Understanding Tariffs | Investments for Grandparents & Cash

Investments for Grandparents

Grandparents have significant power to be an influential magnet, ones that pull your family together even into your children’s and grandchildren’s adult lives.

These conversations frequently show up in the realm of financial planning. A great deal of our sense of legacy isn’t centered in wealth, but it’s enabled by it.

Some gestures are more subtle like helping fund 529 or Roth IRA accounts for coming generations. Others are a little more involved–like relocating to be available for their grandchildren’s school pick-up line.

Every once in a while, we also see grander gestures. I’ve met grandparents who worked beyond when they could have been done to fund donor-advised funds for the next generation to steward.

To the grandparents we have the honor of serving, we are here to help you invest in what matters.

The Great Tariff Debate: The headlines have been screaming for the last week about President Trump’s imposed tariffs on our northern and southern neighbors, as well as China. Part of the reason these are such a big deal is they make up about 43% of U.S. goods imports and 41% of U.S. exports.

It’s more complicated when you look beyond these numbers. If you’re interested in more details, we think this article is helpful. Regardless of your opinion on these, our investment position remains the same—long-term investing in full view of your plan remains the core of our approach. Short-term volatility can rattle us all, but please take a moment and let this refreshing view of long-term growth do what it’s done for me so many times below.

Is Your Cash Sitting in the right place? If you have cash sitting in CDs and money market accounts, you’re likely paying unnecessary taxes.

These traditional bank vehicles generate interest income taxed at your ordinary income rate (potentially 37%+ depending on your state). This dramatically reduces your real returns in today’s higher rate environment.

Consider these tax-efficient alternatives:

Treasury bills (exempt from state/local taxes)
Municipal bonds (potentially triple tax-exempt)
Treasury-only money market funds
Asset location strategies (holding fixed income in tax-advantaged accounts)

Let’s maximize every basis point. Your effective after-tax yield matters far more than the headline rate. We’re happy to have a conversation anytime and help make sense of the best way ahead with your liquid reserves.

*The views expressed represent the opinions of Compass Ion Advisors, LLC, as of the date noted and are subject to change. These views are not intended as a forecast, a guarantee of future results, investment recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. The information provided is of a general nature and should not be construed as investment advice or to provide any investment, tax, financial, or legal advice or service to any person. The information contained has been compiled from sources deemed reliable, yet accuracy is not guaranteed.

Additional information, including management fees and expenses, is provided on our Form ADV Part 2 available upon request or at the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website at https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/166418. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.