The Keys To A Successful Transition To Fee-Based Advising

U.S. stocks shook off their latest virus-induced loss and returned to record heights Wednesday, with several familiar faces doing the heaviest lifting. It dropped Tuesday after warning that revenue this quarter would fall short of forecasts due to the viral outbreak centered in China.

A major worldwide beverage distributor has agreed to a $5 million fine to settle a complaint brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission that it manipulated inventory and misled investors.

The Securities and Exchange Commission says a Tampa real estate investment firm ran a Ponzi scheme that raised $170 million from at least 1,100 mostly elderly investors. Most investors had limited knowledge of what they were investing in, the complaint says, or that the defendants paid out $24 million in commissions to agents and others.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards announced public disciplinary actions against 19 current or former advisors for a wide range of infractions. Public disciplinary actions taken by CFP Board, in order of increasing severity, include letters of admonition, suspensions and permanent revocations.

Expectations for full-year 2020 and 2021 real gross domestic product growth were improved by one-tenth to 2.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, on a projected substantial upgrade to business fixed investment later this year, according to the latest commentary from the Fannie Mae Economic and Strategic Research Group.

A California- based giant of global investment management agreed to acquire Baltimore’ s Legg Mason for $4.5 billion, the two companies announced Tuesday morning. Franklin Templeton will pay $50 cash for each share of Legg Mason’ s stock, a $9.28 per share premium over Friday’ s closing price.

The liquidity that resulted when central banks, including the Federal Reserve, lowered rates created an “extraordinary return paradigm” last year, Rick Rieder, chief investment officer for fixed income at BlackRock Inc., said in a speech last week to the CFA Society of Minnesota, a group of hundreds of financial analysts.

In 2014, medical device maker Medtronic announced a controversial acquisition that almost doubled its revenue and set the stage for a rise in stock value that has outpaced a surging bull market. Yet an unusual shareholder lawsuit is moving though Minnesota courtrooms arguing that thousands of shareholders were injured by the deal.

A risk-off sentiment driven by the spread of the coronavirus from China spooked investors to start 2020, leading to modest declines for equity markets at month-end. Markets have since recovered and moved back to new highs, but that does not necessarily mean the risks have disappeared.

Wall Street expects that Walmart closed out its last fiscal year on a high note. Walmart has benefited from strong sales, particularly in its grocery business, which the company has expanded by rolling out an online delivery service. The Fed noted that the economy looked solid, but also faced global threats, including the new virus outbreak from China.

There is no reason to expect any change in the Beltway distribution of power, said Chip Roame, managing partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors. Speaking during a regular conference call Thursday, Roame said President Donald J. Trump is on track for another four-year term.

The latest chapter is the drop in interest rates on some bank deposits below zero as central banks, particularly in Europe and Japan, try to support the economy amid uncertainty about trade by making borrowing cheaper to spur spending and investment.

Transamerica’s chief investment officer sees the 2020 market environment as investor-friendly, or what he calls a “Goldilocks” scenario:  an economic and market backdrop not too hot or too cold, but just enough for stock and bond investors to generate good returns in the year ahead.

Staying involved in new innovation and up to date on current trends is extremely important to being a successful financial planner. Alexandria Cole-Davis discusses some technology resources for young advisors.

The Barbaro, DeMartino & Tucker Group, a team of seasoned advisors managing approximately $194 million in assets, has joined the employee channel of Ameriprise Financial.

An unidentified fraudster stole a Florida woman’s identity to befriend the 80-year-old Oregon man through an online dating service, according to the Oregon Department of Insurance. The fraudster quickly persuaded him to send money for a business opportunity.

It’s a new year what are your client’s resolutions? If one of them is to update their estate plan, here are five questions to ask.

According to a complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Charlie Chen placed “extremely aggressive” and “extraordinarily profitable” trades in advance of Vistaprint quarterly earnings announcements from April 2013 through July 2014.

Asian stock markets followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday, at least temporarily shaking off jitters about China’s virus outbreak. Benchmarks in Hong Kong and South Korea rose, rebounding from big declines Monday, and Shanghai also advanced.

The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act is now law. With it comes some of the biggest changes to retirement savings law in recent years. The advisor has a big role to play educating clients on how the new rules affect their retirement planning.

Buyers and investors still have a lot of cash to spend, and sellers that can demonstrate solid financials are in enviable positions, experts say. About $2 trillion in private equity remains unspent, creating enormous opportunities for mergers and acquisitions.

Workforce experts have called it the Silver Tsunami. In 2013 the Exit Planning Institute, the national professional association for the exit-planning industry, issued results of a survey that showed 76 percent of business owners, mainly boomers, were looking to sell their business and retire within 10 years.

Through his company, Ronald Leger sold “at least” $3.7 million fractional interests in life settlements to 29 investors, the complaint reads. The Massachusetts Securities Division is in the process of finalizing a fiduciary rule to tighten the rules for all financial advice and sales.

Viewing your practice as an “assembly line” allows you to pursue larger corporate clients and generate more business. You can achieve this by cultivating a workflow based on each employee’s natural skillset and grasping the potential of a more streamlined, efficient business model.

Shares of Merck and Glaxo, two of the world’s largest drugmakers, were each off about 3 to 4 percent in trading Wednesday after the companies used their year-end earnings reports to announce plans to split some of their slower-growing businesses, so they can concentrate on more-profitable products such as cancer drugs and vaccines.

The Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced that it is permanently barring Andrea Vella, a senior executive at Goldman Sachs, from the banking industry for his role in Goldman’s financing of a defrauded Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

Mennonite investors in Pennsylvania were scammed out of $60 million over a decade, say investigators with the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. The elaborate Ponzi scheme relied on the trust of the Mennonite worshippers, investigators say.

According to a new report, commercial real estate investors, brokers and lenders are expecting a potential surge of activity in the first half of 2020. Report participants noted the intersection of strong market fundamentals, ample investor capital, and the potential for increasing headwinds generated by a slowing economy.

In plain English, Deutsche is saying prices are very high, historically speaking, and a variety of measuring metrics are all above their averages to the upside. The only time Deutsche’s metrics have been stretched further was in January 2018, before a significant sell-off in the markets.

Asian shares rose Wednesday on optimism that China’s latest actions may help curtail some of the expected economic damage from the virus outbreak. For example, Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 1.1% to 23,342.60 in afternoon trading.

Work continues on a fiduciary rule proposed by the Massachusetts Securities Division. The department posted 227 comment letters last week, three weeks after the comment deadline. A spokeswoman said all of the comments will be included in the rulemaking process.

One of the least talked about but most important economic shifts in recent memory involves the astounding rise of women in the workplace. About four out of every five women between the ages of 25-54 work outside of the home.

The role of our financial regulators is to ensure sustainable, efficient markets that protect us from financial and economic disruptions. As we’ve seen over the years, however, they’re not always up to the task.

U.S. stocks stabilized as investors assessed uncertainty over a deadly virus outbreak in China.

Although only 20% of firms knew what their ‘critical moments’ were with clients, many were sure they are doing a fine job keeping clients satisfied, according to a Sandler Research poll.

The Super Bowl Indicator suggests stocks rise for the full year when the Super Bowl winner has come from the original National Football League (now the NFC), but when an original American Football League (now the AFC) team has won, stocks have fallen.

While independent registered investment advisors have enjoyed enormous growth and success during the past decade, the future may be even brighter for those who embrace technology and strategies that can make their firms more productive, scalable and sustainable, a TD Ameritrade executive says.

The U.S. economy expanded at a moderate 2.1% annual rate in the fourth quarter 2019, capping a year when a weak global landscape and a sharp pullback in business investment resulting from President Donald Trump’s trade fights combined to slow growth. Global risks— including potentially severe economic damage from China’s viral outbreak— will continue.

Wall Street has often called this the most hated bull market in history, and for good reason. Even though this bull market is the longest on record, it has been the third-slowest expansion since 1950 based on annualized growth. Are there reasons for concern in the markets?

Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal published an article on Google’s attempt to gain access to millions of medical records. According to the Journal’s report, Google has deals with some of the country’s largest health care companies allowing them to “view or analyze tens of millions of patient health records in at least three-quarters of U.S. states.”

The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged at a low level Wednesday amid an economy that looks solid but faces potential global threats, including from China’s viral outbreak. The Fed sketched a mostly bright picture of the U.S. economy in a statement it released after its latest policy meeting.

A lawsuit seeking class-action status accuses Raymond James of “reverse-churning” clients from commission-based into fee-based accounts. The suit alleges that the firm used the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule as a reason to move people into fee-based accounts, regardless of suitability.

Advisor News premieres a new feature today bringing you financial planning as seen and lived by millennial advisors. Our NexGen feature is being brought to you in partnership with the Financial Planning Association. We plan to publish NexGen bimonthly on Wednesdays. Our kickoff column is written by Ian Harvey of Bridgewater Advisors in New York City.

Cerity Partners, one of the nation’ s leading independent financial advisory firms, announced that it has merged with New York- based wealth management firm EMM Wealth. Cerity Partners now manages approximately $26 billion in assets.

Whether you’re an NFL team trying to make it to the Super Bowl or an investor who wants to generate better-than-average long-term results, your odds of success are greater if you ignore conventional wisdom and do things differently.

Even just talk of a possible recession can trigger anxiety for anyone who associates it with the major economic downturn of a dozen years ago. Recessions — and their severity — are out of your control, your own financial situation doesn’t have to be.

The stock market closed out 2019 with an impressive rally, marking a dramatic shift from what we experienced at the end of 2018. The S&P 500 Index posted a return of 9.1% in the fourth quarter, bringing its return for the year to 31.5%. Recall that in the closing months of 2018, the S&P 500 index lost about 20% of its value as investors were nervous about trade tensions.

The couple and conspirators promised to produce mobile solar generators, lease them back to their own company and then lease the generators to third parties. Instead, court documents say, they took the money and did not produce the generators.

One of the potential disruptors of the generally positive economic news surfaced in the form of a viral outbreak in China last week. Known as the coronavirus, as of this morning, there were nearly 2,800 cases in mainland China (mostly in the Wuhan area) and 80 deaths, for a mortality rate of about 3 percent.

Over the past month, the market pundits have been proffering their 2020 forecasts for stocks, bonds, interest rates, real estate, gold, oil and basically anything investors might buy or sell. Let’s take a look at how accurate their 2019 forecasts were.

The first mistake many people make is they do not save enough. There have been studies saying the average 401(k) balance is only $83,000. Using the 4% rule, that would provide a 65-year-old retiree with about $275 per month.

Having a CRM will help keep your business running smoother and more successfully, all while saving you and your clients time and money. The author explains all the ways a good CRM makes the advisor’s life a lot easier to manage and be successful.

There are two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. President Donald Trump has nominated monetary policy experts Judy Shelton and Christopher Waller to fill them, subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate. There has been no FOMC meeting in which more than one governor dissented since 1993.

The European Central Bank said Thursday it will maintain its historically low interest rate structure, including its main deposit rate of -0.5 percent, until it sees higher inflation levels. Citing persistently low inflation it sees as damaging to the Eurozone economy, the ECB also retained its current marginal lending facility rate of 0.25 percent.

A new Greenspring Advisors’ survey finds that 45% of people experience “regular financial stress which affects their satisfaction, engagement, productivity and alignment,” an executive said.

Two men took $4.85 million in investor money and spent it on luxury cars, yachts and a movie company, instead of ownership in a cannabis company, according to the SEC.

Some finance pros are suggesting that clients consider protecting some of the gains they earned during the market surge of the past year by moving them into a safer product – an insurance product.

The financial services industry is the least trusted of 15 sectors, according to the 2020 Edelman Trust Barometer. And only 18% of respondents believe that the system is working for them. It all amounts to an anxious public.

Fourth-quarter earnings season kicked off last week with 24 S&P 500 Index companies reporting fourth quarter results. The market’s reception to the first batch of results was mostly positive, particularly for several of the big banks.

Anexinet is expanding eMoney’s production environment across an HPE Synergy platform. Broadening the hybrid IT architecture enabled eMoney to rapidly deploy its financial application to customers while adding new cloud capabilities for specific time-to-market requirements.

Banks led a slide in U.S. stocks Tuesday as a virus outbreak in China rattled global markets, prompting investors to shift assets into bonds and defensive sector companies. The selling in U.S. stocks followed losses in Asian and European markets as investors worried about the new coronavirus spreading through China.

President Donald Trump touted his administration’s economic achievements in a speech Tuesday at the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying the United States “is winning” like never before.

U.S. stocks were mixed Tuesday in the first trading day of a holiday-shortened week, following up on losses around the world as worries deepened about a virus outbreak in China. Six people have died, and 291 have been infected in China, just as people in the country were preparing to make billions of trips for the Lunar New Year travel season.

The SECURE Act impacts nearly all retirement savers, and some of the many details are more important than others. Here is an overview of the most significant changes as the SECURE Act starts rolling out in 2020.

In the United States, recent interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve may lend some support to economic activity. However, given persistent policy uncertainty, weak business confidence and waning fiscal stimulus, GDP growth in the United States is forecast to slow from 2.2% in 2019 to 1.7% in 2020.

Investors are demanding more impact accountability of companies and investment managers. ESG funds are pulling in an exponentially greater number of dollars, but the Securities and Exchange Commission is asking questions.

In this week’s Rewirement Tip, Jamie Hopkins discusses the strategy behind Roth IRA conversions. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act puts Roth conversions high on the to-do list to take advantage of lower rates, Hopkins explains.

Less than six months ago, people found themselves reading about something called an inverted yield curve and its record for signaling economic downturns. The trade war with China showed no signs of abating. And the United Kingdom appeared on track for an abrupt exit from the European Union.

It’s part of what the Associated Press reports is a 10-year run during which the S&P 500 returned more than 13% annually. “It has been a very, very good market in 2019,” Bill Rice, a financial adviser with Laurel Highlands Financial Services in Somerset, said. Social Security benefits, medical insurance and other sources of expense and income should be considered.

Most advisors might be thinking they want to sell but only a few have actually planned how to do it, says Chip Roame of Tiburon. The succession process has six elements to consider.

Mother Jones, a liberal news website, reports that it has copies of internal memorandums circulated by Barclays, a powerful London-based bank and financial services firm. In one such memo, the bank warns that a Warren presidency “would directly impact corporate earnings.”

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he intends to nominate two people to serve on the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors, an institution he has repeatedly attacked for not cutting rates deeply enough.

Very few Wall Street experts predicted that 2019 would be such a strong year for stocks and bonds. The U.S. economy continued to perform well, led by consumer spending, a strong housing market, historically low unemployment, and the Federal Reserve reducing interest rates.

While the majority of Americans age 40 and over claim to have a well-defined retirement strategy, almost the same number would give themselves a‘ C’ grade or lower on their retirement savings, according to a new survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of TD Ameritrade.

A survey by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) finds that millennials’ expectations are not well aligned with the retirement planning steps they have taken thus far. Although nearly eight in ten millennials say that they have saved some money for retirement, nearly half – 46 percent – have saved less than $10,000.

Several stocks moved heavily or traded substantially over the past 24 hours. They include several big names, such as UnitedHealth and Target.

Advisors want to have the freedom and flexibility to provide the best possible client experience as true fiduciaries and differentiate themselves in order to compete for more wallet share. With overall wealth increasing in the U.S., there will be continued demand for the services that independent advisors deliver.

The CFB board reported significant gains in female, African American and Latino certificants. “CFP Board’s focused effort to improve diversity in the profession is having an impact,” said Kevin Keller, CAE and CFP Board chief executive officer.

The National Financial Educators Council conducted a survey with a single question: “When you have a financial question, who do you turn to for trusted financial guidance?” The most popular answer to the question depended on the age of the respondent.

Two clients’ true stories during the last bear market reveal the pitfalls and opportunities that come with investing in uncertain times. Do you see your clients in this tale?

Wells Fargo’s new CEO, Charles Scharf, has one of the hardest jobs in banking. After three months in the position, Scharf made his debut before Wall Street analysts Tuesday to report another disappointing quarter for the bank. For all of 2019, profits fell to $20 billion, compared with $22- billion in 2018.

For the Lilly Endowment, a good year means it’s time to cash in. The Indianapolis- based endowment, one of the nation’s largest charitable foundations, is unloading hundreds of millions of dollars of stock in its namesake company, drugmaker Eli Lilly and Co., continuing a sell-off strategy it began more than a decade ago.

With nearly $7 trillion under management, BlackRock is the largest firm in the business. The move to fundamentally shift its investing policy could reshape how corporate America does business.

By the end of 2019, the venture industry deployed $136.5 billion in US-based companies, surpassing the $130 billion mark for the second consecutive year, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor.

A new survey of CEOs by GLG shows that chief executives enter 2020 bullish about their companies’ futures and broadly optimistic about the global economy overall. 80% are confident that their company’s revenue will grow in the next 12 months and 51% think global growth will increase, while less than a quarter believe the U.S. will enter a recession in 2020.

As a business owner, you are always thinking of what you need to do now. But you can’t forget about the future yours and that of your business. In 2020, you can defer up to $19,500 of income, or $26,000 if you are 50 or older.

Let’s face it: 2019 is going to be a hard year to beat – stocks and 401 plans up more than 25% on average, wage gains of 3% to 5%, 7 million surplus jobs and the lowest unemployment and inflation rates in nearly 50 years.

The annuities debate is among the most intense and divisive in the financial services industry but the truth is much less flashy than the hardliners like to imply: as with most investment and insurance options, annuities can be a helpful tool for some, but are not a good fit for everyone.

—Global shares mostly rose Friday as worried receded that the United States and Iran might be stepping closer to the edge of war. Britain's FTSE 100 was little changed, down less than 0.1% at 7,593.34. U.S. shares were set to drift higher with Dow futures up 0.1% at 28,969. S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% at 3,280.70.

—Stocks around the world climbed on Thursday, and the S&P 500 was heading for a record as markets continued their rally on relief that the United States and Iran appear to be stepping away from the edge of war. Diminishing worries about a U.S.- Iran war put more of the market’ s focus on the economy, corporate profits and other inputs that directly affect stock prices.

Regarding the movement of equity prices, we associate with the words of Alan “Ace” Greenberg, the head of Bear Stearns during the 1987 market crash: “Stocks fluctuate, next question.” Markets had declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 as the Federal Reserve tightened money and Donald Trump’s trade war accelerated.

Q: I had a really good year in the stock market and my IRA is up a lot. Given the political situation and what is happening with Iran do you think I should take my gains and move to the sidelines? A: I understand why you might feel nervous.

Short-term interest rates are also often used by the Federal Reserve to help the economy recover from a recession or potential slow down, while also trying to cool down the economy if they feel it is getting over heated and increasing the potential for higher inflation.

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker sent a letter Tuesday to Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin urging him to defer action on proposed fiduciary regulation. The proposal creates “confusion,” and ignores other state and national regulatory efforts, Baker wrote.

Key markets across the United States saw the effects of surging interest rates as refinance share declined month-over-month in Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Miami, San Francisco and Dallas. While the average interest rate on FHA and VA loans dropped in November compared to the month prior, the average rate for Conventional loans, which accounted for 73% of all…

O.N. Investment Management Co. launched the Envestnet Insurance Exchange for its advisors. The insurance network provides access to reputable insurance carriers and their annuity products alongside traditional managed account investments on the Envestnet platform.

Regarding the movement of equity prices, we associate with the words of Alan “Ace” Greenberg, the head of Bear Stearns during the 1987 market crash: “Stocks fluctuate, next question.” Markets had declined in the fourth quarter of 2018 as the Federal Reserve tightened money and Donald Trump’s trade war accelerated.