HOUSTON, April 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Quanex Building Products Corporation (NYSE:NX), a leading components supplier for the global window and door industry, today announced that it completed the sale of its interest in Nichols Aluminum, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary, to Aleris for $110 million in an all cash transaction. Nichols is an aluminum sheet producer with facilities in Davenport, IA, Lincolnshire, IL and Decatur, AL.

"Going forward, our full focus will be on growing our position as a leading window and door componen supplier both domestically and internationally," said Bill Griffiths, Quanex chairman, president and CEO.

Evercore Partners acted as financial advisor and Norton Rose Fulbright acted as legal counsel to Quanex Building Products Corporation.

Quanex Building Products Corporation is listed on the NYSE under the symbol NX. For further information, visit the Company's website at www.quanex.com.

Statements that use the words "estimated," "expect," "could," "should," "believe," "will," "might," or similar words reflecting future expectations or beliefs are forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, future operating results of Quanex, the financial condition of Quanex, future uses of cash and other expenditures, expenses and tax rates, expectations relating to the company's industry, and the company's future growth. The statements in this release are based on current expectations. Actual results or events may differ materially from this release. Factors that could impact future results may include, without limitation, the effect of both domestic and global economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the availability and cost of raw materials, and customer demand. For a more complete
discussion of factors that may affect the company's future performance, please refer to the company's Form 10-K filing on December 18, 2013, under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act"), in particular the section titled, "Private Securities Litigation Reform Act" contained therein.

3 Steps for Turning a Real Estate or Business Sale
into the Ideal Retirement
Financial Experts Share Common Mistakes & How to Avoid Them

Throughout life, we encounter a number of "financial impact points" -- pivotal events with the potential to make our dreams come true, say financial advisors Chris Snyder and Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo, co-authors of "Exiting Strategies: The CEO's Seven Critical Steps To Cashing-Out of a Business, Managing and Preserving Wealth."

"The sale of a business or real estate is one of those," says Chris Snyder, co-founder with Ashoo of Pillar Wealth Management, (www.pillarwm.com). "With the right planning, it can become your ideal retirement."

Unfortunately, sellers often make fundamental mistakes: They underestimate how much money they'll need for their retirement; they overvalue their business or property; and they often fail to properly invest the proceeds in a diversified portfolio of equities, bonds and money markets for income.

How can you turn your business or property sale into your ideal retirement? Snyder and Ashoo offer these tips:

1.  Determine the retirement lifestyle you desire, and how much money it will cost.

If you don't know how much money you'll need, you can't identify how much you need to net from the sale, Ashoo says.
"How many homes will you have? Do you see yourself traveling? Creating a charitable organization?"

Create a detailed list. How much money will it cost you each year? If you retire at 55 or 65, odds are good you'll enjoy a 30- to 40-year retirement.How much will you need for that length of time?

"When you meet with your wealth manager, insist on running that number through 1,000 different 'launch' scenarios - what we call a 'space shuttle' analysis - to test whether it will meet your expenses under a wide variety of market and world conditions," Ashoo says.

"You can't rely on an Excel sheet analysis based on fixed rates of return and fixed expenses for the rest of your life. It's a sure way to financial disaster because there's no such thing as zero risk."

2.  Get an objective valuation of your business or real estate.

Very often, Snyder says, he and Ashoo work with clients who have a vastly inflated idea of how much their business or property is worth. When they decide to sell, they either can't because no one will pay what they're asking, or they get far less than they expected.

"People often attach an emotional value to the asset, particularly a business or legacy real estate," Snyder says. "Hire a merger and acquisition professional to provide you with a real market valuation for your business, or a real estate appraiser to do the same for property."

If the value isn't where it needs to be, you may need to make some lifestyle changes or hold onto the asset longer.

Another caution: "If you performed step 1 thoroughly and you are confident you need $15 million for your retirement and someone offers you $20 million, take it," Ashoo advises. "Don't hold out for $23 million just because you think that's what it's worth."

3.  Invest the proceeds prudently and in a way that will generate income.

Once your real estate or business is sold, you need to build a diversified portfolio of equity, bonds and money markets that will balance your risk and generate an income, Snyder says.

"Modern portfolio theory holds that 93 percent of the return on your investment is based on your mix of these asset classes," he says
Adds Ashoo: "But prudent investing entails not accepting more risk than is required to achieve your retirement lifestyle." Don't rely on a simple risk questionnaire to make that determination for you, the two say.

Again, have your wealth manager run your portfolio through a "space shuttle'' analysis to test how it will perform under many different conditions.

About Chris Snyder and Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo

Chris Snyder and Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo are co-founders of Pillar Wealth Management, (www.pillarwm.com), of Walnut Creek, Calif., and co-authors of numerous published works including  "Exiting Strategies: The CEO's Seven Critical Steps To Cashing-Out of a Business, Managing and Preserving Wealth," available as a free download at their website. The two specialize in customized wealth management advice to affluent families. Their unique five-step consultative process for new clients ensures they have a deep understanding of clients' goals. The two have a combined 51 years of experience.

Last year the IRS doled out over 110 million income tax refunds averaging $2,803. Another way to look at it is that collectively, Americans overpaid their taxes by nearly $310 billion in 2012.

Part of that is understandable: If you don't have enough tax withheld throughout the year through payroll deductions or quarterly estimated tax payments, you'll be hit with an underpayment penalty come April 15. But the flip side is that by over-withholding, you're essentially giving the government an interest-free loan throughout the year.

If you ordinarily receive large tax refunds, consider withholding less and instead putting the money to work for you, by either saving or investing a comparable amount throughout the year, or using it to pay down debt. Your goal should be to receive little or no refund.

Ask your employer for a new W-4 form and recalculate your withholding allowance using the IRS' Withholding Calculator (at www.irs.gov). This is also a good idea whenever your pay or family situation changes significantly (e.g., pay increase, marriage, divorce, new child, etc.) IRS Publication 919 can guide you through the decision-making process.

Meanwhile, if you do get a hefty refund this year, before blowing it all on something you really don't need, consider these options:

Pay down debt. Beefing up credit card and loan payments can significantly lower your long-term interest payments. Suppose you currently pay $120 a month toward a $3,000 credit card balance at 18 percent interest. At that pace it'll take 32 months and $788 in interest to pay it off, assuming no new purchases. By doubling your payment to $240 you'll shave off 18 months and $441 in interest.

Note: If you carry balances on multiple cards, always make at least the minimum payments to avoid penalties.

The same strategy will work when paying down loans (mortgage, auto, personal, etc.) Ask the lender to apply your extra payment to the loan principal amount, which will shorten the payoff time and reduce the amount of overall interest paid. Just make sure to ask whether there's a prepayment penalty before trying this strategy.

Boost your emergency fund. As protection against a job loss, medical emergency or other financial crisis, try to set aside enough cash to cover six to nine months of living expenses. Seed the account with part of your refund and then set up monthly automatic deductions from your paycheck or checking account going forward.

Increase retirement savings. If your debt and emergency savings are under control, add to your IRA or 401(k) accounts, especially if your employer matches contributions; remember, a 50 percent match corresponds to a 50 percent rate of return - something you're not likely to find anywhere else.

Finance education. Enroll in college courses or vocational training to gain additional skills in case you lose your job or want to change careers. And ask whether your employer will help pay for job-related education.

You can also set money aside for your children's or grandchildren's education by contributing to a 529 Qualified State Tuition Plan. As an incentive, the government allows your contributions to grow tax-free until they're withdrawn.

And finally, to check on the status of your refund, go to the IRS's Where's My Refund site. You can usually get information about your refund 24 hours after the IRS acknowledges receipt of your e-filed return or about four weeks after filing a paper return.

Revenue, citizens from every corner of Illinois rally and lobby legislators to pass the bill, letting voters decide in November

Springfield, IL - Nearly 1,000 citizens gathered at the Capitol Building in Springfield today, loudly denouncing a House committee vote in progress that stalled Fair Tax legislation in the short term, while standing with Sen. Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) and a dozen other legislators to demand Springfield politicians pass the Fair Tax Act. With less than 40 days until the May 4th deadline, citizens from every corner of Illinois rallied in the Rotunda and later met with their representatives to demand a chance to vote on a Fair Tax in November.

"Do not despair the action in the House today," Sen. Harmon declared to thundering applause. "This fight has just begun!"  Harmon promised the Senate would continue to lead on the Fair Tax Amendment, while Speaker Madigan's proposed millionaire's tax advanced to a full House vote. Harmon and others stressed the need to pass a Fair Tax to ensure tax relief for 94% of Illinois families, in addition to the higher rates for higher incomes in a millionaire's tax.

A Fair Tax, with lower rates for lower incomes and higher rates for higher incomes, is supported by 77% of Illinois voters.  Currently, Illinois lawmakers are prohibited ? constitutionally barred?from enacting a Fair Tax.  The Fair Tax Act allows citizens to vote on whether to not they want a Fair Tax in the upcoming November election. On Tuesday Harmon unveiled a Fair Tax rate structure that cut taxes for 94% of Illinoisans, including everyone earning up to $200,000.

"The choice we have is to extend the flat tax or to cut 13,400 teachers from the classroom, to take 95,000 kids off of early childhood education, to say 'no' to 30,000 college students wishing to get a MAP grant, to close 11 prisons and release 15,000 prisoners, to lay off 3,000 corrections officers, to cut the state police by 30%," said Sen. Harmon. "This is a third way. This is a way to provide the services people need and to do so in a way that provides tax relief for 94% of Illinois families."

"It's not right that a home care worker like me who makes on average $13,000 a year should pay the exact same tax rate as a CEO who makes $1.3 million dollars every year," said Yvette Anderson. "We all know there is something very unfair about that."

Anderson, a home care provider from Chicago, was joined by Faith Arnold, who owns her own child care business in Chicago's west suburbs. "Critical programs like child care are constantly under threat of devastating cuts, and access has already been reduced for a number of Illinois families who need quality care so they can go to work and support themselves and their children," said Arnold.

Mark Garrity, owner of Garrity Equipment Company of Downers Grovetold the crowd that a Fair Tax is essential for Illinois' small businesses.  "There's no surer way to grow Illinois' small businesses and create jobs than a Fair Tax that puts more money in the hands of lower and middle income taxpayers, empowering them to spend that money supporting my business and businesses throughout Illinois," said Garrity.

Arne Waltmire, a high school automotive teacher from McHenry County, noted that good schools draw people and businesses to communities in Illinois.  He cited a news article about citizens in the Quad Cities moving to Iowa, a Fair Tax state, because their schools receive better support from the state.  Waltmire noted that Illinois ranks dead-last in state support of education and often the state is late paying its bills to local school districts.

"We can't rely on the Springfield to provide stable funding for our schools.  Local school districts don't know where their funding will come from and when," said Waltmire. "I expect my teenage students to turn in their homework in on time. Why do I expect more from teenagers than adults in Springfield?"

For months, the large and growing statewide coalition known as A Better Illinois has been advocating for a Fair Tax.  It has drawn support from every single legislative district - Republican and Democrat - including nearly 250,000 petition signatures, nearly 500 community and civic organizations, including both business and labor alike.

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