The Governing Council expects the key ECB interest rates to remain at their present levels for an extended period of time, and well past the horizon of the net asset purchases. Regarding non-standard monetary policy measures, the Governing Council confirms that the net asset purchases, at the current monthly pace of €60 billion, are intended to run until the…
Read moreA deadline to comment on the controversial Department of Labor fiduciary rule expires at midnight Friday.
A new study reveals that millennials and women are growing more interested in socially responsible investment options. Advisors in those demographics are moving with the trends, data shows.
How does an advisor plan for the client who wants to work in retirement? Such a plan can improve the retirement outlook, but the pitfalls include unrealistic expectations.
A deadline to comment on the controversial Department of Labor fiduciary rule expires at midnight Friday.
Little disruption to clients reported by advisors as they transition to the full Department of Labor fiduciary rules, a new survey finds. Though more changes are expected if the rule is implemented as written on Jan. 1, for now the rules appear marginally disruptive.
A new study reveals that millennials and women are growing more interested in socially responsible investment options. Advisors in those demographics are moving with the trends, data shows.
Nationwide becomes the latest company to offer its first fee-based fixed indexed annuity. The new products are being developed in response to the Department of Labor fiduciary rule.
How does an advisor plan for the client who wants to work in retirement? Such a plan can improve the retirement outlook, but the pitfalls include unrealistic expectations.
July 17– Longtime Pennsylvania resident Ted Benna invented the 401 plan more than 35 years ago. Just last week, incoming Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Walter J. Clayton referred to typical investors as “Mr. and Ms. 401,” a nod to the fact that the bulk of Americans sock away savings in corporate 401 investment plans, as opposed to having traditional…
With regulation, technology and other factors creating great change within the industry, financial advisors have plenty of career choices to consider. Fee-based and dually registered advisors are expected to fare well in the coming years.
What licenses do you need to sell various financial products in a Department of Labor fiduciary rule world? Our Kim O’Brien discusses the various licenses and dismisses some incorrect information.
His remarks are not out of tune with previous comments under both President Barack Obama and President Donald Trump, when he’s argued that U.S. government policymakers spend too much time arguing rather than improving the economy. The U.S. economy has been expanding at less than 2 percent a year since the Great Recession, which is below the typical growth after…
With online advice models gaining momentum in the financial services world, many traditional advisories are adopting ‘hybrid’ models that combine both robo and human aspects. Prices for these services vary, a new study found.
Fee-based consolidators of investment advisors are closing bigger and bigger M&A deals, analysts say. Seven of the top 10 brokers measured by AUM who moved from the captive channel to the independent channel between 2009-15 move to consolidators.
The Social Security and Medicare trust funds will not be able to pay all debts inside of 20 years unless Congress acts, an annual report by the Treasury Department predicted. It means that by 2034, the program will have enough revenue to cover only 77 percent of promised Social Security and Medicare benefits. In the period from 2018-2027, Social Security will…
A new bill by Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., draws mixed reviews at a House subcommittee hearing today. The bill would scrap the Department of Labor fiduciary rule in favor of a more industry friendly standard.
President Donald J. Trump has vowed to ease or get rid of regulations across the business world. So why are government agencies ramping up investigations of registered investment advisors?
Nearly a quarter (24.6 percent) of the U.S. population ages 0 to 17 years old was Hispanic in 2015, an increase from 17.1 percent in 2000, new data finds. This demographic is historically underserved by life insurance.
The annual rate of retirement health care costs is growing (5.47 percent) at double the annual growth rate of Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, a new study finds. What can clients do to prepare?
New annuity research tool by Beacon Annuity Solutions will help advisors demonstrate that their recommendations are in the best interest of clients, a company executive says.
As part of its review of the Obama administration’s fiduciary rule, Department of Labor regulators are expected to consider returning fixed indexed annuities to a less-stringent exemption.
The Department of Labor is prepared to help advisors survive under the new fiduciary rules by possibly carving out new exemptions and amending existing ones, according to documents published Thursday. Is it the lifeline the industry seeks?
The Impartial Conduct Standards in the Department of Labor fiduciary rules have caused some confusion. Our Kim O’Brien is here to sort it all out.
INDIANAPOLIS —A recent concept report based on research by Wade Pfau, Ph.D., CFA, and Michael Finke, Ph.D., CFP® illustrates the…
Deciding when to take Social Security benefits can be one of the most important decisions an advisor helps a client to make.
Assets gathered by multi-family offices grew 13 percent annually over the three-year period ending in 2015, according to new data. That surpasses the growth in the hot registered investment advisor (RIA) field. What does it mean?
Any thoughts that new Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta would decline to defend the controversial fiduciary rule went out the window with a brief filed Monday in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.
—The Federal Reserve is figuring out when to start unloading much of its $4.5 trillion in bond holdings— a major turning point for an economy still healing from the 2008 financial crisis. Some Fed officials want to announce the beginning of the process “within a couple of months,” according to minutes of the U.S. central bank’s June meeting released Wednesday.
The Department of Labor announced two new comment periods Friday — 15 and 30 days — on different aspect of its controversial fiduciary rule. Will the rule go fully into effect?
Some 67 percent of financial advisors rely on practice management support – especially to deal with the growing complexity of advising, according to a recent poll.
Fee-based registered financial advisors (RIA) and dually-registered advisors are growing much faster than commission-based independent representatives. Industry pressures are reshaping how investment advice is delivered, experts say.
Since launching his own financial advisory firm in October, Grayson Hofferber has charged a monthly retainer that ranges from $50…
If you’re going for the dividend route, which of the two primary dividend strategies is best: dividend growth, or dividend yield? Investment gurus are casting a vote for growth.
The SEC is hinting at taking up fiduciary rulemaking. New Chairman Jay Clayton kicked off the process June 1 by soliciting public comment. Investors and advisors responded with concerns.
Chicago-based Bankers Life is recasting a narrowly-focused captive insurance distribution approach into a holistic advisory one. It is developing a higher-caliber advisor force in the process, execs say.
This new finding comes from T. Rowe Price’s 2016 update of Reference Point, an annual benchmarking report of employer-sponsored retirement plans based on T. Rowe Price’s full-service recordkeeping client data. Reference Point is one component of T. Rowe Price’s comprehensive digital toolkit aimed at helping plan sponsor clients and their advisors manage…
Some 93 percent of people 25 years and younger are willing to buy insurance online compared to only 63 percent…
Investors should diversify their holdings across emerging markets, experts say. But take care to be wary of volatility and invest with some trepidation.
The Department of Labor fiduciary rule has not had a major impact on annuity sales yet, say execs with a top Midwest insurer. The second phase of the rule, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2018, will likely be a different story, they add.
Fred Fern had all of his money invested in IBM in 1962. When the blue chip of blue chip stocks…
Cybersecurity ETFs are a hot investment right now due to the persistent global cyber threats. But experts say there are important things to look for before plunging your client’s money into a cybersecurity ETF.
Financial advisor trade associations are racing to offer new training programs to expand their reach to life insurance professionals operating in foreign markets. In particular, Asia is an area of immense interest.
Asset managers and owners expect their investment in ESG alternative assets, including hedge funds, infrastructure, real estate and private equity…
The Duty of Diligence contained in the Department of Labor fiduciary rule will require advisors to employ a standardized, systematic and repeatable process when issuing advice, our Kim O’Brien says.
Evidence is mounting that advisors are more likely to include health care spending as a topic to be included in retirement planning. A new report indicates a 65-year-old couple retiring today will need $404,000 for health care costs.
New fixed-indexed annuity products with shorter seven-year surrender periods are driving down commissions, new data shows. First-quarter indexed annuity commissions dropped to 4.96 percent from 5.37 percent a year ago.
Working with a financial advisor helps career military families stay focused on retirement savings, which will be more important with…
June 19– BLOOMINGTON– A Bloomington man pleaded guilty Monday to stealing more than $600,000 from two investors in a plea agreement that could send him to prison for 15 years. Derek Gordon, 44, accepted a prosecution plea offer as a bench trial on 20 felony counts was set to begin in McLean County Circuit Court. Gordon also agreed to pay $524,859 to Ron Briscoe and…
While financial advisory fees have undergone some compression, they remain surprisingly robust in mid-2017 and should stay that way for the foreseeable future, a new paper predicts.
Financial planners say pressure from taxes and regulation are making them less likely to recommend life and annuity products. Can these products adapt and thrive beyond 2017?
When RIA regulators arrived at Safe Harbor Financial Advisors’ offices in May for an inspection, the Virginia state examiners had…
Financial advisors recruited to independent broker-dealers (IBD) are as likely to come from the insurance distribution channel as they are from big wirehouses, new research found.
A new Morningstar tool is designed to help investment management professionals “gain a clearer picture of business risk and portfolio suitability across an entire book of business.” In short, a balance between too much and too little risk.
Investment advisors and financial advisors who leave or break away from their captive channel to start new in the independent channel is lower than speculated. The Department of Labor fiduciary rule might move the number northward.
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate by one quarter percentage point– to a range of 1 percent to 1.25 percent– signaling strength in the U.S. economy. The federal funds rate is what depository institutions, including banks and credit unions, maintain at the Federal Reserve to lend to other institutions overnight. Eight Federal Reserve…
Stefan Lumiere, 46, of Manhattan, also was ordered to pay a $1 million fine in tiny increments after his prison stint, scheduled to start in September. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian McGinley said Lumiere created the scheme to artificially inflate the value of a fund consisting of debt instruments issued by health care companies “after his investments started to…
The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 rallied immediately after the French voted for their next president and advisors remain optimistic…
Shouldn’t the real question be how the new rule impacts the ordinary investor?
Some 82 percent of S&P 500 Index companies published a sustainability or corporate responsibility report last year, according to new…
The idea is to ensure that the U.S. economy doesn’t overheat. But beyond the announcement of another rate hike, anticipation surrounds the possibility that the Fed could signal policy shifts in a statement it will issue, in updated economic forecasts and in a news conference with Chair Janet Yellen. The Fed has previously forecast that it will raise rates three…
The Federal Reserve is set to raise short-term interest rates Wednesday for the third time in six months— a vote of confidence in the American economy and especially in the resilience of the U.S. job market. Yet neither the U.S. nor the world economy is likely to regain the robust health that prevailed before the recession struck a decade ago.
Technology has made the traditional camera obsolete, and financial advisors could be the next to find themselves discarded in the wake of new technology, according to a speaker at an Insured Retirement Institute conference.
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