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June 13– The Social Security Trustees recently released their annual report about the current state of Social Security, as well as short- and long-term future projections for the program. And the report starts off with some good news: Social Security ran a surplus of more than $44 billion in 2017.. In fact, the report confirmed last year’s finding that Social…
Millennials are making up a larger and larger share of potential advisory clients, a new survey reports.

Millennials and GenXers are going to comprise a much larger piece of the client pie by 2023, according to a new survey. On the flip side, baby boomers and older clients will decline in numbers. Advisors need to learn strategies to appeal to the trending youth, experts say.

The Giving USA report, released Tuesday, said giving from individuals, estates, foundations and corporations reached an estimated $410 billion in 2017— more than the gross domestic product of countries such as Israel and Ireland. That surge was driven by large gifts from major philanthropists to their own foundations— including $1 billion from Dell…
Consumers always seem to be waiting for the next economic Big One.
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A survey shows consumers are becoming more comfortable with risk but at the same time terrified of an economic cataclysm devastating their savings. Could an annuity help soothe those anxious consumers?

–Financial security emerged as the most important attribute of a positive outlook on life, according to new research released today by Northwestern Mutual. “The formula is simple,” said Rebekah Barsch, vice president of planning at Northwestern Mutual. These are the latest findings from the 2018 Planning& Progress Study, an annual research project commissioned…

Exchange Traded Funds are the investment vehicle of choice for 91% of Millennial investors according to the ETF Investor Study by Charles Schwab& Co., Inc. Millennials say 42% of their portfolios are currently in ETFs, and more than half of investors in that generation say they have already replaced all individual securities in their portfolios with ETFs.
Cartagena, Columbia, one of many overseas countries where Americans are retiring to a far cheaper cost of living.

Americans can retire abroad for a fraction of the costs needed in the U.S., and many are doing just that. Advisors have an opportunity to be the indispensable partner while helping clients through the retire-abroad process.
Investors shunning dividend-paying stocks are missing the boat on a prime portfolio growth opportunity, analysts say.

Many global dividend payouts are at an all-time high as the world economy chugs along. So why aren’t more investors on the hunt for dividend-paying stocks?
Variable universal life has been out of the game for quite a while.
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Variable universal life used to be a hot product line but their sales dipped around 2000 and had not recovered since. But lately they are showing some signs of life.
Jerome H. Powell testifies before a joint hearing of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investments and the Subcommittee on Economic Policy in Washington, D.C. in this 2016 file photo.

Current pricing in federal funds futures markets suggests a 95 percent chance of a rate hike when the Fed committee meets Tuesday and Wednesday. Rising inflation and still-low interest rates are reasons another hike is likely.

Sales of fee-based VAs, one of the industry’s best hopes for cracking the registered investment advisor channel, rose 70 percent to $780 million over the year-ago period, LIMRA reported.

NEW YORK- More and more retirement savers have their entire 401 account in just a single mutual fund, and investment advisers are fine with it. The stakes are high that workers choose wisely because they’re increasingly in charge of their own retirement savings, with traditional pension plans rare and pressures mounting on Social Security.
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Annuities and fiduciary duty are usually mentioned together in the context of protecting clients in annuity transactions. But an annuity provider is turning that around by saying advisors are failing their fiduciary duty when they do not include annuities in the discussion.

Exchange-Traded Funds are financial advisers’ top pick for the investment vehicle they most often use/recommend with clients, and their popularity does not appear to be waning. 2018 marks the fourth consecutive year that ETFs are the preferred investment vehicle among advisers, with 87 percent of financial advisers surveyed currently using or…
Many seniors need a metaphorical life preserver to make sure their retirement nest egg will last, experts say. Advisors can play a key role in this area.

Surveys indicate that between 40 and 60 percent of Americans list running out of retirement funds as their No. 1 fear. So what can an advisor for to help clients deal with that fear, and make sure it doesn’t come true?

By Hamza Shaban/ The Washington Post. As trading continued early Wednesday afternoon, Microsoft’ s market value reached $760 billion, holding off Google’ s parent company Alphabet, whose market value was $745 billion. Only Apple and Amazon.com are worth more, at $920 billion and $785 billion, respectively.
It is going to take a while for the SEC to develop and then implement its new best interest suitability standard.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission has not defined what a best interest standard means in its more than 100 pages of rule-making. But whatever it is, don’t expect it to be implemented before 2020.
They aren't quite at the top but a few companies are rapidly ascending the fixed indexed annuity market.

Companies usually associated with variable annuities are moving up the charts on the fixed indexed annuity side of the business. Some are taking routes other than the independent channel to get there.
Although RIAs won't need to become psychiatrists but more advisors are taking holistic advising to mean personal well-being as well.
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Younger clients aren’t all about the money, even if they have money. Some say RIAs will need to include personal well-being in their holistic practices.

The U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Craig Carpenito, issued the following news release:. A former broker and investment adviser was arrested today for allegedly stealing more than $2.1 million from two clients in order to pay for personal expenses, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced. Basralian was arrested earlier today at his home and is…

Columbia, South Carolina—- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Melvin Leonard Wimmer, Jr., age 53, of Greenwood, South Carolina has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Greenville, to Securities Fraud, a violation of 18 U.S.C. Senior United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong, Jr., of Greenville, accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Wimmer…
Variable annuity sales are expected to swing higher, according to LIMRA analysis.

Variable annuity sales are expected to turn positive this year, propelled by the easing of regulation, but also benefiting from the innovation that regulation had inspired.

Fixed indexed annuities bust right into 2018.

The almost-dead DOL rule gets much of the credit for the boost in fixed indexed annuity sales in LIMRA’s numbers. But rising interest rates allowing more attractive annuity rates are also cited as helping sales.

Lincoln Financial jumped into a fast-growing segment of the variable annuity market with its first buffered VA. The company’s Level…
Financial advisors should consider either doing their own podcast, or guesting on one, experts say.
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Financial advisors have the opportunity to grow their practice and gain name recognition by doing podcasts, either as a host, or a guest. Experts provide a few dos and don’ts for those thinking about it.