The inflation rate has not been a cause of concern in this country for well over a decade. Throughout the last decade, inflation has averaged no more than 1.5 percent, which is well below the Federal Reserve Bank's targeted inflation rate of 2 percent. Neither do global economists or Wall Street strategists.

Someone who came into 2019 with their money split between the largest U.S. stock and U.S. bond funds made 19.6% last year. The moves helped silence a warning bell of recession that sounded in the U.S. bond market during the summer, the first time that had happened since the run-up to the Great Recession.

A year is built one day at a time. It’s the busy Tuesdays when you never have a moment and the lazy Sundays when you can finally relax. But while New Year’s money resolutions are common- with 84% of Americans setting money goals, according to a survey from NerdWallet conducted by The Harris Poll in 2017- so is abandoning them.

The market’s trajectory to a strong finish for the year began in October as stocks emerged from a late-summer slump caused by fears that the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession. Those concerns eased as investors drew encouragement from several positive signs.

It was a very busy year and our readership reflected the frenetic time for financial services. Here are the top five most-read stories on Advisor News.

The declines tracked a broad retreat overnight on Wall Street that erased some of the major U.S. indexes’ recent gains, though the market remains on track to end the year with its best performance since 2013.. Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.5% to 7,549.72 while the CAC 40 in Paris shed 0.4% to 5,959.86. But elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost 0.5% to…

Stocks opened slightly lower on Wall Street in quiet trading at the beginning of another holiday-shortened week. Investors were awaiting updates on the signing of a trade deal between the U.S. and China and keeping a wary eye on North Korea.

Many financial planners aren’t anticipating evolving client needs or adequately planning for the future, despite the technology-fueled, rapid reshaping of the financial industry, according to a new report.

The Certified Financial Planner Board unveiled enhanced oversight actions after media scrutiny poked holes in its self-reporting model. A Wall Street Journal article found that thousands of financial planners under the board’s jurisdiction had troubling records of misbehavior.

From iPhone maker Apple to software giant Microsoft to e-commerce titan Amazon, here are 20 stocks that analysts are bullish on in 2020.

Analyst: This red-hot drug stock can rally another 43%. Behind Tesla stock's new high. Plus, Qiagen bulls bet on a bigger bounce; Amazon keeps rallying; and American Airlines nosedives.

Tiburon counts 335,000 financial advisors — a stagnant figure over the past 15 years — controlling nearly $25 trillion in assets. While the number of advisors remains the same, the assets they control has more than doubled since 2010. In the future, the independent channels should continue to grow, Tiburon predicted.

In May, the House of Representatives passed the bill, officially known as the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019, by a remarkable 417-3 bipartisan majority. While that kind of political momentum is difficult to oppose, the bill's progress had been stalled by a small group in the Senate. Anxious to avoid a government shutdown, both…

Major U.S. stock indexes wavered between small gains and losses Tuesday morning in muted trading ahead of an early close for the Christmas holiday. Cintas lost 1.2% and Edwards Lifesciences fell 1.1%. Those losses outweighed broad gains for retailers, restaurant chains and other companies that rely on consumer spending.

The S&P 500 index notched its third-consecutive all-time high Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq composite also set record highs. Technology, industrial and health care stocks led the gains.

Despite a plethora of mini crises from sovereign debt trouble to flash crashes and trade wars, and a few bubbles in crypto and pot stocks, U.S. equity markets more than tripled this decade and valuations remained sane.

Millionaires are the most cautious they’ve been on the direction of the economy since the years leading up to the global financial crisis. Investor sentiment on the economy for the next 12 months dropped 14 points from a year ago to -7, its lowest level since 2006, according to Fidelity Investments’ annual Millionaire Outlook Confidence Index.

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.

While advisors certainly help clients manage money, they add even more value by helping a family make personal financial decisions, few of which are more personal than the choice to pursue a college education. Here are some important strategies to consider.

ETF net inflows increased from $219 billion in 2018 to $222.5 billion, according to ETFGI, a research and consulting firm. So, what’s caused the growth of ETFs so well over the past year?

If you have an IRA and are older than 70 ½, you can give directly to charities using your IRA through something called a Qualified Charitable Distribution, or QCD for short. Current tax law allows each qualified taxpayer to make up to $100,000 in QCDs every year.

Investors welcomed encouraging reports on U.S. home construction, industrial production and job openings, extending the market’s upward momentum. Stocks have been vaulting higher in recent days on optimism about an interim U.S.- China trade deal announced on Friday.

Many Americans are leaving 2019 in debt. In fact, almost one in four people say “credit card debt” is their biggest financial regret of the past decade, according to a survey from Policygenius. An even bigger percentage (32.4%) of Americans say “paying down debt” is their biggest financial goal for next year.

A recent Morningstar article noted that “Sustainable funds are on track to triple” inflows in 2019 compared with 2018. As this decade comes to a close, let’s take a moment to assess the progress and the way forward for ESG Investing.

For those who own their own business, of any size, financial planning gets more complicated. Their personal finances are inextricably tied to their business finances. They have to decide about setting up a retirement savings plan, not just for any employees, but for themselves.

Surprisingly strong economic reports out of China helped drive the rally. The market got a big confidence boost late last week after the United States and China reached a long-awaited “Phase 1” trade deal.

According to a TD Ameritrade survey on Financial Taboos, Americans would rather talk about health issues, politics and religion than money or personal finance. So how do advisors get clients and their families talk about money when they’re so unwilling to talk about it?

House leaders unveiled a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package with an unusually large load of unrelated provisions catching a ride on the last train out of Congress this year. The financial services industry comes out a winner with the inclusion of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 in the 2020 spending package.

In this week’s Rewirement Tip, Jamie Hopkins discusses Roth RMD distributions and the rules.

Working with an advisor appears to help Americans understand the importance that fixed income plays in retirement planning. For example, when asked at what point in time the average investor should consider adding fixed income to their investment portfolios, nearly two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed said “before retiring.”

Negotiators for the U.S. and China are haggling over tariffs and other details as they work to finalize a new trade deal between the two countries.

The independent broker-dealer space is growing at a healthy pace, but just not as healthy as registered investment advisors are, one leading analyst said. That is one trend line not likely to change anytime soon, said Chip Roame, managing partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors.

Dow Jones futures rose after China trade deal buzz sent the stock market to record highs. Adobe signaled a breakout on earnings. Broadcom, Costco, Oracle moved on results too.

But worries about a potential recession have faded since midyear thanks to more positive reports on the economy and a supportive interest rate policy from the Federal Reserve. Investors have focused mainly on larger stocks, especially through futures, while small-cap stocks remain below their long-term average values and still have room to grow.

Personal finance can be a daunting maze for many, especially as technology like Artificial Intelligence continues to grow. These changes have increased the need for consumers to be more financially literate than ever before, which is why in 2019, 40 states have set out to help consumers increase their understanding of personal finance.

Saudi Aramco stock touched $2 trillion in market cap on its second day of trading, after an IPO that valued the state-run oil giant more than Apple.

The Dow Jones reaction to the Fed meeting will depend on how high the bar is to future rate hikes and the outlook for the Fed balance sheet.

Tesla and Photronics were early leaders Wednesday, while Home Depot held back the Dow Jones as markets awaited rate policy news from the Fed.

Fidelity Investments released the results of its 11th Millionaire Outlook Study, an in-depth survey analyzing the investing attitudes and behaviors of more than 2,000 households, including 1,100+ millionaires. The study revealed that concerns about their health are the leading causes of stress for millionaires and non-millionaires alike.

The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged at its final meeting of the year on Wednesday as officials wait to see how the economy fares after they cut rate three times in 2019. The Fed chair, Jerome H. Powell, and his colleagues made an aggressive shift this year.

Released in late November, the Pete Buttigieg retirement plan focuses on ensuring “all Americans experience dignity and security in retirement.” Buttigieg’s plan identifies the three biggest short comings of retirement savings in America.

Paul Volcker, who as Federal Reserve chairman in the early 1980s elevated interest rates to historic highs and triggered a recession, always maintained it was the price to be paid for quashing double-digit inflation.

The late Federal Reserve chief was most renowned for fighting inflation, but he also understood—before almost anyone else did—that Wall Street was out of control.

In this week’s Rewirement Tip, Jamie Hopkins discusses some end-of-the-year tax planning strategies.

With the start of a new decade just around the corner, Americans are feeling optimistic about their current and future financial situation, but reducing the burden of personal debt will be a priority for many who acknowledge they bit off more than they could chew in 2019, according to a Fidelity Investments’ survey.

Futures: The stock market rally and China-tied Apple, AMD and Alibaba await President Donald Trump’s China trade war decision on Dec. 15 tariffs.

With ongoing trade tensions, geopolitical uncertainty, and unpredictable policymaking becoming the new normal, Vanguard expects U.S. growth to decelerate below trend to around 1% in 2020, with the risk of recession still elevated.

The Labor Department’ s report was much stronger than last month, helped in part by the end of a General Motors strike. The return of tens of thousands of striking workers to their jobs at General Motors helped supercharge hiring totals last month. President Trump stoked trade tensions this week by imposing new tariffs on steel and aluminum from Brazil and…

Friday’ s November jobs report will provide insight into whether steady hiring remains a source of strength for the U.S. economy even as the Trump administration’ s trade conflicts have heightened uncertainties for employers. Renewed concerns that trade will continue to hamper the U.S. economy drove stock prices lower earlier this week.

The SEC’s Division of Investment Management and Division of Trading Markets published a list of the four most frequently asked questions regarding Form CRS, which firms will need to be following by June 2020 as part of the SEC’s adoption of a four-part rulemaking package last June.

Review your investment portfolio before the end of the year to see what Long Term Capital Gain Dividend distributions have already hit the account and check to see if there will be any others to come before year end. Careful tax planning like this can save your clients a bundle.

Stocks closed broadly lower and bond prices rose sharply on Wall Street after President Donald Trump cast doubt over the potential for a trade deal with China this year. Investors had been hoping for a deal this year, or at least enough progress to stave off new U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods, including smartphones and laptops, scheduled to start Dec. 15.

End-of-the-year planning is an important step for advisors to get their clients in a position to take 2020 by financial storm. As advisors guide their clients through the remaining weeks of 2019, keeping these tips in mind will go a long way for advisors and clients.

The proposal will impose a uniform fiduciary conduct standard on broker-dealers, agents, investment advisors and investment advisor representatives providing financial advice to any clients in Massachusetts. A public hearing will be held on the proposal next month, officials said Monday, with adoption to follow as soon as Feb. 1.