Helping clients navigate difficult estate-planning conversations
Advisors may know the importance of estate planning, but that doesn’t make it easier to have difficult estate planning conversations.
News, trends and helpful peer advice for financial advisors.
Advisors may know the importance of estate planning, but that doesn’t make it easier to have difficult estate planning conversations.
Women face a number of financial challenges but female investors also represent an opportunity for advisors.
Top financial professionals share advice on what a financial advisor needs to know to serve high-net-worth clients.
Advisors may know the importance of estate planning, but that doesn’t make it easier to have difficult estate planning conversations.
The newly-enacted SECURE 2.0 Act contains significant changes that may affect how you plan for retirement. The bill, passed by Congress and signed into law by President Biden in late 2022, could help you bolster your retirement savings and income strategy. Distributions must commence by April 1 of the year after turning 73..
Women face a number of financial challenges but female investors also represent an opportunity for advisors.
Transferring property ownership to a trust is one of California's most popular estate planning techniques. In the Santa Barbara area, many of the homes we come across as Realtors are owned in a trust. In California, having assets in a trust has several advantages, such as avoiding probate, maintaining privacy, offering asset protection, allowing for flexibility,…
The Federal Reserve's top bank regulator on Wednesday said that supervisors could have done more to keep tabs on Silicon Valley Bank before it collapsed earlier this month. The acknowledgment from Michael Barr, the vice chair for supervision at the Federal Reserve, was the most direct yet by a government official of possible oversight lapses leading up to the…
Dear Savvy Senior, I started drawing my Social Security retirement benefits back in 2021 when I was forced to retire early, but I’ m now interested going back to work part-time. Dear Back, You can collect Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time but depending on how old you are and how much you earn, some or all of your benefits could be temporarily…
Little better than keeping money under the mattress, the idea that bank accounts are the best way to save for retirement is a myth. In reality, they are one of the worst options out there. By keeping your money in a savings account, you're missing out on potential earnings and losing purchasing power to inflation.
Top financial professionals share advice on what a financial advisor needs to know to serve high-net-worth clients.
Older people are going into their retirement years with few resources and little insurance coverage – better packaging and clearer longevity information can make a difference, according to two studies.
Dear Savvy Senior, I started drawing my Social Security retirement benefits back in 2021 when I was forced to retire early, but I’ m now interested going back to work part-time. Dear Back, You can collect Social Security retirement benefits and work at the same time but depending on how old you are and how much you earn, some or all of your benefits could be temporarily…
WASHINGTON- The Federal Reserve's bank supervisors warned Silicon Valley Bank's management as early as the fall of 2021 of risks stemming from its unusual business model, a top Fed official said Tuesday, but its managers failed to take the steps necessary to fix the problems. The Fed official, Michael Barr, the nation's top banking regulator, said during a Senate…
Democrats and Republicans are unlikely to come together to tighten bank regulations following the collapse of SVB of Santa Clara, California, and Signature Bank of New York City, but members of both parties say they're open to legislation that would punish executives for their role in the bank failures. Democrats are toying with ideas that would…
Americans cite “clear and understandable fees” as the No. 1 thing they want from financial-services firms, with a higher importance placed on pricing considerations than at any time since 2010.
Never lose a client to an advisor who uses Monte Carlo simulations.
The Employee Benefit Research Institute announced the appointment of Barb Marder as President and CEO, effective immediately.
The sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank— the nation's 16th largest bank— and Signature Bank have changed the financial landscape. To mitigate the damage, the United States Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced a series of measures on Sunday, March 12, to reassure individuals and businesses of the…
In the financial world, stocks and stock-based mutual funds often get a lot of attention. And deservedly so, because they often form the core of a portfolio. But now, as the Federal Reserve has repeatedly raised interest rates to combat inflation, CD rates are rising, too.
I have found that having a transparent financial planning process helps clients shake-off those first meeting jitters and helps us focus on finding ways to improve their financial well-being.
Account balances for consistent 401(k) plan participants rose from year-end 2016 through year-end 2020, according to a new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) titled “What Does Consistent Participation in 401(k) Plans Generate? Changes in 401(k) Plan Account Balances, 2016–2020.”
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday that the U.S. banking system remains "sound and resilient" following the second- and third-largest bank failures in the nation's history. Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed earlier this month amid a run on the banks. "At a basic level, Silicon Valley Bank management failed badly," Powell said. "