believe the end of the year is almost here! As we enter the fourth quarter, it’s time for taxpayers to get organized and plan for their 2013 tax returns and recordkeeping needs. Here are some  important issues… Read More

As we look to the fourth quarter of 2013 and into 2014, I want highlight the progress that we’ve made in this past year to enhance every aspect of the services we deliver. We’re proud of the relationships we have… Read More

At BWFA, our overall investing approach is centered on identifying stocks that can be part of diversified portfolios that are appropriate for the models we have developed to invest clients’ assets. While we tend to favor industries with above-average growth… Read More

Through July of this year, the U.S. equity markets have posted returns of approximately 20%. This strong performance has led some clients to ask why we bother to diversify their portfolios, since this diversification into foreign assets (equities or bonds)… Read More

As U.S. stocks hit record highs in the first half of 2013, some commentators raised concern that our markets are entering another “bubble.” However, when BWFA’s investment team examined the state of the U.S. economy and the condition of our… Read More

If you are self-motivated, wow, this world is tailored for you. The boundaries are all gone. But, if you are not self-motivated, this world will be a challenge because the walls, ceilings and floors that protected people are also disappearing…. Read More

Myth #1: You will not spend as much money during retirement as you spend now. The general rule of thumb is that you will need approximately 70% of your pre-retirement income in order to maintain a lifestyle similar to that… Read More

As BWFA continues to grow, we continue to add new employees. We are excited to welcome the following individuals to our family: Thad Ismart, CFP® Financial Planner – Thad has been working in the financial planning industry since 2005. He is… Read More

BWFA has added a new department that we are calling Business Services. I’m proud to have joined the BWFA team to deliver a comprehensive approach for selling and buying small- and mid-sized privately held businesses. The idea for offering business… Read More

On January 2nd, Congress passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, narrowly avoiding the fiscal cliff. The IRS delayed the start of tax season and scrambled to play catch up to the late-hitting changes. Because of the delay, many… Read More

A real estate investment trust, or REIT, is a security that trades like a stock on the major exchanges and invests in real estate directly. Typical REITs might include a group of apartment buildings, hotels, commercial real estate, or timber… Read More

  BWFA has occupied our current office space for nine years.  As our client base has grown, the traffic in and out of our meeting rooms has increased substantially, and scheduling of those meetings has occasionally been a challenge. Recently, we… Read More

It’s been a busy three months. During that time, we added several key staff members—always with the goal of improving our customer service and support. We hired Chief Information Officer Joe Caputo so that we can utilize the best technology… Read More

Client satisfaction is the most important metric by which we measure our success. To better understand our clients’ expectations, we recently conducted our first Net Promoter Score (NPS) survey. We are pleased to share the highly positive results with you…. Read More

BWFA Welcomes Three New Staff Members Sandy Hornor joined BWFA as Director of Sales. He has over 22 years of experience in the financial services industry, including leadership positions at Old Mutual Investment Partners, New York Life Investment Management, and MFS… Read More

New BWFA Summer Hours 9 AM-5 PM Monday-Friday In Effect from Memorial Day to Labor Day Offices Closed for Federal and NYSE Holidays