The end of the calendar year is a time when people like to take stock of their current situations. It’s also when many set goals for the year to come. According to Ty J. Young, CEO of Ty J. Young Wealth Management, one important aspect to review as New Year's Day approaches is retirement planning.

Whether you are still working or already retired, getting a clear picture of your retirement fund status is crucial to mapping out a solid retirement plan for the coming year. Young says investors should align their portfolios with the goals they have for retirement.

“Look at when you want to retire,” Young says. “If you are not retired yet — maybe 5 to 10 years away — are you on track to get to the number you need to reach to provide you income for the rest of your life? Or if you are already retired, look at how much income you would like to have relative to the assets you have.”

Tax planning is a function that’s especially critical when reviewing one’s retirement plan. The idea, Young says, is finding ways to drop the IRS from your retirement as much as possible. This strategy is easier to carry out with tax-efficient instruments, like Roth IRAs, in your portfolio.

“Ask yourself,” says young, “are you setting yourself up for a winning retirement?” 

Areas to Focus On in Year-End Retirement Planning

In the year-end retirement review, Young suggests investors focus on a few decisions important when growing and managing wealth.

Taxes

It's all too easy to overlook how much you're paying in taxes with a retirement plan. Young advises investors to get a clear picture of how much they're spending in tax payments and use review strategies to maximize tax savings.

But it’s also important to take the long view when making tax decisions at year-end. People with traditional IRAs, for example, may decide they would rather take tax-free distributions after they retire instead of deferring taxes until later. For them, converting to a Roth IRA or 401(k) may be a good strategy.

The year’s end is also a good time to research tax-free investments, like treasury bonds or municipal bonds, which are common safe havens for many investors. Retirees may consider other strategies, like tax deferrals and delayed withdrawals, to lower their tax exposure.

Young says it all boils down to a basic question: “How much in taxes are you paying, and can you reduce those taxes?”

Risk Tolerance

Many investors are keenly aware of how much risk they’re willing to assume with their investment strategy and tend to stay at that level. But risk tolerance can be fluid throughout one's lifetime. The end of the year is a good time to re-examine whether to take on more or less risk.

“If your whole portfolio is making 0.4% in a Money Market, that’s probably too little risk,” Young says. “If you made 30% last year, but 100% of your money is at risk in the stock market, that might be too much risk.”

Furthermore, while those still in the workforce tend to keep steady tolerance levels, their needs will probably change once they retire. The main goals are to weigh income needs against risk tolerance levels and balance one’s retirement funds accordingly.

Contributions

People who are still working benefit from reviewing annual contributions to their retirement funds, both from themselves and their employers. The goal in this area is simple: Make sure you’re contributing as much as you can.

Young says to go ahead and make the maximum annual contributions allowed to 401(k)s and IRAs and to make sure your employer matches those contributions 100%. “Use all of the advantages the IRS allows you when it comes to retirement planning,” he advises.

Young also suggests a hard minimum on contributing to other retirement investment instruments — at least 10% of your annual gross income. As you near retirement, that percentage should increase as you can afford it.

Asset Allocations

The end of the year is a popular time to take a close look at how your investment funds are distributed. Young says that though an annual review of asset allocation is fine, it’s better to do it every quarter. “The asset allocation should be reviewed on a regular basis because things change,” he explains.

Reviewing asset allocation is another branch of managing risk tolerance. Each investment instrument you use should be sufficiently funded to reflect a balance of dependable income and higher growth opportunities.

Diversification is a golden rule in investing. Generally speaking, the more different investments your portfolio holds, the more potential it has to grow — and the better protected it is against loss. 

When reviewing your end-of-year asset allocation, concentrate on spreading your investment funds to as many varied instruments and commodities as you can.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. The content was purely for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.

Consulting Leader Looks to Make Data Science Careers Accessible to All

Data science continues to transform lives across the globe. But while there are more data science job opportunities than ever before, not all people have enjoyed access to the educational resources needed to build those careers.

Distressingly, this lack of entry tends to fall along racial, gender, and status lines. While many industries are acting to improve workforce diversity, the IT sector still struggles to find openings for women, minorities, and underserved candidates. Restricted access to education in those communities is a huge part of that problem.

MJV Technology & Innovation has taken a decisive step to change that reality with its MJV Data Science School. The newly-launched program offers comprehensive data science training to qualified candidates typically underserved by IT — and it does so tuition-free. 

Data Science Knowledge for All Communities

This new Data Science School in the United States pivots from the success of two other MJV schools in Brazil. It offers beginning training in data science and analytics, including Python and data visualization.

Eight 2-hour classes from the MJV DS School will be held on Google Meetings twice a week, Tuesday and Thursday. In addition to work exercises and class projects, students will have opportunities for mentoring and networking. Students who successfully pass the course will receive a certificate from MJV Academy.

The first session begins on November 16, 2021, lasting through December 16. Applications are currently being accepted for the next DS School session, from January 18 to February 24, 2022.

Requirements for acceptance in the MJV DS School include United States residency and basic technical knowledge of programming languages, especially Python, SQL, or R. Students must also be able to access the internet via a reliable WiFi connection.

Filling Gaps in Data Science

The MJV Data Science School has a clear aim: to open technology opportunities to those who have not historically had them. Despite some recent progress and increased awareness, restricted access to data science is still an issue along racial, gender, and social class lines.

According to Zippia Careers, fewer than 30% of employed data scientists in the US are of non-white ethnicity. Blacks, Hispanics, and Latinos make up just 9% of that figure. Similarly, the Center For Global Development reports women make up only 18% of US data scientists. In other countries with lower incomes, the percentage of women in data science is even smaller.

The disparity coincides with an ever-increasing demand for more data scientists. Forbes reported that 73% of data science teams planned to hire more employees in the first half of 2021 and that 81% would do so in the second half.

MJV’s Data Science School initiative is a conscious effort to resolve traditional gaps in a sustainable way. CEO Mauricio Vianna says qualified students in those categories will receive their education free of all tuition costs.

MJV hopes to train people in underserved communities about data science and generate more interest in the field. “This is an important contribution that MJV can make to help make data science more accessible to all, especially from diverse backgrounds,” Vianna says. 

“People Transforming Business”

The DS School is an extension of the greater goal of MJV Technology & Innovation — defined on its website as “people transforming business.”

MJV Technology & Innovation’s core business is a consulting firm specializing in “data science, design, and digital transformation.” The company has worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies across several industries, including Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola, Cartier, and others.

Founded in 1997, MJV helps businesses take advantage of transformative data solutions, teaching strategies for everything from design thinking and data analytics to customer experience. 

MJV bases its data science philosophy around five primary pillars: strategic design, digital transformation, cultural change, experience, and sustainability.

The MJV DS School is led by CEO Vianna and MJV Chairman Ysmar Vianna. Instructors include Carlos Eduardo Covas Costa, Head of Data Science; and Luciana Junqueira, Data Visualization Lead. 

As data scientists who have worked at MJV for years, this group has generated solutions in fraud prevention, healthcare design, digital management, user experience, and much more.

Building on Past Success

The US MJV DS School hopes to build on the positive results from the two Brazilian schools. Students from the Brazil programs praised MJV Data School for its education in areas like design thinking, analytics, machine learning, and mentoring.

On the Data Science School’s testimonial page, alumni Felipe Navarro writes, “the classes were very practical, and the teachers also shared a little bit of their day-to-day, sharing difficulties that they have encountered, and how they managed to get around the problems.”

MJV hopes to eliminate the disparity between existing IT staff and those under-represented in the industry by bringing this model to the United States. The DS School is a tangible step in the global effort to resolve social equity issues in hopes that opportunities for education and prosperity are truly open to all.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. The content was purely for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.