Brown VPA IPS

General Q's

100

Why buy a mutual fund?

Mutual funds offer you a diversified investment vehicle without requiring a great deal of money. Your investment and those of other investors with similar objectives are pooled to purchase securities.

200

How do I select a mutual fund that is right for me?

Selecting a mutual fund is easy with these three steps:

1. Determine your investment goal.
2. Establish the amount of risk you're willing to take to achieve this goal.
3. Identify funds with investment objectives in line with your risk-tolerance level.

300

What can I do to ease my concerns over recent price fluctuations of the stock markets?

During a volatile market period, it's important to remain focused on your long-term investment goals. There's always market risk involved when investing, including possible loss of principal.

Retirement and Rollovers

100

What is the annual deadline for contributing to my traditional or Roth IRA?

You can make annual contributions to a traditional or Roth IRA from January 1 through the tax-filing deadline (excluding extensions) for the contribution year.

200

What is the difference between a transfer and rollover?

A transfer is a movement of funds between like-type plans (e.g., IRA to IRA, SEP to SEP, Roth IRA to Roth IRA).

A rollover is generally a movement of funds from one type of plan (e.g., 401k) to another type of plan (e.g., IRA).

300

What can I do to improve my chances of retiring comfortably?

If you can be disciplined about investing for retirement, you'll have the opportunity to accumulate money over time and be better prepared for your retirement years. If you develop a mindset of paying yourself in addition to paying your bills, you should have a steady flow of money working for you.

Saving for College

100

What is a 529 Plan?

529 Savings Plans are higher education savings plan trusts. Through these plans, individuals make investments to save for qualifying higher education costs of beneficiaries. The plans include interests in pooled investment funds under trusts established by states or local governmental entities and higher education savings plan trusts established by states.

200

How does a 529 savings plan work?

To start an account for a beneficiary, you need to complete an account application and make an initial contribution. Contributions to your account will be invested in shares of the portfolio(s) you choose after deducting any applicable sales charges. Shares can be redeemed from your account to pay for higher education costs of the beneficiary.

300

What are considered institutions of higher education?

Institutions of higher education include:

• Accredited, post-secondary educational institutions offering credit toward a bachelor's degree, an associate's degree, or a graduate level or professional degree.
• Post-secondary vocational institutions with recognized post-secondary credentials.

Institutions must also be eligible to participate in U.S. Department of Education student aid programs.