The continuing government shutdown has left federal agencies scrambling. Short-term, tax refunds and passports could be delayed being issued, but the long-term implications could have dire repercussions for potential policies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation Best Interest standard, which, prior to the shutdown, was due out sometime this year.
Later this year, however, U.S. stock index funds may for the first time control more in assets than mutual funds run by stock-picking managers trying to deliver better returns than an index like the S&P 500.. U.S. stock index mutual funds and ETFs now control close to $3.6 trillion, according to Morningstar. Last year, investors pumped a net $206.5 billion into U.S….
BANGKOK- World stocks were subdued Monday after China reported its slowest economic expansion in 30 years and the International Monetary Fund cut its forecasts for global growth this year. Britain’s FTSE 100 added less than 0.1 percent to 6,970.59. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.3 percent to 20,719.33, while South Korea’s Kospi was flat at 2,124.61.
I believe that people are starved for several things when they are looking for financial help. Our ability to go beyond the numbers and focus on them as people, not on how much money they are paying us, is how we combat the trend that is commoditizing our profession.
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards issued the following news release:. At the start of this New Year, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards welcomes Susan John, CFP (R) as the new Chair of the Board of Directors. One of her great accomplishments at NAPFA was helping to form the Financial Planning Coalition, a collaboration between the…
Retirement income planning has gone from a niche area of planning to an essential offering for many advisors because it is where the money and market are, not to mention your clients’ needs. It also presents unique challenges that are not seen in all other areas of financial planning. That’s actually why I wrote my book Rewirement – to highlight how you need to change the way you think from saving for retirement to generating income in retirement.
Despite countless television ads touting the virtues of retirement planning, it seems many people are not getting the message: According to a survey from GOBBankingRates.com, one-third of Americans have nothing saved for retirement. Financial advisors recommend men and women begin saving for retirement as early as possible. The longer people delay…
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards issued the following news release:. Financial advisors remain the primary source for the delivery of financial advice despite the availability of fully automated digital solutions, with clients expecting technology to be part of their relationship with advisors, according to a new report issued today by…
Advisors could find opportunities as an increasing number of women seek financial advice and are expected to control $22 trillion in assets by 2020.
Each week MDRT and AdvisorNews bring readers advice on topics encompassing the financial services industry including case studies, practice management, tips for success and much more.
Women Empowering Financial Independence (WEFI) is empowering women in the insurance industry by helping them build their own businesses using the WEFI platform, which focuses on promoting financial literacy among women and girls. Using their unique playbook, WEFI is creating wildly successful entrepreneurs and hanging the face of the insurance and financial industries — literally.
The millennial generation is taking the labor force by storm. But they are faced with two competing financial needs: saving for retirement and paying down their student loans.
Concern over a state-by-state approach is one reason that a national set of uniform rules made sense because that would limit a confusing array of regulations, several observers from Pennsylvania noted. Steve Bell, with the Central Pennsylvania chapter of the Financial Planning Association, said a new proposal has been floated in Washington, D.C., that could…
Jack Bogle died on Jan. 16. Business and investment guru Warren Buffet, a huge fan of Bogle’ s, once bet a hedge fund manager $1 million that an index fund would beat his hedge fund’ s gains over a period of time. The other thing Jack Bogle did was to drastically lower the fees investors pay to mutual fund managers, for both index and traditional, actively managed funds.
“One of the treasurer’ s highest priorities in the new year is to put together more supporters and business advocates now that there is a new general assembly,” said Mike Connolly, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Treasury in Harrisburg.“ Employees would be offered a mandatory IRA plan through work, as a payroll deduction. It does not put a burden on…
Sometimes it’s not what they do, it’s what they don’t know how to do.
Married women overall are still in their peak earning years in their 50 s and early 60 s, while married men’s earnings are on the decline, says economist Nicole Maestas, an associate professor of health care policy at Harvard Medical School and the author of a recent study about couples’ income and retirement patterns. As a result, married women typically…
The Internal Revenue Service is recalling about 46,000 of its employees furloughed by the government shutdown _ nearly 60 percent of its workforce _ to handle tax returns and pay out refunds. The employees won’t be paid. The Trump administration has promised that taxpayers owed refunds will be paid on time despite the disruption in government services caused by the partial shutdown now in its fourth week.
What impact will the continuing government shutdown have on the economy? LPL analyst John Lynch shares his predictions.
Clients will be able to contribute more to these accounts in 2019 because of changes in tax law, but choosing a plan is still no easy decision.
The volatility experienced at the end of 2018 is something long forgotten by some investors. Volatility isn’t always a bad word, it really means a tendency or vulnerability to rapid change, often unpredictably, especially for the worse. For equity investors, 2018 exuded evidence of increased volatility, and much of it was in the downward direction.
The high-stakes skirmish between the Federal Reserve and Wall Street over the path of interest rates is over. But something quite unexpected had transpired: The Fed, facing strong criticism from Wall Street and the White House for its campaign to raise interest rates to more normal levels, concluded it was best to take a breather. Wall Street, by contrast, was sure…
Values-based planning can help improve your practice by allowing you to better advise your clients, predict their behavior under stress and focus your conversations. If you’re interested in incorporating this approach into your practice, review the three recommendations below.
So, where is the policy now? What’s changed? And when can advisors anticipate a final rule on Regulation Best Interest?
The three-day talks in Beijing that wrapped up on Wednesday were the first face-to-face negotiations since U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping met in Buenos Aires in December and agreed on a 90- day truce in a trade war that has disrupted the flow of hundreds of billions of dollars of goods. US officials used three days of trade…
“The U.S. economy is solid and there’s good momentum going into this year.” His biggest concern is weakening growth in China and Europe, although he warned a prolonged U.S. government shutdown could become a drag on the economy. The Fed chair, who has been publicly criticized repeatedly by President Trump in recent months, warned that if there is an “extended shutdown,”…
By KENT SLUYTER For AdvisorNews The previous year had more than its share of big news for the annuities industry….
Stocks around the world built on their early 2019 rally Wednesday after negotiators from the U.S. and China extended their round of trade talks to a third day, which investors took as a sign the discussions were productive even though no major breakthroughs have been announced. Oil prices also continued to climb and stocks linked to faster economic growth, such as technology companies, kept climbing. Bond prices fell, sending yields higher.
Advances in financial technology allow investors to look beyond traditional investments. Exchange-traded funds offer strategies and indices with mass appeal, and investors acquainted with ETFs have started to adopt direct indexing to further diversify their portfolios.
The SEC is running on a skeleton crew that effectively halts routine oversight.
“Robo-advisors were fortunate in that they launched during a strong bull market,” said Roi Y. Tavor, co-founder and CEO, Nummo. The report, which analyzes the period from December 1, 2017 to December 1, 2018 is the first to truly consider robo-advisors and portfolio performance in a down market. The number of robo-advisors continues to increase, but there are…
In good times and bad, Wall Street has to have a story— a clear, concise view of the economy and markets and how you, our valued client, can make money by trading with us. Bloomberg reporters sifted through dozens of Wall Street research notes and provided a Reader’ s Digest version of the key takeaways. “We think the bear market is mostly complete for emerging markets, has…
The start of a new year is a good time to make sure beneficiary designations and other financial information is up to date.
Can states and financial professionals work together to help more people save adequately for retirement? One expert thinks so.
One recent characteristic of the stock market is that every day can feel like bedlam. Investors have been careening from fear to relief and back again depending on the latest news. More tests of the market’s mettle lie ahead, with U.S.-China trade talks, the fourth-quarter earnings period and another Federal Reserve meeting on the horizon.
As you reflect on the holiday gatherings of the past few weeks, it may be a good time to consider your estate plan as well. In my experience, an almost-universal goal of estate planning is long-term family harmony. Will your plan achieve the desired results?
Investor worries about stock market volatility are understandable, advisers told the Tribune-Review, but those should be balanced against the multiple signs of a growing U.S. economy. The economy is doing quite well and has been for the past year or two, “said Kurt Rankin, PNC Financial Services Group economist. After Apple reported Thursday that iPhone sales in…
After being in the financial advisor industry for 15 years, I still wasn’t hitting my goals. I had to admit that what I was doing just wasn’t working. I dressed and spoke like other agents, but I knew I wasn’t being honest with myself. I decided it was time to make a change.
I identified what made me unique and what my personal style is, then I implemented that into my practice
Jan. 03– At least two financial experts in Missoula are concerned about America’s soaring debt, which they believe will necessitate the need for tax increases, cuts in benefits and health programs or some combination of both in the future. Banna teaches free two-night financial advising and retirement planning classes at Missoula College, with the next ones…
The past year felt dismal for investors. Even worse, the gloom was all-encompassing.
The sharp decline comes on the heels of Apple warning traders about slowing revenue and weaker iPhone sales in China. Apple CEO Tim Cook said in a letter to investors the company’s revenue for the October to December quarter is significantly lower than the company had expected. Following the announcement, Apple fell 8.3%.
NEW YORK– The roller-coaster ride on Wall Street resumed on Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year, as stocks plunged early on, then slowly recovered and finished with a slight gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped as much as 398 points in the first few minutes of trading after more shaky economic news from China. From September through the end of…
24/7 Wall St. reviewed annual employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2008 to 2017 to identify the fastest growing industries.
Forecasts focus on when– not whether– the next U.S. recession is coming. Because much of the rest of the world economy already has begun to slow, and that is adding to the slow down in the U.S. economy expected this year. Forecasters put off the next recession until 2020 largely because the U.S. economy currently enjoys a brisk pace of growth.
Wall Street closed out a dismal, turbulent year for stocks on a bright note on Monday, but still finished 2018 with the worst showing in a decade. After setting a series of records through the late summer and early fall, major U.S. indexes fell sharply after early October, leaving them all in the red for the year. Britain’ s FTSE 100 lost 12.5 percent.
The Dow Jones industrial average led a tepid rally in stocks today, the final trading session of 2018. Watch Merck, Pfizer, Verizon, McDonald’s in 2019.
No doubt the holiday season got the best of your plans to review your financial plan. If that’s so, now would be good time to make sure you start the new year off on the right foot especially when it comes to your retirement accounts. What should you be doing?
It’s that time when economists are looked to as fortune-tellers. The fortune, in this case, is our collective well-being tied to growth in the overall economy. Of course, no economist- no matter how well-trained- can perfectly predict the future of a $19 trillion economy like we have in the U.S..
Shares are mixed in subdued New Year’s Eve trading. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng advanced 1.3 percent while the Sensex in India was flat. Australian’s benchmark edged lower. U.S. futures were higher after President Donald Trump tweeted that he expected to reach a deal to help result trade friction with China after speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
There is no other time of year that reminds us of our accomplishments and encourages us to identify self-improvements for the coming year. Here is a checklist of 2019 New Year’s resolutions that can help you protect those gains you worked so hard to achieve in 2018:
For many of us, the new year means a fresh start and the chance to set new goals. If your resolutions are money related, here are some ways to strengthen your financial foundation in 2019.. If you are setting other New Year’s resolutions, such as hiring a personal trainer, mastering a new skill or traveling overseas, incorporate the cost of pursuing these activities…
In 2019, the yearly contribution limit for a Roth or traditional IRA rises to $6,000. Your modified adjusted gross income may affect how much you can put into a Roth IRA: singles and heads of household with MAGI above $137,000 and joint filers with MAGI above $203,000 cannot make 2019 Roth contributions. For tax year 2019, you can contribute up to $19,000 to 401,…
The Dow has fallen significantly after its biggest point gain in history, shedding as much as 500 points a day after gaining over 1,000 points. The Nasdaq fell 2.2% and the S&P was down 2.1%. The huge gains and losses have suggested that investors remain on edge about the economy, monetary policy, trade, and Washington dysfunction.
Each week MDRT and AdvisorNews bring readers advice on topics encompassing the financial services industry including case studies, practice management, tips for success and much more.
Dec. 27– What the stock market gives, the stock market takes away. Shon Anderson, president of Dayton’s Anderson Financial Strategies and president of the CFA Society of Dayton, said Thursday morning he did not initially foresee negative volatility to this extent in the market. This year is shaping up to the first since 2006 in which the U.S. economy grew at about…
It seems the famous “fiduciary rule” has lost steam and is no longer headline news due to delays and lack of support in general. Yet we see situations every day where clients were not ethically cared for. This strikes me as archaic in this day and age of technology and transparency.
Microsoft, Nike, Pfizer, Merck and Visa are all in the running to be the top Dow Jones stock of 2018. But who is the winner?
The organization of CFP volunteers and other nonprofits are ramping up services and recognition for advisors who do good deeds.
Consumers and their advisors now have plenty of options to secure guaranteed income for life.
