Advisors and clients aligned on retirement income planning, study finds

U.S. central bankers broadly back two more big rate hikes in June and July, but what happens next is a matter of intense internal debate that revolves largely around differing views on how price pressures will play out in the coming months.

The SEC charged BNY Mellon Investment Adviser, Inc. for misstatements and omissions about Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations in making investment decisions for certain mutual funds that it managed.

Wall Street was poised for some relief Monday, with the major U.S. indexes moving higher in morning trading after last week's dizzying volatility. Investors appear to lack confidence the Federal Reserve can tame roaring inflation without tipping the economy— which is already slowing amid a wide range of head winds— into a recession.

According to Wikipedia, spring cleaning “is the practice of thoroughly cleaning a house in the springtime.” There are many spring-cleaning tips and lists on the internet for those interested. However, there is no mention of a spring checkup on finances during this cleaning period.

Still recovering from pandemic-induced challenges, US small businesses are failing to plan for the long term.

U.S. stock investors discount higher recession probabilities than are evident from positive macroeconomic indicators, according to strategists at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.. U.S. stocks have taken a beating this year as signs of stubbornly high inflation and a tightening Federal Reserve raise the specter of an economic recession.

Consumers were most concerned last year about being able to live debt-free. But now they are much more worried about being able to pay their bills, with half of Americans anxious about it, according to an Equifax report.

Evidence that red-hot inflation is seeping into the economy is sending a chill through investors after major U.S. retail groups showed people are cutting back on buying bigger items to make ends meet.

As financial planners, we know it can sometimes be difficult to encourage individuals to save money for their future especially those in low-income minority communities. Once individuals decide to take the right steps towards saving, we’re then tasked with the more complex topic: investment choices.

The bottom line is that an estate plan can have a tangible impact on your life. In the event someone dies without a will, or intestate, the court decides how your assets will be distributed. Different states have different rules regarding dividing your assets without a will or an estate plan.

Jim Rohn, one of the original great personal development teachers, used to say, “If you want things to change, you have to change. If you want things to be better, you have to be better.” This wisdom is incredibly simple and powerfully profound.

As a record number of Americans are heading into their retirement years with impressive balances in their 401 plans, the potential disruption of this long bull market has many people trembling. The prospect of actually losing money just as they need to plan retirement living withdrawals is truly frightening for this generation of amateur investors.

Bashing the Federal Reserve for uncorking inflation has become a parlor game— never mind that the Fed also saved the nation from a pandemic depression and that inflation is set to fall sharply. For the third time this century, the Federal Reserve has responded belatedly to signs of a bubble.

The demand for complex financial products is increasing significantly, especially among mass affluent investors. This historically overlooked group no longer relies exclusively on exchange-traded funds and mutual funds. Instead, mass affluent investors are starting to branch out and opt for alternatives, structured products, even art and other non-bankable assets.

An exceptionally robust job market. The Federal Reserve raising interest rates at a rapid clip. Overheated financial markets starting to correct themselves, with the frothiest sectors bearing the brunt. That's the situation today — and was also the situation in the spring of 2000, when the dot-com bubble started to burst.

A study group consists of individuals working together to solve difficult cases and garner business advice from peers. What binds the group together is shared goals, as well as expectations or guidelines established by the group.

In a survey, financial advisors scored just as poorly as mechanics on trustworthiness among investors who don’t currently work with an advisor. But that could change as a new rule allows advisors to solicit and promote client testimonials.

The Senate confirmed Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell to a second term leading the central bank on Thursday, as he faces the enormous task of slashing the highest inflation in 40 years without sending the country into a recession. The Senate supported Powell to another four year term by a vote of 80-19.. "Few institutions are more important to help steer our…

The Great Resignation along with its possible causes was one of the key topics of discussion at the Spring Policy…

Finding and keeping talent is the greatest challenge for registered investment advisors (RIAs), according to a survey by Advisor Growth Strategies. This hunt for the right people is fueling a record-setting mergers and acquisition (M&A) climate.

Cryptocurrency trading platform Coinbase has lost half its value in the past week, including its biggest one-day drop ever on Wednesday as the famously volatile crypto market weathers yet another slump.

The financial strength built up in U.S. households limited the damage from the coronavirus pandemic but may now be aggravating – and prolonging – the Federal Reserve’s inflation fight as the central bank waits for people to run out of spending power.

Despite Americans’ worries about health care and long-term care costs in retirement, they still desire to live longer, and nearly seven in 10 Americans (69%) want to live to age 100.

Is the United States at risk of enduring another recession, just two years after emerging from the last one? For now, even the more pessimistic economists don’t expect a downturn anytime soon.

The millennial generation (aged 26-41) has been pegged with stereotypes of careless spending and saving habits since the early 2010s. However, with the oldest members of this generation now entering their 40s, they are busting out-of-date perceptions by applying what they’ve learned after living through past financial crises.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Center for Microeconomic Data showed households are positive about their job prospects and also plan to spend more money.

Expectations of a hawkish Federal Reserve are dimming Wall Street’s outlook for stocks, with some investors now bracing for a potential bear market in the benchmark S&P 500 index.

You know that feeling when you’re having a delightful time at a picnic, but you start seeing storm clouds in the horizon? That’s pretty much what prospects for retirement look like for most working Americans, according to the latest annual survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research.

Since the end of December, interest on the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has nearly doubled to more than 5%, prompting predictions of an end to bidding wars and runaway home prices. That would raise the typical monthly payment on a $300,000 mortgage payment by more than $390 or 32%.

Low interest rates, investors’ ongoing search for yield, and strong acquisitions activity continue to create a supportive environment for real estate financing and alternative lenders across the globe, contributing to a record $22.38 billion in worldwide originations last year for PGIM Real Estate.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point yesterday, Wednesday, May 4, to a range of 0.75% to 1%. This is the first increase of this magnitude since 2000, in order to control inflation in the United States.

For all the emphasis and excitement over helping clients efficiently accumulate assets and accomplish their goals, it’s quite often that how the client makes a living goes into the financial plan as a “snuck premise,” a sort of status quo fact that simply underlines the cash flow projections of the financial plan.

Stock market investors are heading into the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate-setting announcement particularly pessimistic, with fresh milestones for bond yields and worries about rocketing inflation weighing on sentiment as the central bank is expected to hike rates further.

The Federal Reserve is poised this week to accelerate its most drastic steps in three decades to attack inflation by making it costlier to borrow- for a car, a home, a business deal, a credit card purchase- all of which will compound Americans' financial strains and likely weaken the economy.

A swift shift in investor enthusiasm, rather than a weakening in corporate profit power, is driving the market’s recent flop. Blame Powell. Or Putin. Or both. The big picture: The stock market is on track for the worst year since 2008, falling nearly 13% so far in 2022.

An increasing number of employers are offering financial-wellbeing programs to their employees as they seek to improve overall worker satisfaction, reduce financial stress, increase productivity, and make improvements to retirement plans and other employee-benefit programs.

Living paycheck to paycheck has become the dominant way people manage their cashflow in the United States, with close to two-thirds of the U.S. population, 64% or about 166 million adults, doing so in March 2022.

Being an ally and supporter of your diverse staff, colleagues and friends within our industry involves intentionality, vulnerability and the quest for lifelong learning. These three podcasts are excellent places to keep in touch with the latest DEI issues and developments.

Here’ s an understatement: It’ s been a lousy year for investors. With inflation a serious problem for the first time in 40 years, the Federal Reserve can’ t ride to the rescue by cutting interest rates as it has done in recent market meltdowns. The Fed will push rates higher until inflation goes lower.

Here’ s an understatement: It’ s been a lousy year for investors. With inflation a serious problem for the first time in 40 years, the Federal Reserve can’ t ride to the rescue by cutting interest rates as it has done in recent market meltdowns. The Fed will push rates higher until inflation goes lower.

If there were a golden age of retirement, it would be now. For most of human history people worked until they were physically unable, and then spent the remainder of their lives either poor or dependent on family.

Last week, Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored lender, predicted that tightening monetary policy at the federal level could bring a “modest recession in the latter half of 2023 as we see a contraction in economic activity.” 

During a webinar hosted recently by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, several industry executives shared some information on how workers use and benefit from these programs and practical approaches for improving their usage and impact.

One-quarter of Black Americans (25%) currently own cryptocurrency, and among Black investors under 40, that figure jumps to 38%. This is compared to only 15% of white investors who own cryptocurrency, and 29% of white investors under 40.

Estate planning is a team effort. Who is on your team?

Three innovative financial offerings – cryptocurrency, fractional stock shares and securities-based lines of credit (SBLOCs) – are going mainstream, with penetrations in the double digits among U.S. households, especially among younger investors.

Wealth management divisions were bright spots in an otherwise rough first quarter for Wall Street’s biggest banks. The units mostly outperformed while the financial institutions as a whole mostly didn’t.

As financial planners, we must scrutinize every data point our clients provide. Are they maxing out their 401(k)? Will their estate plan be properly executed? Do they have the proper insurance? How do we project investment returns in the future given their risk appetite? The last question is arguably one of the most important questions an advisor must consider.

The “Retirement Reimagined” study by Charles Schwab Corp. points to the lack of pension plans, through which companies would take care of workers during retirement, as one of the factors driving millennials to start saving for retirement on their own.

Modern retirement research has produced volumes of data-based reports confirming the value of an annuity in a retirement portfolio. Life insurance and annuities may suit retirees who desire the protection of their principal, a predictable stream of lifetime income, long-term care options, or want to leave a legacy to a family member.

The twin dangers of slowing growth and high inflation, or stagflation, will hit the global economy this year as Russia's war against Ukraine exacerbates the slowdown in recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a Financial Times investigation.

Strategists from the world’s biggest asset manager are challenging traders betting that the Federal Reserve will raise rates to around 3% next year, saying that policymakers will raise borrowing costs to 2%, but not go much further.

A wealth tax proposal is an easy sound bite for lawmakers and even some of the more conservative Democrats have voiced tepid support for taxing the rich, said Diane Boyle of NAIFA. “There are a trillion-plus dollars of tax increases that as Congress is trying to push legislation forward. This is what they’re going to pull from because they know the administration supports it,” Boyle said.

Runaway inflation in the United States is already worrying U.S. economists. The chief economist of the entity, Jan Hatzius, detailed in a report published by Bloomberg that the problem facing the U.S. is not inflation itself, but the response applied by the Federal Reserve to curb the escalation of prices.

The conflict in Ukraine and the consequences for the global economy, coupled with global inflation levels, have fund manager confidence at historically low levels. This at least is shown by Bank of America's April monthly Fund Manager Survey, which surveyed 392 managers around the world.

Americans see several advantages of working with human advisors. These include the opportunity to build trusting relationships (chosen by 66% of survey respondents), ease of communication (65%) and high levels of human interaction (49%).

Another month, another four-decade high for inflation. The Federal Reserve never anticipated inflation this severe or persistent. Back in December 2020, the Fed’ s policymakers had forecast that consumer inflation would stay below their 2% annual target and end 2021 at around 1.8%.

In its 2022 RIA Survey, Advisor Growth Strategies polled 101 independent firms to uncover their perspectives on business management and M&A. More than half of this year’s respondents manage greater than $1 billion in client assets, and 77% are fee-only RIAs.

–Despite investing significant time into their finances, many Americans find managing their money to be too complex, according to a new Digit survey released today. In fact, nearly three in five said managing their money is more mentally demanding than solving a crossword puzzle.

On average, women who share money management duties with their partner take more than half of the responsibility for household finances (55% of the work), investments (54%), and retirement planning (55%).

In its Credit Card Debt study, Wallethub found that consumers racked up $87.3 billion in new debt in 2021. During the fourth quarter of 2021, debt increased by $74.1 billion, the largest increase ever reported, Wallethub notes.

U.S. Bank first released its Women and Wealth Insights Study in March 2020, a survey that showed women were less confident and less engaged with managing money than men, generally started investing later than men, and tended to associate negative emotions with financial planning. The most recent survey conducted in March 2022 demonstrates that many of these gaps are shrinking.

Florida just became the largest state to require financial literacy for a diploma and several other states are considering similar measures or have laws on the books waiting to be enacted. But overall, adoption of the issue has proceeded at a snail’s pace.

To put the prospect at ease, set a conversational tone rather than rattling off a to-do list or a lecturing the prospect on how they should be handling their finances. Instead of simply sharing financial facts, probe to see how prospects feel about their finances and what has motivated them to take the first step toward investing in their financial future.

A new report by the Federal Reserve Thursday shows that consumer credit, the amount advanced to individuals for purchases, spiked by $41.8 billion across the U.S. in February. The rise is significantly higher than the $8.9 billion increase in January.

Can we still make more money in a market as volatile as this? The answer is yes.

Although company executives have stopped fretting so much about the COVID-19 pandemic, they are really concerned about geopolitical stability, even in their own country, according to the latest McKinsey survey.

Several Federal Reserve favored a more aggressive interest rate hike in March to kick off a series of increases this year, but policymakers ultimately held back given such high uncertainty tied to the war in Ukraine, according to minutes from the Fed's most recent policy meeting.

Retirement planning is part savings, part guessing game. While many day-to-day expenses will remain the same, there are big-ticket categories that can take a large bite out of savings. The more you can plan, the better prepared you’ll be to weather the costs. Here are four expenses to keep in mind as you prepare for retirement.

As 30% of investors, and a staggering 55% of billionaires, either switched wealth manager provider or transferred significant funds to multiple wealth managers in the last year, it is more important than ever to keep up with recent developments and innovations to meet the clients’ needs.

It’s been a long time since the Fed has had to put out an inflation fire as big as this one. Fixed income investors, you might be in for some surprises. Whether you invest in bond funds, marketable certificates of deposit, municipals, corporate bonds or Treasuries, you should know how interest rates affect bond prices.

As more than 1.1 million high school seniors are expected to commit to a college or university by May 1, only four in 10 students who responded to the EVERFI survey said that they felt “prepared” or “very prepared” to figure out the full costs of the colleges they were interested in attending.

Insurance companies have been flocking to private assets for several years, but inflation and recessionary concerns may accelerated that trend, says a Goldman Sachs survey.

Market recovery and the conflict in Ukraine boosted the stock market price of energy multinationals operating in Mexico by up to 25 percent. In the first quarter of the year, the market value of Chevron, one of the world's leading energy companies with operations in Mexico, increased by almost US $82.5 billion.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis released data for the Personal Consumption Expenditure, a key inflation metric for the Federal Reserve, reporting the biggest increase in nearly 40 years. Figures like these are at least part of the reason the Federal Reserve announced a 0.25% interest rate hike and said six more increases are on the way.

The nation’s overspending problem is evidently mirrored by the habitual spending of its own citizens. In recent years, it’s thought that the average American will overspend by more than $7,000, often taking on additional debt in the holiday season.

A recent study by global management consultant Oliver Wyman concluded that if insurers sold life insurance to women at the same proportion of their income as men, $500 billion in new written premiums could be created. Another $25 billion in new fees could be generated if wealth managers invested women’s wealth in the same way as men’s in stocks and bonds rather than in cash.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced insider trading charges against three software engineers employed at Twilio, Inc., a San Francisco-based cloud computing communications company, and four family members and friends.

With inflation at its highest rate since the early 1980 s, the Federal Reserve is adjusting interest rates to hopefully restabilize the U.S. economy. If you have a $5,000 balance remaining on your credit card from month to month, and your interest rate is 16%, you’ ll spend $800 in interest over the course of a year.

Retirees and preretirees often hope for a Goldilocks financial world where investment returns increase year after year, nest eggs are more than adequate to support a long retirement, and there’s money left over to fund bequests to children, grandchildren and favorite charities.

The cost of borrowing will be getting more expensive for about 43 percent of older households who carry debt on consumer credit cards, according to a new survey by The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).

The stock market has climbed a pretty sizeable wall of worry over the last two weeks, with the S&P 500 rising 8% during a period of continued war in Ukraine and Federal Reserve rate hikes. Jim Cramer, the CNBC commentator, seemed to be in a triumphant mood on Friday.

The U.S. housing market this spring selling season is looking like a multicar collision, a result of powerful forces crashing into each other. The big picture: Interest rates on home mortgages have spiked more rapidly than they have in decades, reducing affordability.

Part of our job as advisors is educating clients on good financial strategies, including helping them determine and maintain a budget. But who’s educating their kids?