Ryan Moran, CFP

05/27/2026

United Rentals is paying a dividend today.

So let’s use it as a simple example.

United Rentals declared a quarterly dividend of $1.97 per share.

That means if you owned 100 shares and qualified for the dividend, you would receive:

100 shares x $1.97 = $197

Sounds simple enough.

But here is the part many investors miss:

You do not get the dividend just because you buy the stock the day before the payment date.

There are a few important dates:

→ Declaration date:
The company announces the dividend.

→ Ex-dividend date:
This is the cutoff date. If you buy the stock on or after this date, you do not receive that upcoming dividend.

→ Record date:
This is when the company checks its list of shareholders.

→ Payable date:
This is when the dividend is actually paid.

For United Rentals, the dividend being paid on May 27 was for shareholders who qualified back on May 13.

So if someone buys shares on May 26 thinking, “I’ll grab the dividend tomorrow,” that is not how it works.

The market already knows the dividend is coming.

And typically, when a stock goes ex-dividend, the share price adjusts downward by roughly the dividend amount, though regular market movement can hide that.

In other words:

A dividend is not free money.

It is more like the company moving a small piece of value from the business to the shareholder in cash.

That does not make dividends bad.

Far from it.

Dividends can be useful.

They can provide income.

They can signal that a company is generating cash.

They can be especially meaningful for retirees who want portfolio cash flow.

But the key is understanding what is actually happening.

A dividend is not a bonus that appears out of thin air.

It is a distribution of company profits to shareholders.

And like most things in investing, the details matter.

Especially the dates.

**This post is for educational purposes only and should not be viewed as investment advice or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any specific security. Dividends are not guaranteed and may change over time.

05/26/2026

The longer I do this, the clearer one thing becomes.

People are not confused because they are careless.

They are confused because the system is unnecessarily complicated.

Medicare is a good example.

You can be smart, responsible, organized and financially prepared.

And still look at Medicare and think:

“What exactly am I supposed to do here?”

That reaction is normal.

Here is a 4 minute read on the basics of Medicare:

Confused by Medicare? You're not alone. A simple guide to Parts A, B, C, D & Medigap.

05/21/2026

Over the last several months, I’ve been writing weekly educational articles for retirees, near retirees and families trying to make smarter financial decisions.

The goal is simple.

Help people understand important financial topics before they are forced to make important financial decisions.

A few reader favorites:

1. The Retirement Tax Window Most People Miss
https://buff.ly/cuJbVtZ

2. Should You Gift Your Kids the House?
https://buff.ly/cuJbVtZ

3. What Is an Index Fund?
https://buff.ly/ujaQzBT

4. Per Stirpes vs. Per Capita: The Estate Planning Mistake That Could Redirect Your Money
https://buff.ly/jJf0PXX

Most people do not need more financial noise.

They need clear explanations before big decisions show up.

That’s the goal of the newsletter.

05/19/2026

A few weeks back my news letter about beneficiaries got a lot of love. I think it is because beneficiary designations are one of those quiet financial details that people know matter but rarely review.

Your will may say one thing.

But your IRA, 401(k), life insurance policy, or transfer-on-death account may follow the beneficiary form on file.

And that form may have been completed years ago.

Before life changed.

Two small phrases can make a big difference:

→ Per stirpes
→ Per capita

They sound technical.

But they answer a very human question:

Where does the money go if one of your beneficiaries passes away before you?

→ Per stirpes usually means the money follows the family branch.

Example: If your child passes away before you, their share may go to their children.

→ Per capita usually means the money is split among the remaining living beneficiaries at that same level.

Example: If your child passes away before you, their share may be divided among your other living children instead.

Neither is automatically right or wrong.

The important question is:

Does your beneficiary form match what you actually want?

**This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions.

05/14/2026

IMPORTANT NOTE: In 2026, you may be able to deduct certain charitable donations even if you take the standard deduction.

Up to:

$1,000 if single
$2,000 if married filing jointly

So please track your cash donations in 2026.

They may help save on taxes.

In prior years, you generally had to itemize deductions to receive a federal tax benefit for charitable giving.

05/12/2026

“We want to help our daughter with a down payment.”

Then comes the nervous question:

“Will she have to pay taxes on the gift?”

In most cases?

No.

This is one of the most common misunderstandings around gifting.

The person receiving the gift usually does not pay tax on it.

The person giving the gift is the one who may have a reporting requirement.

And even then, reporting does not always mean tax is owed.

That is the part many families miss.

If you gift more than the annual exclusion amount, you may need to file a gift tax return.

But that does not automatically mean you owe gift tax.

In many cases, it simply reduces your lifetime gift and estate tax exemption.

So if Mom and Dad help an adult child buy a home?

The child usually does not owe income tax on the gift.

The parents may just need to understand the reporting rules.

The bigger lesson:

Helping family is wonderful.

But gifting should be done with your full financial picture in mind.

Taxes matter.

Cash flow matters.

Estate planning matters.

And documentation matters.

05/07/2026

Saving when you're young is hard.

Spending when you're old can be harder.

After years of building a nest egg, retirees often struggle with this.

I often have to remind my clients that they bought the ticket to guilt-free spending through their discipline when they were younger.

04/28/2026

Most people know about asset allocation…

But very few understand asset location.

This is where tax savings get real.

Getting asset location right can save thousands over a lifetime.

What it looks like in practice.
→ Roth accounts: highest-growth assets go here. No bonds. No low-growth holdings that could be taxed elsewhere.

→ Pre-tax accounts: assets with higher tax drag. Taxable bonds, REITs, high-dividend investments. Anything that would be inefficient in a taxable account.

→ Taxable accounts: most tax-efficient assets. ETFs, low-dividend stocks, municipal bonds. Investments designed to minimize taxes each year.

Why?
→ Many investors focus on picking funds, but where you hold them often matters more than what you pick.
→ A smart asset location strategy can compound tax savings exponentially over decades.

**This content is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or tax advice. Please consult a qualified professional before making any decisions.

04/23/2026

I see this all the time with clients.

A nest egg is only half the story.

Fill the rest with passions, people and purpose.

04/20/2026

Most investors own index funds.

Very few could clearly explain what one is.

This week’s Locus Letter breaks down what index funds actually are, how they work, and why the specific index matters more than most people realize.

How they work & why I use them.

04/17/2026

Most investors own index funds but many don’t know what they actually are. Here’s a simple explanation:

An index fund is a fund designed to track a specific index.

That’s it.

The S&P 500?

That’s an index.

It tracks roughly 500 large U.S. companies.

You can’t invest directly in the S&P 500 itself.

But you can invest in a fund designed to track it.

That’s an S&P 500 index fund.

But here’s where people get tripped up:

“Index fund” is not one specific investment.

It’s a category.

Saying “I own an index fund” is a little like saying:

“I drive a vehicle.”

Okay, but what kind?

A pickup truck?

A minivan?

A sports car?

A bicycle?

They’re all vehicles.

They do very different things.

Index funds work the same way.

An S&P 500 index fund tracks large U.S. companies.

A total U.S. stock market index fund tracks a broader group of U.S. companies.

An international index fund tracks companies outside the U.S.

A bond index fund tracks bonds.

A sector index fund may track one specific area, like technology, energy, or healthcare.

All are index funds.

But they are not the same.

I’m personally a fan of index funds.

They are in my clients’ portfolios because they can be low cost, transparent, and useful building blocks.

But each one has a specific job.

One may provide exposure to large U.S. companies.

Another may provide exposure to bonds.

Another may provide exposure to international markets.

The goal is not just to “own index funds.”

The goal is to understand:

What index does this fund track?

What exposure does it provide?

What role does it play in the portfolio?

Because an index fund is only the wrapper.

The index is the substance.