Top Advisor Earns Money The Old-Fashioned Way, With Paper Charts

While financial advisory fees have undergone some compression, they remain surprisingly robust in mid-2017 and should stay that way for the foreseeable future, a new paper predicts.

When RIA regulators arrived at Safe Harbor Financial Advisors’ offices in May for an inspection, the Virginia state examiners had…

Investment advisors and financial advisors who leave or break away from their captive channel to start new in the independent channel is lower than speculated. The Department of Labor fiduciary rule might move the number northward.

The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 rallied immediately after the French voted for their next president and advisors remain optimistic…

Some 82 percent of S&P 500 Index companies published a sustainability or corporate responsibility report last year, according to new…

The fiduciary rule is in partial effect, but clients might be asking questions related to it.

New studies show more women taking on the role of financial breadwinner. Data also shows women unprepared to inherit wealth or pass their own wealth on to loved ones. An opportunity for advisors?

The ‘duty of care’ is just one of the fiduciary duties required by the DOL Rule, which takes effect Friday. Our Kim O’Brien explains how the duty of care impacts the financial advice advisors give.

If President Donald J. Trump gets his way on taxes, the traditional mortgage interest tax deduction would change dramatically. But would it depress home ownership? Advisors might have to recommend renting.

New FINRA notice requires broker-dealers to keep records of any text message correspondence, and take responsibility for any links or shares to third-party content providers.

Clients tend to get more enthusiastic and emotional about investing when the stock market is bullish, analysts say. Advisors can do well to keep clients on an even keel while those emotions run high.

Beltway politics is rated among the top three trends that will impact both financial advisors’ and individual investors’ approach to investing in 2017, according to the third annual Advisor Authority study.

With 100,000 brokers retiring in the next ten years, and half the industry talent age 55 or higher, according to a new report, some in the financial services industry are trying to recruit much younger advisors.

The average time between an agent applying for life insurance coverage and receiving a response has been cut by more than a week, thanks to new technology.

Confusion surrounding the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule has caused insurance distributors to hold back on specific sales strategies and that could affect annuity sales this year, insurance company executives said.

A persistent financial advisor can be a client’s best friend when it comes to estate planning. A crucial activity that many clients put off, estate planning requires strong communication and family buy-in, experts say.

WINDSOR, Conn., May 15, 2017 – A new LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute Study finds 8 in 10 of defined contribution (DC)…

The variable annuity, branded as “Lincoln Core Income built with iShares,” offers only passive, low-cost exchange traded funds from asset manager BlackRock.

Building trust is the basis for client understanding.

Variable annuity sales plunged by 21 percent last year over 2015, but the drop could be over, some analysts predict. A resolution to the Department of Labor fiduciary rule would help.

Those in younger age groups are less certain than their elders of their investment knowledge, but those younger investors also were less likely than their elders to have a financial advisor.

The first quarter of 2017 was the most active one ever when it came to mergers and acquisitions among registered investment advisors.

BOSTON – Massachusetts seniors will receive more than $130,000 in refunds as a result of a settlement with a mortgage…

A new survey highlights the gap between what Americans say they want to retire and what actions they are taking to meet that lofty goal. Younger people need to commit to saving for retirement, one advisor says.

NEW YORK – AXA, a leader in providing financial security and retirement products, announced its newest addition to the defined contribution…

On April 10, in advance of an April 25 shareholder meeting, the bank said it had pulled back an additional $75 million n stock awards from a couple of top executives. Those executives, former CEO John Stumpf and former head of business, Carrie Tolstedt, have had $69 million and $67 million in compensation, respectively, taken back. Elizabeth Warren, the former Harvard…

–To test the financial knowledge of Americans, GOBankingRates quizzed survey respondents from all 50 states on basic finance terms and concepts. For full details on the survey results, visit: https://www.gobankingrates.com/personal-finance/americans-dont-know-super-basic-finance-terms/. Respondents were asked the following questions and given…

New survey data finds that roughly two-thirds of investors say they really want good, conflict-free fiduciary advice, yet few are willing to pay extra for it. Can advisors respond to the challenge?

Jackson National Life Insurance Company ® today issued the results of its 2017 Investor Education Survey, which aimed to gauge Americans’ perception of their current level of financial knowledge, investing acumen and overall confidence in these areas. A key finding was that more than 58 percent of the 2,772 respondents to the study said they do not feel…

A 2016 study from Go Banking Rates says 69 percent of U.S. adults have less than $1,000 in savings. What can advisors do to get clients committed to an emergency fund?

Is it a good idea to buy an annuity within an IRA or Roth IRA? At first blush, the answer would seem to be “no” because one of the biggest benefits of an annuity is tax deferral, which you already have in an IRA. But it’s not so simple.

—U.S. Treasury Department agents have recently obtained information about offshore financial transactions involving President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, as part of a federal anti-corruption probe into his work in Eastern Europe, The Associated Press has learned. Information about Manafort’s transactions was turned over…

If you want to get the attention of the $240- billion Farm Credit System, just mention the $725- million loan CoBank, a System lender, made to Verizon in 2013 to help finance Verizon’s $130- billion buyout of Vodafone, a European telecommunications giant. The far-from-the-farm loan incensed commercial bankers, the System’s largest competitors, who howled to…

CNN, Fox News Channel and MSNBC all followed FBI Director James Comey’s testimony before a congressional committee Monday morning live. For a while, so did ABC and NBC, cutting in to normal daytime programming. Fox News wrapped up its coverage of the hearing, which lasted until 3:20 p.m. and was shown nearly in its entirety on CNN and MSNBC.

She fears that the Republican health care bill will result in Medicaid cuts that will make it harder for disabled Americans to live independently. The current debate over Medicaid has Anastasia Somoza thinking about the Willowbrook State School, the infamous Staten Island institution for people with developmental disabilities that New York state…

March 18– It’s the time of year when the Warren-Hamilton Counties Community Action Agency is starting to receive requests for emergency fuel assistance from families that have used up their annual allotment of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program funding. “With March being the weather that it was the last couple of weeks, we are getting a lot of requests,”…

For pre-2016 tax years, the IRS processed tax returns even if there was no information provided about the taxpayer’ s compliance with the Affordable Care Act’ s coverage requirement. The IRS then said that, for 2016, it would not process any returns that failed to provide information about the taxpayer’ s compliance with the ACA coverage requirement.

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced that William Gordon resigned from the e-commerce giant’s board of directors. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the online retailing giant said that venture capital executive stepped down as a director to provide consulting services to the company for two years. Amazon said that Gordon will remain […]
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The few who save do so because of employers’ 401(k)s and concerns that health events will drain their savings.

U.S. stocks are rising after the government reported that prices paid by consumers increased in February, a sign of potentially stronger economic growth. The Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates Wednesday afternoon and investors are waiting to hear the central bank’s views on the state of the economy and its plans for interest rates.

Based upon discussions with insurers expected to be impacted by the U.S. Department of Labor’ s fiduciary rule, A.M. Best notes that the vast majority of these companies are moving ahead with implementation, despite the ongoing uncertainty given President Donald Trump’ s lack of support for the guidelines. Given that qualified fixed-indexed and variable…

“Save for retirement,” said Rocky Mengle, senior writer and analyst for Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting.“ That‘ s not really a tax issue, but just save for retirement. The taxability of retirement benefits varies from state to state, according to a press release from Wolters Kluwer Tax and Accounting. More information about various taxes and the effects of them can…

President Donald Trump’s proposal on defense spending, and how to pay for it, would be devastating for the nation’s welfare. As a boy growing up in Cleveland, one of my earliest memories of my father was that he had only one suit. Defense spending in 2016 was more than $600 billion, which accounts for 54 percent of discretionary spending.

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Investment Weekly News– Assets of the 1,000 largest U.S. retirement plans grew to $9.39 trillion as of Sept. 30, up 6.2% from 12 months earlier and the highest level in the history of Pensions& Investments’ annual survey released. “Each year, this survey drives home the point that the money being saved for retirement in the U.S. is…

On January 25, 2017, the Honorable Nicholas G. Garaufis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York entered a final judgment against defendant Edward G. Newman. The SEC’s complaint, filed on October 19, 2007 and amended on March 23, 2015, alleged, among other things, that Newman and other officers and directors of Xybernaut Corp., signed…

WASHINGTON– A former financial advisor, who provided services and investment advice to current and former professional athletes, pled guilty today to a federal charge stemming from the theft of more than $1 million from his clients, announced U.S. Attorney Channing D. Phillips and Andrew Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’ s Washington Field Office.

The new CEO of AmeriLife gives his views.

SALT LAKE CITY- Paul Taylor didn’t come to court Monday looking for revenge. Taylor said he and his wife have endured sleepless nights since losing the money they invested with convicted Fruit Heights businessman Dee Allen Randall. My heart bleeds for everybody here, as well as myself, “Taylor said, looking around at the 3rd District courtroom that was filled to…

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y.– Earlier today, Daniel Winston LaMarco, a Huntington, New York investment adviser, was sentenced to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release following his August 2016 guilty plea to wire fraud and commodities fraud. As part of the sentence, LaMarco was also ordered to pay $872,600 in restitution to the investors in a commodity…

Flathead County District Court Judge Amy Eddy Jan. 25 accepted a plea deal in the Ponzi case of Catherine Ann Finberg. In the deal, the Columbia Falls woman agreed to plead no contest Dec. 28 to a felony count of embezzlement, common scheme; guilty to operating a pyramid promotional scheme and guilty to two counts of fraudulent security practices in exchange for the…

Agents and financial advisors should proceed with caution in the wake of President Donald J. Trump’s suspension of a fiduciary advice rule for retirement investors, distributers said Friday.

The Trump Administration and the Republican-controlled Congress could bring about major changes in tax law and, if passed, Texas would…

Thousands of financial and insurance services businesses may decide against advising consumers about the safety and protection of qualified annuities if the DOL rule is implemented as it is written. Our Kim O’Brien talks about the biggest problems.

—A rare doubleshot of encouraging news on retirement savings: Workers are contributing more to their 401 accounts, and they’re taking out fewer loans from them. The combination means that the average 401 balance was $92,500 at the end of 2016, up nearly 5 percent from a year earlier. Paychecks finally seem to be on the upswing for families outside the top earners,…

Jan. 31– A Jenison man accused of bilking West Michigan residents out of more than $4.3 million has been sent to prison for a minimum seven years. Scott Richard Rookus, 45, was sentenced Monday in Ottawa County Circuit Court. Judge Jon Hulsing said he was exceeding the sentencing guidelines for the defendant.

Registered investment advisors are at a crossroads, with technology putting pressure on advisors to adapt or die, some analysts say.

BOSTON– A Waltham- based financial advisor has agreed to plead guilty in connection with defrauding his clients by engaging in a multi-year “cherry-picking” scheme. Michael J. Breton, 52, the managing partner of an investment advisory firm, Strategic Capital Management, LLC, was charged in an Information with securities fraud. “Motivated by greed, Mr. Breton used…

The SEC’s Enforcement Division alleges that the firm, formerly named Meyers Associates L.P., failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports for $24.8 million in suspicious transactions, including those occurring in accounts controlled by microcap stock financiers Raymond H. Barton and William G. Goode who are separately charged today by the SEC with…

The DOL finally released its proposed exemption permitting IMOs to become financial institutions and sell annuities under the fiduciary rule. Good news or bad news? Our Kim O’Brien breaks it down.

Exchange traded funds will play a bigger role in investment portfolios in 2017, according to data released today by BlackRock, Inc.. This trend is reinforced by 94% of U.S. financial advisors, also surveyed, who expect to invest in ETFs in client portfolios in the coming year. 46% of those new purchases would be funded by cash savings. “With one-quarter of Americans…

These and other findings are from Investor Brandscape ®, a Cogent Reports™ study released by Market Strategies International. “While Millennials took the lead with early adoption of automated investment advice, now it’ s Gen Xers that robo-advice providers should really focus on as they make up more than one-third of all affluent investors likely to consider…

Rising rates offer advisors more freedom with regard to laddering clients’ retirement income portfolios.

BOSTON – The national credit rating agency Moody’s Corporation, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., and Moody’s Analytics, Inc. (Moody’s) will pay…

The Department of Labor fiduciary rule is a game-changer when it comes to giving retirement advice. Here is how you can take advantage of the rule to help clients with their 401(k) plans.

*Mick Solimene, managing director, was a senior managing director and head of the restructuring and special situations group at Macquarie Capital. *Phil Van Winkle, managing principal, served as a managing director at AEG Partners and AEG Capital. *Alex Hunstad, senior associate, was a private equity associate at Water Street Healthcare Partners and an…

The Nationwide International Small Cap Fund offers investors the opportunity to diversify their international equity exposure with the objective of providing long-term capital growth. “The Nationwide International Small Cap Fund enables investors to further diversify their investment portfolio and expand their potential for capital appreciation.”

State insurance regulators and attorneys from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners are reviewing the agreement between the U.S. federal government and the European Union. “After more than a year of secret meetings it’s disappointing that in the waning days of the administration we are finally seeing the details of what purports to be a…

The Department of Labor fiduciary rule and other pressures will force natural changes in the investment product mix in the years ahead, a new report finds.

DENVER—Losing weight and quitting cigarettes may make way at the top of resolution lists this year. An annual survey from…

NEW YORK, N.Y. – What does it take to go from stressed and struggling to confident and assertive? A new…

In the U.S., to buy a median-priced home for $192,500, a buyer must scrape together $38,500 in cash– plus any closing costs and moving expenses– in order to ensure they qualify and get the best terms on their mortgage. In San Jose, where the median income is $105,455, a down payment on the median $961,600 home is $192,320. “Saving enough cash for a down payment is a major…

–Milliman, Inc., a premier global consulting and actuarial firm, today released the results of its latest Pension Funding Index, which analyzes the 100 largest U.S. corporate pension plans. Since that point and coincident with the conclusion of the U.S. presidential election, interest rates have steadily increased. “Going into 2017, rumors of potential multiple…

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) released a new report forecasting that more advisors in the years ahead…

With a potentially turbulent 2017 on the horizon, advisors can use all the help they can get. Our Brian O’Connell presents five reliable books advisors should consider reading to stay on top of their game.

Preparation levels by workers for retirement have not changed despite gradual increases in retirement confidence, according to a Retirement Confidence Survey last year. In the survey, workers were asked the age which they expected to retire with results showing little change from one year to another, although that age has been slowly rising.

American International Group, Inc. today announced the rebranding of its retail mutual fund family to AIG Funds from SunAmerica Mutual Funds, effective February 28, 2017. “We are committed to creating a leaner, more profitable and focused insurer,” said Kevin Hogan, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of AIG’ s Consumer Insurance.“ By aligning…

According to recent survey results from global investment management firm BlackRock, women are more optimistic than ever about their financial futures. “It’s clear that women need to become much more active in managing their money toward urgent long-term goals, particularly retirement,” Heather Pelant, head of personal investing at BlackRock, said in a…

Planning ahead and finding the right mix of risk and return are two keys to executing a strong college savings plan, one analyst said.

Jan. 09– As head of the largest independently owned financial advising firm in the Pittsburgh region managing billions of dollars in clients’ money, Kimberly Fleming is feeling the weight of responsibility to get her staff trained on procedures to meet sweeping rules the federal government plans to impose in April. I want us to deal with it constructively, “said…