Time To Get High On Marijuana Investing?
With New York legalizing recreational marijuana, is it time for investors to jump in? There are still federal-level barriers that limit cannabis companies’ growth potential.
Steve Morelli
Advisors Dealing With A Flood Of Tax Anxiety
Talk of pending tax increases has some advisors busy with clients who are anxious to plan now.
Too Late For The Bitcoin Gold Rush?
Money can still be made off Bitcoin purchased today, but scale works against performance matching the massive gains that have created a gold rush mindset for some.
Best Place To Keep A Will? Not A Safe Deposit Box
The original will might be “safe” in a safe deposit box, but it would be inaccessible without a probate judge’s order — and what does a judge need to make that order?
Don’t Call Them Slackers: Why Gen X Is Really Gen $
The financial industry is fixated on boomers and their kids, the millennials, but the generation in between has the numbers and the dollars to warrant rapt attention, says Chip Roame of Tiburon Strategic Advisors.
Regulators Tighten Focus On Retail Investors
Enforcement action increased on retail investment products such as variable annuities last year, according to the latest Eversheds Sutherland report. Expect more of the same in 2021.
IRI: Virginia Annuity Rule Should Include 6-Month Grace Period
Without the grace period, annuity agents and advisors in Virginia must be in compliance on May 1, which does not give enough time to get ready, IRI says.
Ex-MassMutual Staffer Takes The Hot Seat In A Gamer’s Chair
Keith Gill went from YouTube and Reddit fame as the investor who helped inspire the runup in GameStop stock to a star witness in a congressional hearing this morning. And he did it all from his big, red gamer chair.
BlackRock ‘Dabbles’ In Bitcoin As Investors Rush
“My sense is that the regulation has evolved to such an extent that many people think it should be part of the portfolio,” says Rick Rieder, chief investment officer of global fixed income at BlackRock.
The disinvestment during the pandemic, especially in developing regions, will compound over the decade, slowing down the economic spurt expected as the pandemic subsides, according to the World Bank Global Economic Prospects report.
Is It Time For Advisors To Consider Bitcoin?
Bitcoin broke price records a couple of times last week. So, is it time for advisors to add cryptocurrency to the investing toolbox? Although clients might be asking about bitcoin and its cousins, advisors are just peeking over the fence at this point.
DOL Issues Fiduciary Rule To Harmonize With SEC
The Department of Labor issued its new fiduciary rule one workday after a federal court upheld the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest standard, which the DOL rule was designed to harmonize with.
When ‘Hold Tight’ Is Not Enough — What Advisors Are Saying Now
As the financial crisis deepens, advisors are finding that “stay the course” is not going to cut it with clients, even though it might be good advice. This is the time to help people understand the structure of their plans and discover their real concerns.
Advisors Help Panicky Clients On The Edge
Advisors are still reinforcing the message of riding out the slide, but helping rebalance when clients demand it. An American College survey also finds clients are generally sticking with the long-range plan.
When Your Clients Are Freaking Out — How Advisors Respond
Some advisors sent preeemptive messages, but they didn’t calm everybody. Advisor messages focused on the long view, but some clients were looking at the long view down.
Why Coronavirus May Be The Killer Contagion We All Fear
The coronavirus’ illness, COVID-19, is not nasty enough to be spotted easily but latent enough to spread wide before anyone even knows it has arrived.
FINRA told consumers that the SECURE Act will make it easier for employers to include annuities in their retirement plans. Also in the 10-point notice, FINRA said plan providers would need to produce a lifetime income stream estimate based on the participant’s lump sum.
Poll: Financial, Insurance Firms Missing ‘Critical Moments’ With Clients
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.
Raymond James Accused Of ‘Reverse-Churning’ In Suit Seeking Class Action
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.
SEC: $1B Ponzi Scheme Was Smoke And Mirrors From Solar Companies
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.
SEC: Pot Investment A Mere $4.8M Pipe Dream
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.
Financial Services Leads The Least Trusted List
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.
ESG Scrutiny Intensifies As Popularity Grows
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.
6 In 10 Advisors Want To Sell Their Firm, But Only 3 in 10 Have A Plan
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.
Reg BI Enforcement Soft-Launches In January
The Security and Exchange Commission expects compliance on Regulation Best Interest by June 30, but FINRA and the SEC will start looking in January for signs of preparedness.
This morning saw China retaliate with tariffs on at least $75 billion worth of U.S. goods, including oil, soybeans and cars, to go into effect Sept. 1 and Dec. 15 in lockstep with U.S. tariffs. President Donald Trump responded to China’s announcement by ordering U.S. companies to stop trading with China.
Are We Looking Into The Abyss Of Recession?
Are we edging toward a cliff or are we getting pushed to one? Or is there no cliff at all and we’re all suffering PTSD from 2008?
ETFs might seem like a blunt investing instrument, but they can wield considerable clout with their voting power, said Hortense Bioy, director of Passive Strategies and Sustainability Research, Europe at Morningstar.
If your prospects and clients seem inscrutable, look for the bias. One professor says it is the key to understanding how a person ticks.
DOL, SEC Appear To Be Harmonizing Fiduciary Standard
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.
President Donald Trump might call The Fed his biggest threat, but the central bank is likely to turn up the…
Looking Like Fire – Fear Burns Dow Thursday
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.
Finance is the scariest topic people face, studies show. The way many financial professionals approach consumers compounds the fear. The findings are part of an emerging field of behavioral finance or financial psychology.
Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta wants to freeze the fiduciary rule in a way that will “stick,” according to an email…
The National Association for Fixed Annuities is asking an appellate court for an emergency injunction to suspend the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule after a lower court refused NAFA’s request for a preliminary injunction.
The judges’ decision to overturn the conviction of theft in what was a simple annuity sale might have seemed like an obvious outcome to observers, but Glenn A. Neasham has learned the hard way not to assume anything in a court….
A former Securities and Exchange Commission assistant inspector general alleges sex scandal and oversight lapses in a lawsuit…
The Wealth Channel, produced by American College, asked Editor-in-Chief Steven A. Morelli to discuss the impact of a case in which an agent was convicted of theft for selling an annuity…
