Wengui, 54, who was arrested on an indictment last month under the name Ho Wan Kwok, is in federal custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., facing several charges, including wire and securities fraud and money laundering. In court documents, the government said Wengui was known to travel between his Greenwich home and others in New York City…
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Tax return anxiety adding to banking customer jitters, says survey
Banking customers already jittery about high inflation and fears of a recession have added tax returns to their anxiety list as filing deadlines approach, according to a survey by J.D. Power.
Investor satisfaction with full-service investment advisors plunged 17 points (on a 1,000-point scale) year over year, according to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Full-Service Investor Satisfaction Study.
Have you felt increasingly overwhelmed by the growing numbers on your monthly credit card bills? Between December 2021 and December 2022, total balances jumped by $130 billion, the largest annual increase the Federal Reserve had ever seen. Because they don't have that help anymore and groceries and medical bills are costing more, "said Sara Rathner, a credit…
Fidelity analysis finds a ādanger zoneā for employees cashing out 401(k)s
The ādanger zoneā for employees fully cashing out of their retirement savings plans is 30-39 years old, according to recent analysis based on more than 20 million Fidelity 401(k) participants.
As part of the IRS annual Dirty Dozen, these potentially abusive arrangements involve things like Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts and monetized installment sales. "The IRS remains concerned about abusive tax arrangements, and they remain a focal point for our enforcement efforts," said IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel. " This highlights day ten in the IRS…
The money youā re stuffing into your 401 and other retirement accounts has to be withdrawn someday. If youā re not strategic about how you save, you could face unnecessarily high tax bills and inflated Medicare premiums in retirementā plus, you could be saddling your heirs with higher taxes. āYou do not want to be in the position as some clients are that all of their…
Federal Reserve officials were under fire as they convened their two-day policy meeting, during which they decided to raise short-term rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a peak benchmark range of 4.75% to 5%. Despite uncertainty in the banking sector, the Fed said that still-high inflation required action. The rate decision, along with events of the…
Helping clients navigate difficult estate-planning conversations
Advisors may know the importance of estate planning, but that doesnāt 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..
Creating financially fearless female investors
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 Iā 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.
What financial advisors need to know to serve high-net-worth clients
Top financial professionals share advice on what a financial advisor needs to know to serve high-net-worth clients.
Dear Savvy Senior, I started drawing my Social Security retirement benefits back in 2021 when I was forced to retire early, but Iā 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…
‘Clear fees’ cited as most important for financial services firms
Americans cite āclear and understandable feesā 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.
