The inevitable market shift from the product commission model toward fee-based consulting will test advisors’ capacity for survival and success. In order to thrive in the change, advisors must exhibit strength, smarts and adaptability, and compound the improvements to keep practices profitable without sacrificing quality.
–Wells Fargo& Co. is considering a sale of its retirement-plan services business, according to people familiar with the matter. In February, the Federal Reserve banned Wells Fargo from growing assets past their December 2017 level until the bank rights its missteps. The retirement-plan services business is part of Wells Fargo’ s wealth and…
–Generating income for their clients is now the leading concern of financial advisors, ranking 129.7 on the Eaton Vance Q4 2018 Advisor Top-of-Mind Index, a 24% increase since the second quarter. “While our survey results indicated a sense of optimism about equity markets coming into the fourth quarter, October has brought some challenges resulting in few…
Asking someone you’ve never met to trust you with their finances can be a daunting conversation to face. To newcomers to the industry, the idea of building trust and confidence sounds like an uphill battle with a lot of rejection along the way. Here’s what veteran advisors had to offer about talking to perspective clients and making first steps with new clients.
The Securities and Exchange Commission’ s Investor Advisory Committee voted 16 to three Wednesday to recommend changes to the agency’ s Regulation Best Interest, including that the rule be a fiduciary standard. On a call with committee members on Wednesday, Barbara Roper, director of investor protection at the Consumer Federation of America, laid out the four…
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued the following statement by Chairman Jay Clayton at the Investor Advisory Committee meeting:. “Thank you, Anne, and good afternoon everyone. Finally, the Office of the Investor Advocate engaged RAND Corporation to perform investor testing of the proposed Customer Relationship Summary.
Advisors are typically cheering when the U.S. ushers in a divided government; the economy and stocks, after all, tend to do better in gridlock. “I believe that our political system is healthier when the two parties share power, so I am happy with the outcome,” said Debra Brennan Tagg, president of Brennan Financial Services in Dallas.“ I also believe that both parties…
At his law office in Orem, Utah, Doug Barrett has noticed something about his clients: They’re older than they used to be. Even as bankruptcy rates are declining in the general population, both in Utah and nationwide, new research shows they’re increasing for people 65 and older. This is a notable demographic shift, “wrote the authors of” Graying of U.S. Bankruptcy, “the…
Election results show the Senate will be Republican. The House will be Democratic. But, thanks to gridlock, Trump’s economic policies won’t go away.
Investment advisers say we are“ investing for the long run” and diversify among low-fee funds in various asset classes and indexes. Then they trot out studies showing investors will average 8% or whatever in the long run. And those are true statements.
Election night yielded a little something for everyone. But what does it mean for insurance and financial services as a whole? We see three key takeaways, and not all of them are bad news.
For an increasing number of investors, investing isn’t just about selecting opportunities that do well in their portfolio. It’s about owning investments that also make a positive social impact. Sustainable investing is a growing niche of investment practices designed to help investors achieve both objectives.
It’s not supposed to be this way.
Nearly one-fourth (22 percent) of standalone enforcement actions brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission in fiscal year 2018 involved investment advisors and investment companies, up from 18 percent in fiscal year 2017, according to the agency’s latest enforcement report.
Wall Street analysts are downplaying the midterm election risks for the stock market, but admit unexpected outcomes could cause volatility.
–Don’ t be so quick to believe the dirt you hear about brokers. That’ s the inescapable takeaway from research reported by Bloomberg News last week showing that false accusations of broker misconduct are disturbingly common. Researchers Mark Egan, Gregor Matvos and Amit Seru reviewed brokers’ employment records dating from 2005 to 2015 for a study in the Journal…
To be sure, Merrill Lynch was an“ outlier” for not having a so-called holdback on the production credit used to calculate an advisors compensation, Andy Sieg, head of Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, told reporters during a conference all about the changes Thursday evening. The move wasn’ t anything out of the ordinary, said Andy Tasnady, the managing partner of…
The program was launched as part of UBS Retirement Plan Guided Solutions, a separate offering from the firm’s existing Retirement Plan Consulting Services program that has roughly 150 UBS advisors trained as institutional consultants working with about 2,000 large retirement plans with an aggregate of $85 billion in plan assets. In the new Retirement…
Advisors wondering how to appeal to younger investors might want to consider financial planning, according to a study conducted by Northwestern Mutual. The report found younger professionals to be more engaged by financial planning than their older counterparts. “Millennials appear to understand more than any other generation the importance of creating…
Are you prepared for Tuesday? If the polls are correct, President Trump and Republicans are in big trouble…. There’ s an 85% chance Democrats will seize control of the House of Representatives from Republicans, according to statistical analysis firm FiveThirtyEight.
Share prices were mostly higher in Asia as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. midterm elections.
CINCINNATI, Nov. 6, 2018/ PRN ewswire/– The E.W. Scripps Company has entered into an agreement with Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company to purchase a group annuity contract and transfer approximately $50 million of the company’s pension plan obligations. Through the transaction, Scripps will reduce its pension plan liabilities by approximately $50…
For many voters in America’s affluent suburbs, a flourishing economy is forcing a thorny dilemma for the midterm elections. Do they vote Democratic, in part to protest President Donald Trump for behavior some see as divisive and boorish? Or do they back Republicans in hopes that the economy will continue thriving under the majority party? A healthy economy has at least complicated their decision and blurred the outcome of the midterm elections.
Owners in transition should make a clean break to avoid confusion, says former Aspiriant CEO Tim Kochis.
With the economy strong, wages rising and unemployment at a near-five-decade low, the Federal Reserve remains on track to keep raising interest rates _ just not this week. After the Fed’s latest policy meeting, it’s expected to signal a healthy outlook for the economy but to hold off on any further credit tightening, most likely until December. A rate hike in December would mark the fourth this year.
The SEC’s complaint alleges that Douglas P. Simanski raised over $3.9 million from approximately 27 of his brokerage customers and investment advisory clients, many of them retired or elderly, by telling them that he would invest their money in either a “tax free” fixed rate investment, a rental car company, or one of two coal mining companies in which Simanski…
A lawsuit filed by an ex-client was granted class action status after the firm failed to keep the dispute out of court.
A focus on productivity has resulted in attrition of lower producing brokers, the firm says.
–Legg Mason, Inc. Only a minority of the 1,000 U.S. investors surveyed by Legg Mason for its 2018 Global Investment Survey believe they will have enough money saved to enjoy a comfortable life in retirement– a mere 31%. If they come up short of their retirement funding target, close to 4 in 10 respondents reported they or their spouse would work longer and/or…
Northwestern Mutual has paid a dividend every year since 1872– even in challenging economic conditions. Northwestern Mutual leads the industry in total dividends paid to policyowners for both life and disability income insurance. “This record dividend clearly demonstrates our consistent performance, our overriding commitment to do what’s best for our…
Now is the time to get up to speed with the new tax law so you can position your clients’ finances for the 2018 tax season.
Advisors are often reluctant to ask for referrals and clients are uncomfortable giving them. How to break the deadlock.
Numerous surveys report that the No. 1 concern of retirees is that they will run out of money before they die. Yet compulsory required minimum distributions increase the risk of running out of money by compelling that money, wisely saved for retirement and its associated uncertainties, be distributed at a purely arbitrary time unrelated to the personal financial needs of the owner.
Vanguard Group CEO Tim Buckley has been tapped to become the next chairman of the $5.3 trillion investment manager. He will succeed Bill McNabb in January of 2019 and become only the fourth chairman in the firm’s history, the company said in a statement on Thursday. In 1991, when he joined Vanguard, Buckley was an assistant to then-CEO John Bogle.
After launching their firm, advisors look for ways to make their business sustainable so that it prospers after they retire.
Sales of fast-growing indexed annuities could eat into the VA market’s recovery, a Morningstar analyst said.
“Robo advice is the ultimate equalizer- it democratizes investing by improving the process and price,” says Cynthia Loh, Charles Schwab vice president of digital advice and innovation.“ But along with all the benefits of automation, the desire to use a combination of technology and access to a professional when needed is clear– and that desire is consistent across…
FINRA announced today that it has fined LPL Financial, LLC $2.75 million for complaint-reporting and AML program failures that spanned a period of more than three years. FINRA found that LPL failed to file or amend registered representatives’ Forms U4 or U5 to disclose dozens of reportable customer complaints. Susan Schroeder, FINRA Executive Vice President,…
–Financial-services firm Edward Jones ranks No. 4 on the newly released 2018 Best Workplaces for Women by Great Place to Work and FORTUNE. The ranking considered more than 540,000 employee surveys from Great Place to Work-Certified companies. Great Place to Work, a global analytics and consulting firm, evaluated more than 50 elements of team members’…
Investors applauded strong quarterly results from companies including Facebook and General Motors, but U.S. stocks still finished with their worst monthly loss in seven years. Many of the biggest gains Wednesday came from technology and internet companies and retailers, which plunged early in October as investors worried about rising interest rates and…
Cyberattacks cost financial-services firms more to address and contain than in any other industry, and the rate of breaches in the industry has tripled over the past five years, according to a February report from Accenture.
Women are a force to be reckoned with in the economy. They own 10 million businesses in the U.S., control an impressive $11.2 trillion in investable assets and are increasingly the primary breadwinner and financial decision makers in households. When comparing balance sheets, men have an average of $203,000 saved up compared to the $115,000 saved by women,…
US stocks change course again and turn higher following big gains in Europe. Technology and internet companies and retailers are climbing, and so are makers and sellers of consumer goods. Software maker Red Hat surged after IBM agreed to buy it. Despite the big gain, the S&P 500 index is down 7.6 percent in October.
The taxation system is complicated and sometimes it is hard to tell if we are paying what we owe, or overpaying. In addition, there are many decisions to be made in any given year that result in changes to our tax liability come April, whether you know it or not.
Karen Barr, CEO of the Investment Adviser Association, believes the SEC is trying to fit a square peg into a round hole with these extra regulations. The additional regulations the SEC is considering includes federal licensing and continuing education requirements for employees of RIAs. But this is already handled by the states, so the SEC would be…
While the SEC revises its rule-making package containing regulation best interest, Form CRS and title reform, several states are taking matters into their own hands, establishing a fiduciary standard in the hopes of better-protecting investors.
Financial advisors based in small towns see advantages and disadvantages, but they tend to thrive as pillars of the community.
n August, Karen Karniol-Tambour warned that the U.S. stock market was priced for perfection, making it vulnerable to the sort of sell-off that took place in October. While convinced that in the long term investors need more exposure to Chinese markets, as of late October she wasn’ t bullish about China for the short term, either.“ It’ s a good time to be nervous about…
The 28th annual Schwab Impact 2018 conference kicked off in Washington, D.C., with Schwab’s head of advisor services, Bernie Clark, welcoming attendees.
Strengthen the advisor-client relationship by demonstrating the value of human analysis and a quality financial plan.
Technology companies are climbing, with open-source software company Red Hat surging after IBM agreed to buy it for $34 billion in stock.
For many of us, having too much money in a retirement plan sounds like a dream come true. But for those who have done a great job saving throughout their working career, living with more in retirement savings than you need may somehow feel like a burden. The QCD maximum is $100,000 per year and the distribution also qualifies for your RMD.
Stocks pared losses Friday, after the S&P 500 fell more than 10% off its high, and leading stocks sank into what would be considered a bear market.
What drives the most successful registered investment advisors and fee-based advisors? Here’s a look at what they have in common with each other.
During your career, you’ ll find over and over again that emotions cloud clients’ investment decisions– clients are not always inclined to act in their own best interests. At times like these you need to step in and be a behavior coach for them– otherwise they’ ll end up regretting their decisions down the line. Here are three things that clients want to do– but shouldn’ t,…
The Tax Cut and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 is the largest piece of tax reform legislation that Congress has passed in over thirty years. The total impact will vary dramatically for each taxpayer.
That Was Scary The Nasdaq (NASDAQ:QQQ) had its third largest single day point drop in history yesterday below only April 4th and April 14th 2000. On the bright side, percentage wise, the fall wasn’t cataclysmic at only 4.43%. The record for a one day percentage fall is Black Monday 1987 when the Nasdaq fell 11%, […]
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Nationwide to offer health savings accounts, integrating a designated savings vehicle for health care expenses with its 401(k), 457 and 403(b) retirement plans.
A turbulent day on Wall Street ended Tuesday with stocks climbing nearly all the way out of a steep, broad sell-off that at one point erased more than 500 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The latest selling came as investors grew unsettled over slowing economic growth in China and increased signs that President Donald Trump’s aggressive trade…
Historically speaking, Oct. 24 has never been a good day for the stock market (or much else for that matter. No, really – look it up). So, why has this day become nightmarish for those on Wall Street? It all started on Oct. 24, 1929.
U.S. markets spent most of the day deep in the red on one of the busiest earnings sessions of the year as a global sell-off and disappointing reports by major industrial companies sent nervous investors out of stocks. 3 M and Caterpillar fell sharply in trading as the companies failed to project robust outlooks for the rest of 2018. Caterpillar warned dealers…
Many agents and advisors are aging out of the business, but are often failing to plan a transition for their agencies until they approach retirement.
The Department of Labor proposed a rule that would make it easier for small businesses to band together to offer retirement plans to their workers.
Business models in the wealth management industry are changing, and a Fidelity Investments executive, an avid skier, has seen a similar evolution before. Scott Slater, a vice president of Practice Management and Consulting within Fidelity Clearing and Custody Solutions, likened what is occurring in wealth management to the ski resort business during a…
Unlike business owners of other generations, Millennials are more likely to be prepared and supportive of their employee’s retirement planning, a Nationwide survey suggests.
EBay stock plunged Friday after a quarterly earnings report from PayPal Holdings indicated a slowdown in gross merchandise sales.
Because traditional marketing strategies can prove unappealing to some advisors, they find creative, painless approaches to build their brand.
The subscription model allows you to work with people who have the “potential” to grow into AUM clients. And it allows us to grow with our clients to help build their net worth and implement healthy financial habits early.
A $970 million Mega Millions jackpot will make dreams come true, but a poorly planned rise to riches could become a nightmare. That $970 million prize is yours only if you take regular annual payments over 30 years with the help of an annuity. The annuity option may not sound as enticing as a nearly $500 million lump sum payout, but a $970 million jackpot is roughly…
Procter & Gamble, PayPal and Dentsply Sirona staked out early leads Friday as a rebounding market looked to stem its three-week decline.
Morgan Stanley improved the profitability of its wealth management business again in the third quarter and is closing in on one of its top competitors. In January, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said the goal was for the wealth management business to achieve pre-tax margin between 26 and 28 percent in 2018. In its latest earnings, Morgan Stanley said the…
What are the best strategies for clients looking to tap assets while minimizing penalties?
U.S. stocks are opening mostly lower as interest rates rise and industrial companies drop following some disappointing third-quarter reports. Aircraft maker Textron dropped after its profit and sales both fell far short of analyst forecasts. Tool and diagnostic equipment company Snap-On sank after it reported weak revenue. Aluminum producer Alcoa rose sharply after a solid quarter. It also said it will buy back $200 million in stock. Bond prices fell, sending yields higher.
The Department of Labor is likely to harmonize its Conflict of Interest Rule language with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s best interest standard, according to a prominent industry lobbyist. The DOL fiduciary rule was tossed out by a federal appeals court earlier this year.
From 1981 through 1988, the Treasury collected $5.75 trillion from U.S. taxpayers but the Reagan government spent more than $8 trillion during the same time – leaving a more than $2.2 trillion deficit.
When the TCJA passed last December, it made several sweeping changes to policies such as the generation-skipping transfer tax. Although it’s worth noting that those changes are still temporary, experts say it’s better to take a second glance at those estate plans now.
President Donald Trump might call The Fed his biggest threat, but the central bank is likely to turn up the…
The major market indexes gave up small gains as the minutes from the Fed’s September meeting reaffirmed that policymakers will continue to raise rates.
–Terms like ESG, values-based, and responsible investing are increasing in conversation and so is misunderstanding as to what these strategies actually mean. Crossmark Global Investments, a leading provider of responsible investment solutions with $5.2 billion in assets under management, conducted a nation-wide survey 1 of high net worth investors to get…
Prudential Financial has finally shaken off the “too big to fail” tag, winning relief from stricter regulatory oversight.
One of the most important things you can do for yourself and your family is to create a strong financial plan to see you through retirement. While it’s impossible to know exactly how much income you’ll need, and for how long, the best strategy involves planning, monitoring, and making adjustments based on current market events. Here are 4 things to consider when…
Trump, who has repeatedly taken credit for the market’s rise since he took office, is, as you likely know, blaming the Federal Reserve for the market’s drop. We first heard from him on Wednesday— that’s the day Wilshire Associates says U.S. stocks lost $1 trillion of market value. I wandered through the neighborhood in which I live, enjoying the weather and treating…
The stock market was sharply higher late Tuesday, helped in part by strong earnings from top stocks in the Dow like UnitedHealth Group and Johnson & Johnson.
Winthrop University issued the following news:. No worries- Winthrop University financial planning students can. They represented our financial planning program, the College of Business Administration and Winthrop University very well. “
The Concord Coalition issued the following news release:. The Concord Coalition today warned that the rapidly rising federal budget deficit– totaling nearly $779 billion in Fiscal Year 2018– reflects a structural gap between spending and revenues that is largely ignored in Washington even as it grows worse. L. Bixby, executive director of The Concord…
Based on current tax laws, three different types of people stand to benefit by moving funds out of their traditional IRAs into a Roth. See if the timing and tax benefits make sense for your plan.
PHILADELPHIA— When the Dow Jones industrial average was in free fall this past Wednesday, I was at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School listening to finance professor Jeremy Siegel talk about what went wrong in the last financial crisis. Behind Siegel, on a split screen, were his lecture notes and real-time stock market data. Red numbers dominated…
Charles Schwab earnings topped views Monday, but industry price wars hit fee revenue. Online brokers E-Trade and Interactive Brokers report later this week.
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.
Asian stocks are slipping as investor worries continue about global trade tensions and prospects for economic growth. Benchmarks in Japan, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong and Shanghai are all lower. Shares in the Japanese technology company SoftBank’s are sliding as its brand is getting slammed because of its link with a major investment fund centered around Saudi government. The kingdom is at the center of the case of a missing Saudi journalist.
What drives someone to take the risk and start their own business? Sometimes it’s a great product or an idea that solves a problem. Take, for example, small business Bayou with Love, which partnered with Dell to create a jewelry line using recycled gold from old computer motherboards.
As the U.S. stock market began its recent reversal, Wall Street bulls hit the exits at a rapid-fire rate. In fact, the National Association of Active Investment Managers exposure index dropped by nearly 32 points, or 37%, last week– the biggest point drop since August 2013, and the biggest percentage drop since February 2016. Specifically, AAII bulls– or those who feel…
One of the places it might start, according to a growing number of indicators, is Italy. The Rome government’ s populist spending plans, widely regarded in financial circles as reckless, have caused market interest rates on Italian debt to spike, threatening to create a so-called doom loop that would ripple through the struggling economy. More broadly, it has…
When precision metal finishing company Master Metal Finishers wanted to expand its market with an expensive new processing line, the company successfully tapped Lakeland Bank for an SBA loan.“ The SBA application process was simple,” according to company President Jeff Almeyda.“ The SBA loan we received from Lakeland Bank helped us establish a new processing…
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are signaling a huge comeback for U.S. stocks. The single-session equity put/call ratio fell to 0.68, and the 21- day moving average stayed at 0.61. Square Inc is getting more bullish analyst attention following a massive two-day pullback, with Canaccord Genuity today upgrading the stock to “buy” following the high-profile…
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.
The U.S. and Canada control the majority of the global cannabis market, but unlike Canada, the U.S. has not legalized cannabis nationwide. Chemesis International Inc., Level Brands, Inc., CannaRoyalty Corp., Cannabis Sativa, Inc., Vitality Biopharma. Although, only two countries have legalized cannabis nationwide: Canada and Uruguay.
