Only Six Percent Of Seniors Know ESGs

Oct. 15– A former Dayton investment advisor misappropriated more than $1.6 million from clients– many who were elderly– for the past 14 years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said in a complaint. The SEC termed the actions of John Gregory Schmidt a “long-running scheme.” Look for the company’s financial statements on the SEC’s EDGAR filing system.

Despite the definition in the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, there still seems to be a disagreement as to whether or not the title and its two spellings are an issue.

Well, Thursday started promising …. By afternoon, though, it was pretty clear that not only was it a fire, but we also might need to pull a fourth alarm.

Yesterday was a bad day in the market. The Dow was down more than 800 points (800 points!), and the S&P was down almost 100 points (100 points!). So, is it the beginning of the end?

President Trump blamed the plummeting stock market Wednesday on Federal Reserve policy that has raised interest rates six times since he took office, most recently in September.

Behind the staid numbers, annuity companies are experimenting with product tweaks as they push to distribute through new channels in search of growth, which is likely to come from reaching down to the mass affluent and middle markets.

New RIA firms are managing an increasing amount of investor dollars, a new survey finds.

Technology is moving fast. Does the universe need a financial advisor any longer, or will technology replace you?

As a securities and insurance test-preparation instructor, I help many students along the licensing exam journey. Here are some strategies I recommend to them.

How to identify annuity sales opportunities lurking in the midst of your clients’ financial challenges.

Money manager allocations to U.S. stocks are at the highest level in three years, research from Bank of America Merrill Lynch suggests. As professional investors turn their back on Europe and emerging market equities, it raises questions about what’s causing this sudden shift.

“Crazy,” “stunning” and “very odd” were just some of the reactions today to news from Ohio National that it will end advisor compensation on existing variable annuity contracts.

A retirement plan that bridges the gap between accumulating funds and distributing them.

Increasingly, robotics-based money management firms are edging toward more customer access to human-based advisors.

Fall is here, and that means gala season is just around the corner. This is the time when many of the wonderful nonprofit organizations in your town are working hard to meet their fundraising goals. They do great work promoting arts, supporting vulnerable communities, and advocating for change, and you want to help them. But this also happens to be your busy season and time is in short supply. Having to make a decision in response to every request can quickly turn what should be a rewarding experience into an overwhelming one.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Institute on Retirement Security, 57 percent of U.S. workers (approximately 100 million people) have zero dollars in either an employee defined contribution plan, an IRA, or a company pension.

Merrill Lynch will again accept commission-based individual retirement accounts, but the invitation excludes commission annuities.

Mirroring last year’s spike in crypto-currencies such as bitcoin, marijuana has emerged as 2018′ s hot investment topic, and promises to engage investors from Wall Street to Main Street after Canada legalizes cannabis for adult use on Oct. 17. While expectations are prodigious, legal cannabis spending globally is expected to hit just $32 billion by 2022.

In an IonTuition survey, 75 percent of respondents said they would prefer employer contributions to student loan payments over traditional 401(k) plan benefits.

As a forward-thinking financial professional, it’s fair to ask whether your current list of clients and prospects is positioning you for future success.

On a recent trading day, five of the six stocks with the most trading volume at TD Ameritrade were cannabis related, according to the discount brokerage based in Omaha, Nebraska. Investors are looking to profit from a new market that generated $8.5 billion in spending on legal marijuana in the U.S. last year and which is estimated to grow to $23.4 billion in 2022,…

When you’re looking for feedback on how to improve the services you offer or how you can attract more of your best clients, try tapping directly into the source — your client base.

You might have a fancy office, but the advisor down the street has a fancy office, too. You both also have a website and business cards. At a certain point, the markers that used to represent success become the norm, and these items — like a nice office — aren’t what will set you apart.

I think I’ve had something wrong about sales for a long time. I followed the classic wisdom of playing the…

Analysts and market forecasters are also keeping a close eye on the elections given that policy, tax reform and infrastructure could all change, November could cause a rise in market volatility.

Variable annuities have come a long way. Years ago it wasn’t unusual to see expensive, commission-laden products that sometimes made too-big promises. But that was then, this is now: Today’s variable annuities are leaner, meaner, more liquid, more cost effective and more transparent.

Since 2010, Betterment has efficiently leveraged automated investing, relying on algorithms and automation technology to manage client investment portfolios. Increasingly, that success story is being rewritten to include actual human advisors to the Betterment line-up.

With better technology and more robust risk tolerance analytics, advisors can offer efficient and effective investment management plans to clients, both for today and as the client’s future evolves.

A task force led by State Treasurer Joe Torsella, a Democrat, held several hearings on the issue over the winter, but legislation failed to gain traction in the Republican-controlled General Assembly this year. The most-discussed option for Pennsylvania has been an individual retirement account, or IRA, with automatic enrollment for workers who lack access…

Identify relevant professionals you’d like to network with such as lawyers, accountants, real estate agents and others who work within your target demographic

The executive orders, rolled out by the White House on August 31, focus on several main points, such as, adjusting the current requirement minimum distribution age and paving the way for more access to retirement plans for employees of small companies.

Many times, advisors do not feel comfortable asking clients about disabilities. In turn, families may also be reluctant to bring the subject up. Opening up this communication is crucial to planning effectively and requires using the right language.

Money has baggage. And since money touches so many aspects of our lives, it is fertile ground for our anxieties and worries. It can also be an expression of our deepest values and beliefs.

Women who retire when their husbands do may be giving up more wealth than they realize.

Shares of electric car maker Tesla Inc. fell more than 5 percent Tuesday after a report that it’s under criminal investigation over statements about taking the company private. Bloomberg News reported that the Justice Department probe is running parallel to an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Tesla shares fell 5.3 percent to $279.13 in midday trading.

Only 47 percent of widowed couples planned for life after the death of a spouse, but more thatn three-quarters of them said the passing of their spouse was the most significant event of their life.

Stocks are opening slightly lower on Wall Street as investors waited to see whether the Trump administration will formally announce tariffs on another $200 billion-worth of Chinese goods. The two governments have already imposed 25 percent tariffs on $50 billion of each other’s goods. Restaurant chains and technology companies are among the decliners.

Americans’ concern about the state of the U.S. economy is at its lowest level on record, according to a new survey that’s been tracking the issue for decades. Although the storm could be the costliest in U.S. history, economists don’t expect Florence to have a long-term effect economically.

On the brink of crumbling a decade ago, America’s financial system was saved by an extraordinary rescue that revived Wall Street and the economy yet did little for individuals who felt duped and left to suffer from the reckless bets of giant banking institutions.

An employee on maternity leave was watching news on TV the day before she was returning to work. Then she saw it would also be the last day as she knew it at her venerable Wall Street firm.

A Republican-led panel in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to make the individual tax cuts from President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul permanent, a move seen by some as a bid to help GOP candidates in the Nov. 6 congressional elections.

On the brink of crumbling a decade ago, America’s financial system was saved by an extraordinary rescue that revived Wall Street and the economy yet did little for individuals who felt duped and left to suffer from the reckless bets of giant banking institutions.

US housing starts are forecast to see annual growth of 2.4% through 2022, scaling up to 2007 levels. But the size of units is expected to shrink over the period.

In 2016, three New Hampshire financial advisors jumped from Wells Fargo Advisors to stamp the footprint of New Boston- based Steward Partners LLC in Keene. Among the major wirehouses- large integrated brokers with national markets and all part of the nation’s largest banks- Morgan Stanley Wealth Management has lost 570 advisors, Wells Fargo Advisors 476,…

With Ohio National closing its annuity business, the next step is how soon the block might be put up for sale.

One thing is for sure, there won’t be any shortage of inquiring buyers who want to know.

As much as $10 trillion of small business wealth could be transferred over the next 10 years by the same people who once made hula hoops all the rage, blue jeans an everyday fashion choice and dramatic social change a way of life. “It seemingly is like nothing this country has ever experienced,” says Josh Curtis, managing director at Footprint Capital, a Columbus-…

–According to the 2018 Allianz Tuition Insurance College Confidence Index, roughly 40 percent of families find the Free Application for Federal Student Aid challenging to complete– a troubling statistic considering the growing number of families saving nothing for college. The index reveals a growing “college savings gap,” as even parents who have saved have…

How clients, bosses or even other family members perceive financial advisors is often different than how those very same advisors see themselves.

The financial advisory industry suffers from a lack of clarity around the services included in wealth management. Spectrem Group’ s new study, Defining Wealth Management, asks investors what undefined industry terms mean to them, and what they expect from a firm that offers“ wealth management services.” Based on…

Robo-advisory apps make aspects of investing more accessible, more seamless and less costly. But as robo-advisory technology matures and a new generation of investors emerge, it’s becoming apparent that automation won’t seize control of the investment world anytime soon.

The bankruptcy filing of Lehman Bros. 10 years ago this month shot off a flare that signaled that an already weak economy was in deep trouble. Caught in the storm that led to the financial crisis were homeowners who found themselves underwater on their mortgages, meaning they owed more than their homes were worth. Jesse Van Tol, CEO of the National Community…

The current bull market began in 2009, most analysts agree, and is the longest on record.

–Women in the United States control $14 trillion of the nation’ s personal wealth, or slightly more than half, yet their approach to investing is often underappreciated by the financial services industry charged with helping individuals and families grow their savings, according to research commissioned by PIMCO, one of the world’ s premier fixed income…

On Wednesday, the Senate confirmed the SEC’s newest commissioner Elad L. Roisman.

–Twine, the savings and investing app backed by John Hancock, today released the results of a new consumer survey, which uncovered new attitudes and habits around investing among 1,000 U.S. adults. Forty-four percent of millennials scored a passing grade on the investing pop quiz. There are misconceptions around what it takes to start investing. Nearly half of…

The industry is rolling out newer, flashier innovations — from robo-advising platforms to smart speakers that provide account balance updates — that many plan sponsors think could be the solution that helps their workforce get on track for retirement.

Last fall, three big wirehouses dropped a bombshell on the broker recruiting world with plans to opt out of an agreement to provide safe passage to advisors leaving for another firm.

Owing money in retirement isn’t ideal- but most people do. Seventy percent of U.S. households headed by people ages 65 to 74 had at least some debt in 2016, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Survey of Consumer Finances. “It is much easier to keep working for another year or two than to try and come back into the workforce when they are older and the employer…

Asian shares are mixed as the lack of new leads following a U.S. holiday kept attention focused on trade worries and slower Chinese manufacturing. South Korean and Chinese indexes rose while Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 was lower. Australian shares fell after the Reserve Bank of Australia maintained its economic forecast and kept its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 1.5 percent.