Life Events

We hear numerous market strategists talk about stocks which are going up because “there is no alternative” to owning them. In the Wall Street vernacular, this goes by the phrase TINA.

Columbia University hired Kim Lew as chief executive of its $11 billion endowment, joining a small group of women to oversee investments at the wealthiest U.S. colleges.

Supply is getting tight. Helium is notoriously difficult and expensive to store, for the very good reason that it escapes every known container over time.

It’s a stunning reversal: Just four years ago, taking a knee effectively ended the career of NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Although many millennial women’s needs will overlap with their more established counterparts, younger female clients face unique challenges and opportunities. Our complimentary checklist shows how you can guide these clients to become more knowledgeable, empowered, and confident about their financial outlook. Learn more about why millennial women are an emerging clientele, ways advisors can serve them better, and the right questions to ask to encourage independence.

My learning goal each year is to read at least 40 business-related, non-fiction books – the “stay at home order" has allowed me to read 63. So here is my eighth annual compilation of the ones I’ve read from September 2019 through August 2020.

My experience is that 80% of the people who should be making some change will tune out the entire Medicare hoopla that the annual election period (AEP) brings.

A leading psychologist explains why more women aren’t in leadership roles in financial services.

Assessing a company’s ESG behavior is a qualitative, subjective undertaking. New studies show that the major firms that issue ESG “ratings” use sufficiently different criteria, which results in unreliable research findings when their databases are used.

This depression/recession is unlike any we have experienced. Parts of our economy are doing well, parts are in recession, and a significant portion is already in a depression. As government guarantees wane in the future, more and more companies and people will slip into the depression category.

Women face a disproportionate risk of losing their jobs as a result of the pandemic.

How do I support the people working for me who are dealing with difficulty at home?

There’s an insidious form of discrimination that’s rarely discussed, but highly pernicious. And it’s incredibly difficult to overcome.

Given Biden's current lead in the polls and the possibility of Democrats gaining control of the Senate, his tax plan may eventually be passed by Congress. Regardless of your political views, it's not too soon to consider the possible implications for your financial planning.

Black women are much less likely to be promoted to senior leadership roles and have interaction with senior managers than their white counterparts, according to new report.

The massive pullback in business travel is apt to inflict the deepest economic pain, but there's also a growing risk that older travelers, a mainstay of tourism, will hunker down for years to come.

How do you develop a plan when you don’t know what to plan for? That is the question faced by every family with a child ready to apply for college. But that plan need not be made in a vacuum.

To scale your business, you can’t rely on your personality alone to carry you through; you need to intentionally and systematically make sure more of your ideal prospects have the opportunity to get to know, like, and trust you every day.

Americans enjoy the economic prosperity and freedoms of its liberal democracy. But our elevated stature is threatened. As the U.S. recoils from the world, the era of U.S. dominance might be ending.

The 62-year-old has been taking the world of business and finance to task for its role in systemic racism for longer than most. Now she and her team have hatched a new game plan.

COVID-19 causes growth in government debt, liability risks, and stress for women.

Americans have plenty of education, talent and experience — but an ever-ready supply of less expensive and more dependent guest workers gives companies less incentive to invest in them.

In 1832, Martin Van Buren helped Andrew Jackson decide precisely when he would end the charter for the Second Bank of the United States – the only American central bank of issue before the establishment of the Federal Reserve.

I give these brilliant investment strategies a failing grade.

Florida’s favorable tax laws have long been a draw for high-net-worth individuals, but the pandemic’s disruptions -- to work, school, public safety and northern states’ budgets -- have increased the allure.

At a time when health insurance coverage is of vital importance, what are the options for your newly unemployed clients? The answer to that question depends on a new regulatory change involving COBRA coverage.

But two priorities stand out.

The conclusions have implications for wealth management, where women represent just 15% of financial advisors.

Americans are working longer for financial reasons – they can’t afford to retire. But what few realize are the enormous economic and social benefits that accrue to those workers and the companies they serve.

US Investment-grade corporate bond issuance has rolled past US$1 trillion so far in 2020. What are the long-term effects of this explosive borrowing?

Despite the surging stock market from the March lows, trillions in liquidity support from the Fed, retirement confidence declined.

In mid-June, my partners and I officially announced that Midwest Financial Partners had become a new, independent RIA firm called Octavia Wealth Advisors. Why did we choose to go independent?

PIMCO’s CEO and its head of retirement outline the firm’s approach to generating retirement income.

Normative standards can be broadly defined as a consensus among givers of advice on what advice or service best suits a particular set of circumstances. Unlike most other professions, those standards don’t exist among financial planners. That may soon change.

As an estate planner, you should have up-to-date powers of attorney and inform the agents you name in those documents how they can access them if they don’t already have copies.

Determining who is responsible for certain debts is an important but frustrating part of the divorce process.

I have a client who is struggling with whether or not to retire. He is wondering if he is making a difference in his work or if he should just quit and, “do something good.” But it would be a bad financial decision.

We should restore the large tax incentive and bring fees into line with taxable investment standards.

Millions of Americans who bought insurance to help them pay for nursing or home-health care are now facing a tough call.

There is not much new to say since we last wrote to you on April 30, 2020. This might seem odd given the significant amount of changed patterns and uncertainty in our daily lives.

Democrats in New York, the world’s financial capital, may finally have the right moment to resurrect the state tax on stock trades.

Everyone who owned common stocks in the U.S. went through hell in the first quarter of this year. The 36% decline in the S&P 500 Index in February and March was the fastest 36% decline of my lifetime. This hell was especially damaging to those of us who have a positive view of the U.S. economy over the next ten years.

I’ve seen many examples of how advisors make themselves more interesting, but here are three best approaches that have a big impact.

Projections and analyses don't reflect the potential effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on Social Security. Without swift action by the government, a new crisis may be at hand.

We believe the risk that preferred-stock dividends will be suspended is low despite the recent announcement by the Federal Reserve that it is requiring banks to cap their common stock dividends.

More successful advisor teams are being led by women, a trend reshaping the industry, the firm's founder said.

An increasing number of people, especially more mature and sophisticated clients, are looking for a one-stop-solution to automate estate planning.

If you missed Part-1 of our series on the “Theory Of MMT Falls Flat When Faced With Reality,” start there. In Part-2, we complete our analysis of the theory and the potential ramifications. The premise of our discussion was this recent explanation of “Modern Monetary Theory” by Stephanie Kelton. As discussed previously, economic theory always sounds much better than how it works out in reality.

As you read this, the Financial Planning Association is engaged in one of the most consequential initiatives in its history, and for some reason this important program is getting zero publicity.

Here are nine affordable picks from both classic and new vintners around the world.

Some 2020 graduates are finding jobs, even in this economy. Luck plays a role, sure, but so does a willingness to compromise.

After years working with those age 65-plus in their transition to the Medicare system, I’ll share some ideas and tips that will lead to some great conversations between you and your clients – and, likely some added revenue for your practice.

A “perfect storm” of surging government debt levels, plunging real bond yields, rising coronavirus cases and deteriorating economic forecasts pushed the price of gold to an eight-year high this week, and some analysts now project the metal to top its all-time high within the next 12 months.

Wealth managers face a very challenging future, particular smaller advisors that will need to deliver more personalized services while charging lower fees, according to the Boston Consulting Group.

Investors should consider these various investments—cautiously. Given the challenging economic outlook and high level of uncertainty, we believe bouts of volatility are possible, albeit not to the level witnessed in February and March.

If you were told that someone would offer you $750 for indebting each of your clients’ children, you would think they had lost their mind. But this is how student lenders operate.

If not for yourself, make a succession plan for the best interests of your clients and team members.

Clients rely on their advisor to reach their financial goals, yet few seek the same level of personalized, professional service when it comes to making healthcare decisions. A health advisor fills that gap.

As the global economy slows, we remain optimistic about the long-term growth potential of Chinese equities. From a public health perspective, China has flattened its curve of new cases COVID-19. Fiscal and monetary stimulus, while incremental, remains supportive. Interest rates remain positive, giving China's central bank room to maneuver.

The Federal Reserve are incorporating pandemic analysis into bank stress tests that could lead to reduced dividends for shareholders.

A brief monthly update on what's happening in the municipal bond market.

The team is relatively young but also is interested in appealing to advisors who may eventually want to retire to Florida.

Read Harold Evensky's latest NewsLetter.

Having trouble helping your clients appreciate a balanced portfolio? These charts may help.

Franklin Templeton’s 2020 US Retirement Income Strategies and Expectations survey revealed the importance of having a plan to help reduce financial-related stress—particularly relevant amid today’s uncertainties. Our Felix Touchard discusses some findings of the survey, and how respondents feel about their financial future.

The way to get people to think about death is to imagine that by doing so they will never die. Recognizing this universal character trait will lead to more productive planning outcomes.

I’m doing some wild things to stir up my Zoom calls. These ideas may be too radical for you. But humor me, read on and let me know what you think.

In their effort to improve things/prevent pain, Fed officials past and present financialized the economy. That, along with more unintended consequences from government debt and regulatory interventions (all well-intentioned, you understand) brought us to where we are today. We can’t walk it back without a great deal of pain no one wants to take, including your humble analyst.

It is imperative that all Americans see recent events around racial inequality as a call for action and work to ensure equality for people of color. In his latest memo, Howard Marks shares his thoughts and pledges to heed this call.

As expected, the Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged at 0-0.25% and said it will keep them near zero through at least 2022, in a unanimous vote.

Innovation has always been a key driver for the biotechnology industry. Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still significant progress in the discovery and development of innovative drugs.

Between mid-February and late March 2020, we saw a “take no prisoners” market crash. Anything with a whiff of perceived risk crashed, in direct proportion to its perceived risk. The only assets that soared—because of tumbling interest rates—were long Treasury bonds, and with them, the net present value of pension obligations.

If your clients are in need of additional funds during this pandemic, Congress has made one source more available if you are fortunate enough to have an account balance in your retirement plan and your plan has adopted the new provisions allowed by the CARES Act.

Today, we’re going to look at some actual data, both medical and economic. Spoiler alert: The unintended consequences of our response may be more threatening than the actual virus, unless we begin changing some things soon.

As the economic fallout from COVID-19 threatens peoples’ livelihoods and erodes their short-term savings, it follows that their long-term financial security is also at-risk. What does it all mean for retirement savings and what steps can we take to build a more resilient system?