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Lurie Wealth Advisors proudly joins EisnerAmper

Global business advisory firm EisnerAmper announced that the partners and colleagues of Minneapolis-based accounting and advisory firm Lurie Wealth Advisors will be joining EisnerAmper's wealth management business in a transaction anticipated to close in September of 2022.

“We are thrilled to join EisnerAmper,” said Beth Kieffer Leonard, Lurie Managing Partner. “We see the world the same way – in how we serve clients, provide opportunities for our people and how we give back to our community. Additionally, our culture of innovation and our values align perfectly. This combination will provide our clients and the business community that we serve with greater resources that accelerate growth and opportunity, today and into the future.”

Founded in 1940, Lurie is a different kind of accounting firm, made great by exceptional talent and fueled by an entrepreneurial spirit driven to serve its community. Lurie Wealth Advisors was named to the “Top Firms by AUM” list for 2022 by Accounting Today.

Allan D. Koltin, CEO of Koltin Consulting Group, who advised both firms, commented, “The joining of these two forward-thinking firms creates a powerful combination. EisnerAmper has traditionally been known as a powerhouse on the east coast and, with the addition of Lurie, takes a huge step toward establishing a flagship presence in the Midwest.”

“We have respected Lurie for many years now,” said Jay Weinstein, EisnerAmper Vice Chair of Industries and Markets. “By supporting startups, accelerators, and organizations that support underserved groups, they don’t just get involved in their communities; they get invested. Adding these talented professionals to our cause is a real win for EisnerAmper, and an even bigger win for our clients. We warmly welcome Team Lurie to EisnerAmper.”

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About EisnerAmper
EisnerAmper, one of the largest business consulting firms in the world, is comprised of EisnerAmper LLP, a licensed independent CPA firm that provides client attest services; and Eisner Advisory Group LLC, an alternative practice structure that provides business advisory and non-attest services in accordance with all applicable laws, regulations, standards and codes of conduct. Clients are in all business sectors and leverage a complete menu of service offerings. Our combined entities include approximately 250 partners and 2,750-plus employees. For more information, please visit eisneramper.com, and be sure to follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

About Lurie LLP
Lurie was founded by entrepreneurs who sought to serve their community as a partner for growth. With more than 200 employees and offices in Minnesota and Florida, the firm provides fresh thinking and collaborative solutions in accounting, advisory, audit, tax, and wealth management. Lurie is a leading CPA and advisory firm in various industries, including healthcare, startups, technology and more. In joining with EisnerAmper, Lurie continues its 80+ year commitment to helping businesses thrive from startup through succession.

Lurie Wealth Advisors was recently named to Accounting Today’s annual list of the top 150 CPA Firms by assets under management (AUM), a ranking of leading CPA firms that provide financial planning and wealth management services.

For the past 16 years, Accounting Today has been compiling the list of leading CPA-affiliated wealth management firms by AUM in the United States. Per Accounting Today, this year’s Top 150 collectively reported managing $240 billion in client assets, a major leap from last year’s $206 billion, which was itself a huge jump from $136 billion the year before that.

To view the Top Firms by AUM 2022 list, click here. 

About Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC

Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC provides integrated wealth management and financial solutions, including investment advisory, consulting, financial planning, and other wealth management services to business owners, executives, and their families. Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC's parent company, is Lurie, LLP. To learn more, visit www.luriewealthadvisors.com.

About Lurie, LLP

Founded in 1940, Lurie, LLP is a prominent CPA & Advisory firm providing accounting, audit, tax planning, transaction advisory, retirement planning services, and wealth management to privately held and family businesses, as well as individuals. With more than 160 employees, offices in Minnesota and Southwest Florida, and membership in Moore Stephens North America, Lurie can serve clients across the United States and hundreds of countries worldwide. To learn more, visit: www.LurieLLP.com or follow on LinkedIn: @Lurie LLP.

NEW!  Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC (LWA) is seeking a part time Executive Assistant/Project Coordinator who will support our president and provide additional sales support for our team such as scheduling, client hospitality, meeting planning, and preparing reports. This position will require the utmost professionalism, confidentiality, courtesy, service mind-set, technology capabilities and multitasking abilities. For more information, click here to view the full job description.

Client Update: March 17, 2021

Lurie Wealth Advisors is closely following the latest Internal Revenue Service press release, stating that the Treasury Department and the IRS will delay the 2021 Individual federal tax filing deadline to May 17. While it gives taxpayers and the IRS more time, it is not yet known if states will conform to the new federal tax filing deadline.

As of now, your state tax filing deadline of April 15 may remain the same. We recommend that you still organize and send in all documents as originally planned. Please contact your CPA or Lurie Wealth Advisors for further guidance.

According to the IRS, individual tax payers can also postpone federal income tax payments for the 2020 tax year due on April 15, 2021, to May 17, 2021, without penalties and interest, regardless of the amount owed. The federal tax filing deadline postponement to May 17th, 2021, only applies to individual federal income returns and tax (including tax on self-employment income) payments otherwise due April 15, 2021, not state tax payments or deposits or payments of any other type of federal tax or other entities. 

The IRS and Treasury Department's decision comes following the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, which included another round of stimulus payments while also processing tax returns and refunds.

Please check back to our website for the latest updates and information. 

 Lurie Wealth Advisors would like to announce that our President, Michele Martin, has been named a 2021 Five Star Professional Wealth Manager. Founded in 2003, the Five Star award program is the largest and most widely published award program in North America, covering more than 45 major markets.

To celebrate this award, Michele has been featured in Mpls/St. Paul Magazine and MN Monthly, and will appear in the Wall Street Journal later this January.

Five Star Professional undertakes a thorough research process to identify its award winners, so our clients can rest assured they are building a relationship with an experienced wealth manager with a proven track record of excellence. Candidates for the award are judged on ten objective eligibility and evaluation criteria that are associated with providing quality services to clients. These criteria include: Industry credentials, experience and assets under management, number of households served, among other factors.

All of us at Lurie Wealth Advisors want to thank you, our clients, for the trust you’ve placed in us throughout the years!  This award would not be possible without all of your support.

The Five Star Wealth Manager award, administered by Crescendo Business Services, LLC (dba Five Star Professional), is based on 10 objective criteria. Eligibility criteria – required: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Active as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of 5 years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (As defined by Five Star Professional, the wealth manager has not: A. Been Five Star Wealth Manager Award Usage Guidelines subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a license being suspended or revoked, or payment of a fine; B. Had more than a total of three customer complaints filed against them [settled or pending] with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process. Unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process; feedback may not be representative of any one client’s experience; C. Individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority; D. Filed for personal bankruptcy; E. Been convicted of a felony); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients. Evaluation criteria – considered: 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations. Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or placed on the final list of Five Star Wealth Managers. Award does not evaluate quality of services provided to clients. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. The Five Star award is not indicative of the wealth manager’s future performance. Wealth managers may or may not use discretion in their practice and therefore may not manage their client’s assets. The inclusion of a wealth manager on the Five Star Wealth Manager list should not be construed as an endorsement of the wealth manager by Five Star Professional or this publication. Working with a Five Star Wealth Manager or any wealth manager is no guarantee as to future investment success, nor is there any guarantee that the selected wealth managers will be awarded this accomplishment by Five Star Professional in the future. For more information on the Five Star award and the research/selection methodology, go to fivestarprofessional.com.

"Easy access to seasoned financial experts who understand your industry and who have the resources to help you reach your goals may be hard to quantify, but it is impossible to overstate."

In a recent profile by Kiplinger, Michele Martin, President of Lurie Wealth Advisors, opens up about how independence and originality guide its approach to helping business owners strategically fulfill their dreams.

"For entrepreneurs, the line between business and personal interests is blurry, so close, personal and  long-term relationships are critical."

 Read the full article here: https://www.kiplinger.com/basic-page/601377/entrepreneurs-move-into-your-financial-future-with-eyes-wide-open

Minneapolis, MN (June 23, 2020) – Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC, a financial advisory firm in Minnesota, was recently named to Accounting Today’s annual list of the top 150 CPA Firms by assets under management (AUM), a ranking of leading CPA firms that provide financial planning and wealth management services.

For the past fourteen years, Accounting Today has been compiling the list of leading CPA-affiliated wealth management firms by AUM in the United States. The publication received submissions from over 200 CPA firms for the 2020 list.

To read the cover story and view the Accounting Today Top Firms by AUM 2020 list, visit the digital version of the magazine here.

“We are honored to be recognized by Accounting Today as it affirms our integrated approach with Lurie, LLP. Our growth is a testament to the commitment we make to our clients. We take the time to understand their needs, place their interests first, and provide innovative solutions,” said Michele Martin, President of Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC.

Lurie Wealth Advisors, along with Lurie LLP, have created a COVID-19 resource hub on our two websites that provides clients with news, alerts and timely communication on the key issues for our clients, and their business or individual situations.

Lurie Wealth Advisors is also organizing financial planning and wealth management specific resources on our website to help clients understand and navigate their investment, retirement and tax planning options. Our advisors are investing in our client communication abilities and bringing on new team members in anticipation of giving each client situation the personal attention and responsive service they deserve.

About Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC
Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC provides integrated wealth management and financial solutions including investment advisory, consulting, financial planning and other wealth management services to business owners, executives and their families. Lurie Wealth Advisors, LLC’s parent company is Lurie, LLP. To learn more visit: www.luriewealthadvisors.com.

About Lurie, LLP
Founded in 1940, Lurie, LLP is a prominent CPA & Advisory firm providing accounting, audit, tax planning, transaction advisory, retirement planning services and wealth management to privately held and family businesses, as well as individuals. With more than 160 employees, offices in Minnesota and Southwest Florida, and membership in Moore Stephens North America, Lurie has the ability to serve clients across the United States and hundreds of countries worldwide. To learn more visit: www.LurieLLP.com or follow on LinkedIn: @Lurie LLP.

Many people’s estates typically include IRAs. Be aware that two major laws passed into law recently, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, have had a direct effect on IRAs.

In a nutshell, the CARES Act waives required minimum distribution (RMD) rules for IRAs (and certain defined contribution plans) for calendar year 2020.

If you’re fortunate enough that you don’t need to make withdraws from your IRA, there’s an opportunity to leave more for your heirs in your retirement plan. However, bear in mind that because the SECURE Act generally put an end to “stretch” IRAs, the estate planning benefits of inheriting IRAs are somewhat muted.

RMD rules waived

Not taking RMDs in 2020 is particularly advantageous because the amount of the distribution is based on year-end 2019 account values. Otherwise, you might be forced to liquidate account assets at depressed values during the stock market downturn. The waiver covers both 2019 RMDs required to be taken by April 1, 2020, and RMDs required for 2020. It applies for calendar years beginning after December 31, 2019.

“Stretch” IRAs eliminated Perhaps more important for some estate plans, the SECURE Act eliminates so-called “stretch” RMD provisions that have allowed the beneficiaries of inherited IRAs and defined contribution accounts to spread the distributions over their life expectancies. Younger beneficiaries could use the provision to take smaller distributions and defer taxes while their accounts grew. Under the SECURE Act, most beneficiaries must withdraw the entire balance of an account within 10 years of the owner’s death. However, they don’t have to follow any set schedule. They can wait and withdraw the entire amount at the end of 10 years if they wish.

The new rules apply only to those inheriting from someone who died after 2019. Thus, if you inherited an IRA years ago, you won’t be subject to the new rules with respect to your RMDs. However, when your beneficiaries inherit the IRA from you, they’ll be subject to the new rules.

Review your plans

The changes made by the CARES Act and the SECURE Act may have an impact on your retirement and estate plans. We can help you review your plans to ensure that they continue to meet your objectives.

To our valued clients and our Minnesota community –

On March 28, the ‘Stay at Home’ Executive Order issued by Governor Tim Walz took effect.
It directed all Minnesotans to work together by limiting movements outside of the home in the fight
against COVID-19.

Lurie Operations Will Continue

Lurie, LLP remains fully operational. Our team is successfully operating under a full-fledged “work from
home” policy that leverages our technology to serve clients remotely while our office is closed to visitors.
You can continue to drop off materials either in our vestibule (Monday through Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00
PM) or through the mail slot in the door to the right of our main entrance. We are also receiving mail on a
daily basis.

Health & Safety is Our Top Priority

The health and safety of our staff, along with our clients and community, remain our top priority. Lurie is
dedicated to doing things right, and fueled by the desire to help our community. Together, we will
overcome this unprecedented health and economic challenge.

Our Team’s Role & Commitment

Lurie falls under the definition of a Critical Sector in the Executive Order. Together, we play a vital role in
the operation and viability of the economic relief programs being put in place at the state and federal
levels. We are working with businesses and individuals to connect them with programs that keep more
workers employed in our state and more businesses viable in the long-term. For ongoing updates and
resources, please go to the Lurie, LLP COVID‐19 Information & Resources Page.

If you have questions, we encourage you to please contact us. We will be here for you, your business,
your employees and your family – without interruption. Thank you.

– Team Lurie

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created a new program to encourage investment in economically distressed areas through generous tax incentives. The Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) program relies on investments in Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs) — funds that can provide wealthy taxpayers with some new avenues for estate planning.

3 big tax benefits

Investors in QOFs stand to reap three significant tax breaks:

1. They can defer capital gains on the disposition of appreciated property by reinvesting the gains in a QOF within 180 days of disposition. The tax is deferred until the QOF investment is sold or Dec. 31, 2026, whichever is earlier.
2. Depending on how long they hold their QOF investment, they can eliminate 10% to 15% of the tax.
3. After 10 years, post-acquisition appreciation on the investment is tax-exempt.

By incorporating QOFs in your estate planning, you can reduce both capital gains and transfer tax liabilities.

Estate planning implications

Proposed regulations make clear that a QOF investor’s death isn’t an “inclusion event” that would trigger tax on the deferred gains. In addition, most of the activities involved in administering an estate or trust (for example, transferring the interest to the estate or distributing the interest) won’t trigger the gain. But the sale of the QOF interest by the estate, the trust or a beneficiary would. Gifts of QOF interests also are generally considered inclusion events that make the deferred gains immediately taxable.

You could avoid this, though, by gifting your interest to a grantor trust. Both revocable living trusts and irrevocable grantor trusts qualify. However, transfers to the latter are completed gifts and therefore produce greater potential tax savings in situations where the income and gains of the trust are taxed to the grantor, in turn reducing the grantor’s estate by the amount of income taxes paid. (Note, though, that the termination of grantor trust status for reasons other than the grantor’s death is treated as an inclusion event.)

For example, you could transfer a highly appreciated asset to an irrevocable trust with no gift tax under the federal gift and estate tax exemption ($11.40 million for 2019 and $11.58 million for 2020). The trust could sell the asset and defer the gains into a QOF investment.

Another option for transferring QOF interests is the grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT), which allows you to make a gift to a trust and receive an annuity interest roughly equal to the fair market value of the gift. Any appreciation beyond the amount required to pay the annuity also passes to the beneficiaries without gift tax.

Contact Lurie Wealth Advisors for additional information or if you have questions on the Qualified Opportunity Zone program and related estate planning matters.

With its winter recess looming before it, Congress has engaged in a flurry of activity. Most notably, it reached agreement on a massive government wide spending package titled the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020. The legislation extends certain income tax provisions that had expired, as well as some that were due to expire at the end of 2019. To the surprise of some, the agreement also includes the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act, which is the first significant retirement-related legislation since the Pension Protection Act of 2006.

Changes to retirement plans

The SECURE Act is packed with more than two dozen provisions primarily intended to encourage saving for retirement. Most of the provisions take effect January 1, 2020. They include measures affecting both individuals and businesses.

For example, under current law, individuals are prohibited from contributing to traditional IRAs after they reach age 70½, regardless of whether they’re still working. The SECURE Act eliminates that restriction so that anyone can contribute as long as they’re working, matching the existing rules for 401(k) plans and Roth IRAs.

The SECURE Act raises the age at which taxpayers generally must begin to take their required minimum distributions (RMDs) from 70½ to 72. The new rule applies only to those individuals who haven’t reached the age of 70½ by the end of 2019.

The law also includes a new exemption from the 10% tax penalty on early withdrawals from retirement accounts. Taxpayers can withdraw an aggregate of $5,000 from a plan without penalty within one year of the birth of a child or an adoption becoming final.

Less favorably for individual taxpayers, the SECURE Act eliminates the “stretch” RMD provisions that have permitted beneficiaries of inherited retirement accounts to spread the distributions over their life expectancies. This allowed younger beneficiaries to take smaller distributions while growing the accounts and deferring taxes.

Now, most non-spouse beneficiaries must take their distributions over a 10-year period beginning on the deceased’s death. That could increase the tax burden by pushing the distributions into years when the beneficiary is working and in higher tax brackets. The change, therefore, could require some modifications to estate plans, particularly if the plans include trustee-managed inherited IRAs with guardrails to prevent young beneficiaries from quickly draining the accounts.

On the business side, the SECURE Act expands access to open multiple employer plans (MEPs). MEPs give smaller, unrelated businesses the opportunity to team up to provide defined contribution plans at a lower cost, due to economies of scale, with looser fiduciary duties. It also provides tax credits to employers for starting retirement plans and automatically enrolling employees.

In addition, the new law paves the way for employers to include annuities in their retirement plans by eliminating their potential liability when it comes to selecting the appropriate annuity plans. And the SECURE Act requires employers to allow participation in their retirement plans by part-time employees who’ve worked at least 1,000 hours in one year (about 20 hours per week) or three consecutive years of at least 500 hours.

Action required

Changes to the laws for retirement savings may require a rethinking of both retirement and estate planning. Contact Lurie Wealth Advisors to help you navigate through the new law changes related to retirement savings.

If you’re putting aside money for college or other educational expenses, consider a tax-advantaged 529 savings plan. Also known as “college savings plans,” 529 plans were expanded by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) to cover elementary and secondary school expenses as well. And while these plans are best known as an educational funding vehicle, they also offer estate planning benefits.

What do 529 plans cover?

529 plans allow you to contribute a substantial amount of cash (lifetime contribution limits can reach as high as $350,000 or more, depending on the plan) to a tax-advantaged investment account. Like a Roth IRA, contributions are nondeductible, but funds grow tax-deferred and earnings may be withdrawn tax-free provided they’re used for “qualified education expenses.” Qualified expenses include tuition, fees, books, supplies, equipment, room and board and, under the TCJA, up to $10,000 per year in elementary or secondary school expenses. Earnings used for other purposes are subject to income tax and a 10% penalty.

What are the estate planning benefits?

These plans are unique among estate planning vehicles. Ordinarily, to shield assets from estate taxes, you must permanently relinquish all control over them. But contributions to a 529 plan are considered “completed gifts” — which means the assets are removed from your taxable estate, together with all future earnings on those assets — even though you retain considerable control over the money. For example, unlike most other estate planning vehicles, you can control the timing of distributions, change beneficiaries, move the funds into another 529 plan, or even cancel the plan and get your money back (subject to taxes and penalties). As a completed gift, a 529 plan contribution is eligible for the annual gift tax exclusion (currently $15,000). But unlike other vehicles, you can bunch up to five years’ worth of annual exclusions into one year. This allows you to contribute up to $75,000 in one year, without triggering gift or generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes and without using up any of your lifetime exemption. There are implications, however, if you don’t survive the five years.

Why does it matter?

You might think that these benefits are of little value now that the TCJA has temporarily doubled the lifetime gift and estate tax exemption to an inflation-adjusted $10 million ($20 million for married couples who design their estate plans properly). This year, the exemption amount is $11.4 million ($22.8 million for married couples). After all, few families are currently affected by these taxes. But it’s still a good idea to shield wealth from potential estate taxes and to make the most of your annual exclusion. This is because the new exemptions are scheduled to return to their previous levels after 2025 and there’s nothing to stop lawmakers from reducing the exemption in the future. 529 plans and other traditional estate planning tools provide some insurance against future estate tax changes.

Contact us to learn more about how a 529 plan can help achieve your estate planning and education goals.

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