Insurance and financial advisors are challenged to find the right partners and brokerage general agencies to work with, said Brian Haney, founder and vice president of The Haney Company in Silver Spring, Md.
—Global stock markets were mixed Wednesday after Wall Street declined as hopes for a possible coronavirus vaccine were tempered by worries about the pandemic's continuing impact. London, Tokyo and Frankfurt retreated, while Shanghai, Hong Kong and Sydney advanced. In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London lost 0.5% to 6,332.47 and the DAX in Frankfurt shed 0.9%…
Most Americans fail a financial fluency quiz of key investment selection terms, and confusion over a term like “passive investing” can translate into saving less and lower use of investment products, according to a new report.
–Advisor Group, the nation’s largest network of independent wealth management firms, and network member firm SagePoint Financial today announced the successful recruitment of Veater Financial Group, a wealth management practice based in Fresno, CA, with $503 million in total client assets. In addition to SagePoint Financial, Advisor Group also includes FSC…
Donna Skemp of Bend, Oregon, struggled to save before she signed up for an automatic savings plan offered by her employer's payroll services company. “It's painless, and it's so easy,” says Skemp, accounting and office manager for the nonprofit Every Kid Sports, which pays sports registration fees for children from low-income families. People are much more likely…
Columbus, OH—November 16, 2020—Nearly two-thirds of investors (61%) and more than two-thirds of advisors and financial professionals (68%) anticipate market…

Advisors Talking Roth, Tax Strategies With Looming Biden Administration
The prospect of a Joe Biden presidency has experts and advisors taking a hard look at Biden’s tax proposals. Although, the viability of those plans hang on the Senate balance, advisors say clients want to talk tax.

Why A Vaccine Might Not Get Us To Normal
Nov. 15– Coronavirus infections are climbing to record highs in Washington state and nationwide. Patients are filling hospitals in some states. Experts fear we're in for a dark winter.
Wells Fargo’s former chief executive and former head of Wells Fargo’s Community Bank defrauded investors by using a metric that was inflated by accounts that were opened for consumers who did not ask for or want them, according to new charges filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
After months of economic heartache from the coronavirus, it is encouraging to learn of some good news about Americans’ retirement…
DENVER (November 12, 2020) – Financial services firms are reportedly hit by security incidents 300 times more frequently than other…
Heading into the election, polling data and market signals disagreed on how close the presidential election would be, with market signals calling the race much closer—which turned out to be accurate. Now that we have more clarity on the results of the election, we can review what we believe will be some of the key market implications going forward.
By Stan Choe and Damian J. Troise| The Associated Press. It was the second straight day that rising hopes for a COVID-19 vaccine have investors reordering which stocks they see winning and losing, and the shifts were leaving U.S. stock indexes mixed in afternoon trading. Treasury yields and oil, meanwhile, were holding most of their big gains from a day before or…

Hub International Acquires Assets Of Baystate Fiduciary Advisors
–HUB International Limited, a leading full-service global insurance broker, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Baystate Fiduciary Advisors, Inc.. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Baystate Fiduciary Advisors is a firm offering investment fiduciary advisory services to 401 k and 403 b plan sponsors with both a general business approach and a…
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared by more than 1,600 points after the opening bell on Monday, its first day of trading since Democratic nominee Joe Biden was projected by all major news outlets as the winner of the 2020 presidential race. The Dow's movement also followed an announcement by drugmaker Pfizer earlier Monday, which reported that late-stage…
When training to become a financial professional, much of our course work centers on the six critical areas of creating a financial strategy. Some recognize October as Financial Planning or Year-end Tax Planning Month, so it's an excellent opportunity to review those six personal finance areas. Cash management: This is a broad topic that can address many…
Asian shares advanced Thursday after stocks rallied on Wall Street as investors embraced the upside of more gridlock in Washington, sending the S&P 500 index up 2.2% while the outcome of the U.S. presidential election remained in limbo. Hong Kong's benchmark led the region, gaining 2.6%, while shares also rose by more than 1% in Tokyo and South Korea.

Homes Worth More In Democrat Areas, While Republican Homeowners Pay Less Taxes
Infographic: Which Political Party is Better for Homeowners? Among roughly 3 million single family homes sold in 2019 in the United States, the average price in counties with Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives was $428,958, compared to $245,085 in Republican-leaning counties. On the flip side, homeowners in Republican-controlled…

What Will Happen To The Tax Laws After The Election?
An income tax increase is more likely than an estate tax increase. And it all depends on whether the Senate flips to Democratic control.
Instead of trying to outsmart Mr. Market, my advice remains simple: address what is within your control, by creating a financial plan. ” To help guide me through the issues, I spoke to Nathan Sheets, the chief economist and head of global macroeconomic research at PGIM Fixed Income. Prior to his current position, Sheets worked mostly in government-related jobs at the…
The U.S. Department of Labor issued the following news release on Oct. 30:. The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a final rule that updates and clarifies the Department's investment duties regulation in 29 CFR 2550.404 a-1. “Protecting retirement savings is a core mission of the U.S. Department of Labor and a chief public policy goal for our nation,” said U.S….

Wall Street Soared Under Trump, But It’s Been A Rocky Ride
Stocks of smaller companies and bank stocks got an extra boost, part of what was coined the “Trump trade,” tied to expectations for Washington to deliver lower tax rates and lighter regulation for businesses. Things eventually switched around, the result of several huge shifts in the market’ s momentum.
Eighty-four percent of financial institutions would not be prepared to operate immediately in a negative U.S. interest rate environment, according to a recent survey conducted by the Risk Management Association.

Who Is Better For The Economy, Trump Or Biden?
Nasdaq’s webinar on “The Economics Of The 2020 Election” presented a variety of views on who would be more favorable to business in the next four years. But there was some agreement on two main issues.
ALEX V EIGA The Associated Press. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 943 points Wednesday as surging coronavirus cases forced more shutdown measures in Europe and raised fears of more restrictions in the U.S.. Investors are growing increasingly anxious that the economy will lose momentum should more shutdowns be imposed just as prospects for more…
The number of individuals reporting high levels of financial stress more than doubled from 11% pre-COVID to 27% since the crisis struck. Further, while only 44% of participants reported experiencing financial stress prior to the pandemic, the number grew to 67% following the outbreak.
These are the initial findings of the Middle-Income Financial Security Monitor from Primerica Inc., a leading provider of financial services to middle-income families. The Monitor is a recurring quarterly poll that gauges the financial preparedness, habits, and concerns of those with annual household incomes of $30,000-$100,000. Every day throughout…
It goes by many names and serves many purposes. For some, it’ s a way to keep the lights on. You’ ve got Amazon Flex trucks practically ramming into each other,” says Kathy Kristof, editor at SideHusl.com, a website that reviews hundreds of online money-making platforms.
MINNEAPOLIS – Oct. 26, 2020 – With increased longevity resulting in retirements that can last 25-30 years or longer, Americans…
At this point, most investors have recovered the majority of their losses from the COVID-19 pandemic shock back in March. And while it appears that markets have generally returned to their pre-pandem- ic levels, you see a much different engine when you look under the hood. For example, the Technology sector is up nearly 30 percent year to date while the Energy…
WASHINGTON, Oct. 23– The Employee Benefit Research Institute issued the following news release:. A new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute's Financial Wellbeing Research Center finds that 90 percent of companies answering the 2020 EBRI Financial Wellbeing Employer Survey either have or are developing a strategy for improving their…
New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli issued the following news release:. Amidst the economic tumult brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the securities industry saw its pretax profits reach $27.6 billion in the first six months of 2020, an 82 percent increase over the same period last year, according to State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli's annual…
Some credit mistakes are a lot worse than others. But when you pay down the debt, the damage disappears as lower balances get reported to the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Mistakes that have long-running ripple effects hurt the most, says credit expert John Ulzheimer.
The U.S. economy shrank by nearly one-third during the three-month period ending in June. On a near-term basis, we’ re not getting a full recovery because of the lack of vaccine, the lack of herd immunity,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer at the private-wealth group of the Philadelphia- based Glenmede, which invests $40 billion for clients.“ Until we do”– Pride…
Prior to March, shoppers would go to the mall or grocery store— without masks— and scout out the latest sales. Now, shopping looks much different. “The way consumers approach shopping has understandably changed as a result of COVID-19,” said Katherine Cullen, senior director for industry and consumer insights at the National Retail Federation, in an email.
Financial adviser Erica Rahr didn't think she was getting into the “emotional coach” business, but she did. For elections that resulted in a change in the party occupying the White House, the average stock return in the following year after the election was 5.8 percent if the party changed, she said. If the incumbent party retained the White House, the average return…
America’s largest banks are steeled for a wave of loan defaults and missed payments that still haven’t arrived. Thanks to an initially immense amount of support from Washington, that pain appears to have been pushed out to next year.