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Azzad Asset Management Podcast and Market Recap

Market Recap: First Quarter 2021

The first quarter of 2021 was an eventful one. Additional federal stimulus payments lined many pocketbooks; a group of amateur traders banded together through social media to drive shares of video game company GameStop to astronomical heights; interest rates jumped, stoking fears that inflationary pressures were rapidly building; and equities ultimately enjoyed robust returns. Tech shares, which had driven the market for much of 2020, slumped during much of the quarter, but still gained enough ground to push higher by the end of March. Local governments also began relaxing lockdown-related restrictions during the period, allowing more businesses the ability to

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Azzad Asset Management May 24, 2021 11:54 am
Enhanced Child Tax Credit for 2021

Enhanced Child Tax Credit for 2021

If you have qualifying children under the age of 18, you may be able to claim a child tax credit. (You may also be able to claim a partial credit for certain other dependents who are not qualifying children.) The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 makes substantial, temporary improvements to the child tax credit for 2021, which may increase the amount you might receive. Ages of qualifying children The legislation makes 17-year-olds eligible as qualifying children in 2021. Thus, children age 17 and younger are eligible as qualifying children in 2021. Increase in credit amount For 2021, the child

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Azzad Asset Management April 22, 2021 6:30 pm
Azzad Asset Management - An HSA has 3 tax benefits, not found in any other account type. First, contributions are tax-deductible. Second, there is no taxation on funds while they are growing in the account, and third, distributions taken for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. That’s a sweet deal! An HSA essentially offers you the tax-deduction and tax-deferral of a 401K combined with the tax-free withdrawal on earnings (used for qualified expenses) of a Roth IRA. Like these accounts, there are eligibility rules for who is qualified to contribute and what you can spend the money on. Similarly, you can invest your HSA in one of Azzad’s investment products. Here’s how an HSA works: each year, you decide how much you want to contribute to your account (up to the IRS maximum limits). You can use the funds in your account to pay for eligible medical expenses not covered by your plan (note: insurance premiums aren’t eligible). Unlike a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), your balance rolls over from year to year, so you never have to worry about losing your savings. Plus, once you reach age 65, you can withdraw from your HSA for any reason. Of course, you’ll pay taxes on distributions used for non-medical expenses, but no penalty. You never pay a penalty on any distributions after age 65. To qualify for an HSA, you must be enrolled in a high-deductible health insurance plan (HDHP) as defined by the IRS every year. The IRS determines the minimum deductible your plan must have and the maximum amount you can spend out-of-pocket. If in doubt, ask your insurance broker if your plan is “HSA-eligible”. Once you’re over age 65 and enrolled in Medicare, you are no longer eligible to contribute to an HSA. Of course, you can still use your funds to pay for out-of-pocket medical expenses. Your HSA continues to offer you powerful tax benefits, including more flexibility with your tax and penalty-free distributions. Navigating HSAs can be confusing, so give us a call to find out if an HSA can work for you?

A health savings account (HSA) can deliver triple tax benefits. Is one right for you?

An HSA has 3 tax benefits, not found in any other account type. First, contributions are tax-deductible. Second, there is no taxation on funds while they are growing in the account, and third, distributions taken for qualified medical expenses are tax-free. That’s a sweet deal! An HSA essentially offers you the tax-deduction and tax-deferral of a 401K combined with the tax-free withdrawal on earnings (used for qualified expenses) of a Roth IRA. Like these accounts, there are eligibility rules for who is qualified to contribute and what you can spend the money on. Similarly, you can invest your HSA in

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Azzad Asset Management April 12, 2021 5:50 pm
10 lessons every investor should have learned from last year

10 lessons every investor should have learned from last year

Ehab AlalfeyAzzad Investment Advisor It’s been more than a year since the coronavirus pandemic began. While there remain many unknowns, let’s reflect on 10 lessons investors should have learned from 2020. If we could have somehow warned you that a pandemic was going to trigger a steep economic decline, including a stock market crash last year, you would have spent the entire year in cash, right? Odds are you’d still be in cash. Having missed out on historic gains, you’d be waiting for the next crash. That is Lesson #1: market predictions are useless. If, by luck, you’re partially right,

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Azzad Asset Management March 26, 2021 4:00 pm

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