Blend Images – Hill Street Studios | Brand X Pictures | Getty Images A bill that will do away with a tax-planning strategy for inherited individual retirement accounts isn’t law yet, but financial advisors should act now to help clients avoid a surprise. The Secure Act, which the House of Representatives voted in favor of,
Advisors
Jose Luis Pelaez | Iconica | Getty Images Cryptocurrencies are out and cannabis stocks are in, according to the latest investing trends survey by the Financial Planning Association. The 392 financial advisors who participated in this year’s study, the 2019 Trends in Investing Survey, said that 55% of their clients have asked about investing in
Workers who get advice on all money matters impacting their lives do a better job saving specifically for retirement, a new report suggests. Among more than 2,400 employees who have had access to ongoing coaching for all aspects of their financial lives, the average retirement-plan contribution rate climbed to 9.4% of pay in 2018 from
Les and Dave Jacobs | Cultura | Getty Images You may have heard the terms ESG, SRI and impact investing, but they can sound intimidating to the uninitiated investor. Putting money into investments that do good is growing in popularity. The number of sustainable funds has climbed to 351 in 2018, while the assets in
MixAll Studio | Blend Images | Getty Images Robo-advisors have made one thing abundantly clear to traditional financial advisors: Picking investments for clients is simply not enough anymore. “Investments are table stakes now,” said certified financial planner Erin Wood, vice president of wealth planning at Carson Group Holdings in Omaha, Nebraska. “Advisors have to help
Certified financial planner Ken Waltzer has an older female client who suffers from congestive heart failure. Given the high cost of her prescriptions, Waltzer recently became concerned by how much money she and her husband were spending. “I suggested that maybe I should talk to her doctor about her medications,” said Waltzer, co-founder and managing
Climate change could dramatically alter the value of real estate investments. And that goes for real estate investment trusts, companies that own income-producing real estate, if they do not shift their investment strategies to address growing risks, industry experts say. A 2018 report found that 35% of REIT properties have geographic exposure to climate hazards,
The Bronx Tavern stands in the Port Morris neighborhood of the Bronx borough of New York, one of the 8,700 low-income census tracts. The goal is to reinvigorate these areas. Bloomberg | Getty Images Advisors could soon offer clients access to opportunity zone funds, a hot new investment. However, they need to make sure they
When Julie Penwell graduates from Central Washington University this spring, she plans to pursue the career she has been dreaming about since she was 15-years-old — that of a personal financial planner. Penwell decided to pursue the profession after a high school financial planning class gave her what she describes as “base level financial literacy”
A tribute to Jack Bogle, founder and retired CEO of The Vanguard Group, is displayed on the bell balcony over the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York, January 17, 2019. Brendan McDermid | Reuters If you’re a follower of Jack Bogle’s legendary investment philosophy, you want to buy low-cost index
Jose Luis Pelaez Inc | Getty Images The days of an advisor selling an annuity to a client, nabbing a fat commission and never seeing him again are over. Or at least they should be, if you’re doing it right. Annuities — fixed, variable or indexed — have been long a part of advisors’ toolkits,
Sen. Bernie Sanders (L) (I-Vermont) and Sen. Chuck Schumer (R) (D-New York). Win McNamee | Getty Images News | Getty Images In an op-ed in The New York Times on corporate stock buybacks, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) claim that “stock buybacks don’t benefit the vast majority of
Comstock Images | Stockbyte | Getty Images People who have trouble focusing see an optometrist. Those with back pain perhaps visit a chiropractor. Similarly, individuals in unique financial situations, who earn money in a special way or belong to a specific social group may have considered consulting not only one of the nation’s 300,000 or
Sprinklers water the lawns of a housing development in Hesperia, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images) David McNew | Getty Images News | Getty Images You probably have a rough idea of how much energy and water your home uses, based on your utility bills. But new technologies aim to turn the tables, letting you
Two years ago, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conducted a cybersecurity simulation that mimicked a real attack. The test included the participation of more than 50 financial firms, as well as government regulators and SIFMA itself. Now, the industry trade group is preparing for the latest iteration of its test — dubbed Quantum
republica | E+ | Getty Images Socially responsible investing has exploded across the globe and interest in it has never been higher. But there is a real chance the business and financial communities will let slip opportunities to fully capitalize on the demand. SRI assets are growing at nearly 40% year-over-year since 2016, according to
Cultura/Antonio Saba | Getty Images At cocktail parties, financial advisors usually wouldn’t attract the biggest crowd. It’s a profession that never garnered much interest before the Great Recession. But times have changed. As retirement accounts were wiped away and market volatility took hold, investors didn’t mind a little hand-holding from a pro. That’s where financial
Financial advisors have seen clients make very smart, and pretty dumb, 401(k) plan decisions. FatCamera | Getty Images Knowing a person’s investment approach could also provide insight into their financial priorities and what they’re looking for in a financial advisor, a new study suggests. By splitting investors into two categories, based on their general attitudes
Sen. Tim Scott, R-South Carolina, with students from the Richard Wright Public Charter School in Washington, D.C. Scott cosponsored legislation expanding tax-advantaged Opportunity Zones with Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey. Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call Group | Getty Images How can a formerly failing freshman in a South Carolina high school ultimately build a path
A team of five graduate business students from the University of Vermont traveled to Philadelphia this week to put an impact investing project they have been working on to the test. The trip, which coincided with finals, was a success. The students — Maura Kalil, Emily Klein, Andrew Mallory, Peter Seltzer and Alyssa Stankiewicz —