Articles
Articles written by members of the OJM Group have been printed in a wide variety of publications - in trade journals for physicians, dentists, general business owners, construction businesses, yachting and marina businesses, and general financial periodicals as well. If you have a publication and are interested in using one of our articles, please contact us.
Our Authors
Recent Articles
Doctors Have "Unique" Financial Challenges
According to the US Census Bureau, the average American family earns less than $49,000. That translates to an income tax liability of less than 12%. 98% of American families will NEVER be worth more than $2,000,000 and owe an estate tax. Lastly, the average American is an employee, not an employer, and doesn’t have the government determine how much income they receive for their work. As a result, most people will never be sued because of work-related activities and don’t have to worry about their income dropping substantially each year. Therefore, there is no need for most people to address protection from lawsuits or to take advantage of every possible tax benefit when times are good. Does the situation above sound like your life? Of course it doesn’t.
Maximize the Only "Asset-Protected" Investments
As the authors of the book For Doctors Only: A Guide to Working Less and Building More, we have been helping the medical community shield assets from potential lawsuits for years. While we often establish sophisticated trusts, limited partnerships, captive insurance companies and even offshore arrangements to protect our clients' assets and help them save taxes, often we need not be that creative.
Protect Your Home - or Lose it in a Lawsuit
They say your home is your castle. Did you ever think there might be barbarians at your gate? With half of all medical malpractice lawsuit judgments over $1 million dollars, there is a real chance that a lawsuit judgment against you or your partners could actually threaten your personal assets. If you aren't lucky enough to live in one of the few states with excellent "homestead" protection, you are likely to be at risk of losing your home in the event of an outrageous judgment (and even homestead is now threatened as well).
Investment Secrets: Higher Returns with Less Risk
The volatility of the stock market, dropping interest rates, and weakening of the dollar impact your investment returns. The purpose of this article is to describe the factors that are impacting the economy and investment landscape and then share an investment strategy that has a history of higher returns and lower risk than the S&P 500 Index (which most advisors compare themselves to).
Let the Government Bail YOU Out!
The recent developments in 2008 have left many of us with less wealth than we had just a year ago. Our home and stock market investments are likely worth a lot less and it may be years until the values of these assets return to previous levels. The federal government has agreed to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out poorly run or mismanaged corporations. These bailouts will ultimately result in significant tax increases for all of us. It is natural for you to feel frustrated and upset that you will have to pay for other people's mistakes. What you didn't know, until now, was what you could do to get the government to help bail you out with some tax savings. Though our firm has strategies for managing investments in this type of market, the purpose of this article is to highlight a few tactics for regaining some of your lost wealth. The strategy has two simple steps to help you make up for lost wealth. First, you will reduce your taxes now so you have more to add to your short-term investment portfolio. Second, you will focus on building future wealth more tax-efficiently for the long-term.
Your Investment Strategy May Need an Overhaul
Even though the Fed suggested last month that the economy had bottomed out and is poised to start growing again, the central bank has yet to lay out details of its so-called "exit strategy" to unwind all the steps it has taken in the past year to try and get the economy back on track. The Federal Reserve is studying the idea of borrowing money from the money-market mutual fund industry as part of its exit strategy to avoid post-crisis inflation. Some economists worry that if the Fed is too slow to rein in its various liquidity programs, all the cash it has injected into the financial system could spark a jump in inflation. "The ingredients for runaway inflation down the road remain in place," said Allen Sinai, chief global economist for Decision Economics. "Right now inflation is quiet, but it's a sneaky problem.” Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has repeatedly said the central bank has the tools it needs to pull back on these programs, but he has yet to say how or when it will do so. Let's quickly reflect on why the inflation/deflation outlook is now the hardest investing problem to solve...
Adjust Your Investment Strategy Before It's Too Late
The purpose of this article is to give you a better understanding of what inflation and deflation are, explain the investment risk associated with each, and share a few suggestions on how to hedge your bets so that your portfolio is not unnecessarily at risk.
Keep the Insurance Profit Yourself
As medical reimbursements continue to shrink and threats of continued healthcare reform loom, a very popular question we receive at conferences and in consults with high income practices is, “Would owning part of a Small Insurance Company help me and my practice become more financially efficient?” If your practice currently generates over $3,000,000 of revenues and you would like to take advantage of opportunities to improve the financial success you realize from your hard work without having to see any more patients, then this article may prove to be very valuable information for you.
Doctors Betrayed by Traditional Financial Strategies, Part 2
In Part 1 of this article, you learned why the strategies and techniques used by most attorneys, accountants and financial advisors betray physician families that pay high marginal taxes, are subject to heightened government control, and have greater liability risk and retirement challenges than average American families. Part 1 offered three common mistakes doctor families' make: 1. Not using a corporation (or using the wrong type of corporation). 2. Owning ANYTHING in your name, spouses's name, or jointly with spouse. 3. Wasting time and money on traditional qualified retirement plans.
Doctors Betrayed by Traditional Financial Strategies, Part 1
According to the US Census Bureau, the average American family earns less than $49,000. To become a large national firm in the fields of law, accounting, investments and insurance, you MUST deliver services, products and strategies that can be replicated millions and millions of times. Before you can understand why MOST strategies and services are bad for doctors, you must understand the dynamic of the “Average American,” for whom these products and services are designed.
