ICYMI: Fisher’s Remarks Raise Questions, 2020 Economic Outlook & Financial Planning Month Cont’d

In case you missed it:

What’s Missing From The Discussion About Fisher’s Crude Comments

By now, everyone (or most everyone) has heard about the litany of offensive comments slung by Ken Fisher at the Tiburon CEO Summit.

To recap: During a fireside chat, Fisher, founder and chairman of Fisher Investments, made what some attendees called “absolutely horrifying” comments during his session with summit attendees.

The Tiburon CEO Summit has traditionally been a place for industry execs to speak candidly and off the record about their respected fields. However, one guest was so troubled by what he heard at this year’s summit that he took to Twitter to voice his concerns.

Alex Chalekian of Lake Avenue Financial posted a video to Twitter in which he said Fisher made comments about Jeffrey Epstein, taking illicit drugs and picking up women among other lewd things.

“I’m truly disgusted,” Chalekian said. “When I was listening to this stuff, I didn’t know if it was a joke or what was going on. I was a deer in the headlights. My jaw dropped.”

In Denver, Nation’s Top Economists Lower Outlook For 2020

A panel of leading economists is dialing down its forecasts for U.S. economic growth next year and putting strong odds on a recession in 2021.

"Eighty percent of the panelists see risks weighted to the downside," Constance Hunter, president of the National Association for Business Economics, said Monday at the group's annual meeting in Denver.

The NABE Outlook, an amalgamation of 54 separate forecasts, calls for inflation-adjusted GDP growth to dip from 2.3% this year to a 1.8% pace next year.

That would be the slowest growth the country has seen since 2016, when low oil and natural gas prices weighed on drilling activity and manufacturing. In June, the NABE Outlook had called for GDP growth of 2.6% this year and 2.1% for next year.

The Outlook doesn't forecast an imminent recession, but it puts the odds of a recession by late 2020 at 47% and by mid-2021 at 69%.

Financial Planning Month: What Are Your End-of-Year Goals?

October is financial planning month. In honor of financial planning month, AdvisorNews dives into the nitty-gritty of being a financial planner with a new and insightful topic each week throughout the month.

This week, AdvisorNews asked financial planners across the country: What are your end-of-the-year goals were for yourself and for your practice?

Among their responses, planner said they were reflecting on the past year’s successes and failures, finding new ways to help clients and refining the roles in their practices.