Clicky
Advisor News
Advisor News RSS Get our newsletter

More Evidence Central Banks Will Hike Rates

Advisor News No comments.

The Federal Reserve appears committed to normalizing interest rates further and initiating its balance sheet reduction this year, experts say.

Read more

How to build trust so that prospects trust you even before they meet you and become clients much more rapidly.

Merger-and-acquisition transactions in the first half of 2017 rose 15 percent to a record 82 deals compared with the year-ago period, new data finds.

Retiring early means confronting a host of sensitive and significant planning questions. Knowledgeable advisors can help their clients get the right answers.

Latest Exclusives >

July 26– Ameriprise Financial Inc.’ s second-quarter profit jumped 17 percent, pushed upward by investor clients eager to ride the rising stock market and the company’s efforts to control expenses. The Minneapolis- based financial advisory firm said Tuesday it earned $393 million, or $2.50 a share, in the April-to-June period. Fee-based inflows amounted to…

July 25– A former Truckee man has been indicted in an alleged investment fraud scheme in which investors lost $1.7 million. Patrick Slavin, 55, was arraigned Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento. A 21- count indictment charges him with mail and wire fraud for an investment scheme he allegedly ran from 2008 through 2016, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office…

—The Federal Reserve has already achieved one of its two mandates: With the unemployment rate at just 4.4 percent, the Fed has essentially maximized employment. Problem is, too-low inflation tends to slow consumer spending, the U.S. economy’s main fuel. Fed Chair Janet Yellen deepened the uncertainty earlier this month when she sounded less sure about her…

July 25– A longtime North Dakota broker has been issued a cease and desist order from North Dakota’s top securities regulator after an investigation found she continued to act as a brokerage agent after losing her license. Susan L. Welo, who worked most recently at Cetera Advisor Networks in Mayville, N.D., has been doing business under the trade name Welo Wealth…

Exclusive

Merger-and-acquisition transactions in the first half of 2017 rose 15 percent to a record 82 deals compared with the year-ago period, new data finds.

Nationwide is tracking results from a pilot Direct-to-Consumer annuity product.
Exclusive

A pilot, Direct-to-Consumer annuity offering by Nationwide is generating plenty of useful data about consumer habits and their needs to speak to live advisors.

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…

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is overseeing a study of potential disruption by the DOL fiduciary rule. One new study indicates little disruption to clients so far.

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.

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.

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…

Financial advisors have plenty of career choices as the industry evolves, according to an industry expert with Tiburon Advisors.

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.

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…

Exclusive

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.

Seven of the top 10 brokers measured by AUM who moved from the captive channel to the independent channel between 2009 and 2015 landed at the feet of RIA consolidators.

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…

Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., makes a point during a House Financial Service's Committee meeting in September 2015. Wagner has led the fight against the DOL's fiduciary rule.

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 Trump said he is "very disappointed" by failed efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

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?

The Hispanic population is the fastest-growing segment in the United States, a new study finds.

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.

Waiting longer to plan for long-term care expenses can be devastating to retirement finances, notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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?

Access to data is the best way for agents to prove they are making product recommendations in the best interest of clients, experts say.
Exclusive

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.

The Department of Labor wants to remake the Obama administration fiduciary rule.

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.

New Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is walking a fine line between legally defending the Obama-era fiduciary rule, while trying to make the rule more palatable to the financial services industry.

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?

Seven of the top 10 brokers measured by AUM who moved from the captive channel to the independent channel between 2009 and 2015 landed at the feet of RIA consolidators.

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?

Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is overseeing a study of potential disruption by the DOL fiduciary rule. One new study indicates little disruption to clients so far.

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 wants more comments on its fiduciary rule.

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?

Thanks to regulations and changing trends, financial advisors are walking a tightrope as they seek to adapt and survive.

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.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking at a fiduciary standard.

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.

Bankers Life sponsors the Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, home of the Indiana Pacers.

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…

Ray Wasilewski, chief operating officer, Life Companies, for FBL Financial Group.

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.

Exclusive

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.

Since taking over the reins of NAIFA in July, CEO Kevin M. Mayeux has pushed for new initiatives in overseas markets.

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.

Exclusive

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.

Waiting longer to plan for long-term care expenses can be devastating to retirement finances, notes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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.

Agent commissions are dropping as new indexed annuity products with shorter surrender charges hit the market.

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.

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…

Advisory fees have remained strong in 2017, despite some "compression," a new paper finds.
Exclusive

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.

The tax-deferral status of investments will be a very important consideration going forward if the Department of Labor fiduciary rules take full effect.

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?