Crypto went on a wild ride this year as regulators from the globe sent the price in terms of dollars on a rollercoaster. However, some individuals might need to minimize their tax burden and crypto could provide some outs. If not all of your coins took off or better yet if you jumped in on Doge coin at the wrong time now is the time to sell off some coin and realize the gain for some optimal tax loss harvesting. Investors can also take advantage of the fact that wash rules don’t apply to Crypto until 2023, which means you can buy and sell your coins within a 30 day period to help minimize your tax contribution. Finally, investors can utilize a donation of cryptos above their fair market value to write off a charitable donation from your final tax bill.

FINSUM: Cryptos up and down roller coaster ride gives investors holding it an advantage in tax loss harvesting, and particularly when it comes to capitalizing on the Wash rules applicability.

Investors are doubling down efforts to carry out specific reviews of companies ESG compliance, as a new survey found that 72% carry out reviews compared to a meager 32% a couple of years ago. Some stocks are standing out from the crowd as good ESG investments moving forward. Microsoft stands out by their detailed yearly reports that will stand up to scrutiny and their pledges to reduce their carbon footprint seem very plausible. The next big stock is Nvidia which has one of the highest ESG ratings in the chip manufacturing industry and GPU and other chip demand will only grow moving forward. Dividend darling Coca-Cola should also be on investor’s radar as it has a long positive history of supporting sustainable initiatives. Rounding out the best picks is American Express which has an AA rating on ESG efforts putting it in the industry's 93 percentile.

FINSUM: Stock pickers should look out for consistent ESG benchmarks as this will likely lead to outperformance moving forward.

Inflation is a concern for retirees, but they should be more concerned than ever becauseSocial Security is tracking the wrong index. Currently Social Security bases its cost of living adjustments on the consumer price index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W). However, the CPI-W doesn’t fully account for the costs of healthcare and housing that burden retirees more than other groups. Instead social security should track the Consumer Price Index for Elderly (CPI-E) because this is the demographic they are targeting. Research shows that the average social security account since 1983 is in a 0.2% compounded deficit. The rate of inflation for healthcare is slowing which could end up benefiting retirees moving forward but that's just a prediction.

FINSUM: Social security won’t be keeping up with your healthcare costs and investors should augment their portfolios to compensate.

Hedge funds opened the floodgates and entered a firesale on treasuries in response to Powells pivot on inflation. JPMorgan said the selling demonstrates leveraged investors pivoting out of Treasuries. Hedge funds are continually shorting across the futures market, and are now hitting an annual low in U.S. 10-year treasuries futures. The only problem is the tapering hasn’t begun just yet and rate hikes are only in theory. This means hedge funds drastically need the Fed to follow through on a hawkish swing if they don’t want to get hung out to dry.

FINSUM: It would be extremely unlikely the Fed pivots on its tapering. The only way that's possible is if inflation was significantly below target the next one or two quarters.

Given their widespread popularity lawmakers have scrambled to put together a series of changes to a popular retirement product in the last year and it looks like more are coming. There appears to be bi-partisan support for the additions building on the 2019 Secure act which tried to increase retirement security. The House and Senate bills both include changes that would remove the maximum amount on the Qualified Longevity Annuity Contract. Previously it was capped at the minimum of $135,000 or 25% of your retirement accounts. The Senate provision also bumps the minimum up to $200,000. The new provisions also include auto enrollment in 401(k) plans and a student loan exchange in existing 401(k) plans. The final piece to the provisions is an increase in catch-up contributions for existing 401(k) plans that could further bolster retirement savings.

FINSUM: One of the underappreciated aspects of the Biden administration is the expansion of savings vehicles for retirees across many income earners.