Should every financial advisor “go independent” with their practice?

Advisors tell me that my research into neuroscience and decision making has helped them close prospects and grow their practices. But its most profound impact has been from conversations I’ve had with my wife.

Matt Reiner speaks to the the technology gap in the advisory profession. Financial firms are not growing and not adapting as quickly as businesses in other industries. Slow to employ new technologies, look at client segmentation, and consider new outlets for client growth, the financial industry seems stuck in a bygone era.

You’ve probably heard of Ron Baron, founder of Baron Funds which has grown to a stable of not just mutual funds but a variety of private investments and Ron’s own capital—something like $50 billion in total. We were thrilled to have him on the SIC virtual stage, where my good friend David Bahnsen ably interviewed him. I’ll give you some extensive quotes from that session’s transcript, interspersed with comments from me.

So many headlines right now are instilling FUD in investors’ minds, which stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt—from the Afghanistan news to fears on cryptocurrency and the delta variant disrupting travel plans. But don’t fall for it.

The trillion-dollar spending package that the Senate has passed along to the House is being described as a once-in-a-generation fix for America’s deteriorating infrastructure.

Technology is advancing at a rapid pace, exerting downward pressure on prices

Ed Perks, CIO of Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions, outlines what factors should likely support economic growth, how he views inflation, why US equities remain attractive, and where income-seeking investors should look for potential opportunities.

Throughout the pandemic, it’s been comforting to know that children weather Covid-19 infection better than adults do.

New research from quant firm Robeco is lending heft to fears that the day-trader billions flooding the stock market spell trouble for some of Wall Street’s smartest minds.

Growth stocks are different than ordinary everyday average stocks.

Many investors, perhaps scarred by 2013’s “taper tantrum,” are focused on the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will start reducing its bond purchases in the next few months.

Mutual Series Portfolio Managers Katrina Dudley and Mandana Hormozi discuss why Europe deserves renewed attention.

The pursuit of growth requires the belief that it’s possible, which is another way of saying you need confidence.

As I discussed in a Frank Talk this week, the Senate just approved a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that’s now the business of the House.

The data shows the Fed is behind the surging wealth gap.

“How did you go bankrupt?”
“Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.”

Was the second quarter the peak of economic growth and earnings?

My colleague Sam Millette, manager, fixed income, on Commonwealth’s Investment Management and Research team, has helped me put together this month’s Market Risk Update.

Investors debating the path of inflation tend to fall into two camps: those who believe it will be truly temporary, resolving after a few more months of running hot; and those who expect a permanent structural shift toward higher, unhealthy inflation in the future.

Encouraging goal-oriented investing and better-balanced decisions in retirement.

Henry Hill, the mobster whose exploits animated a bestseller (“Wiseguy”) and an Oscar-winning film (“Goodfellas”), once made a splash working with gamblers to rig college basketball games in the late 1970s.

A remarkable feature of extended bull markets is that investors come to believe – even in the face of extreme valuations – that the world has changed in ways that make steep market losses and extended periods of poor returns impossible.

News about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, much like hearing about a neighbor who won the lottery, have been impossible to ignore lately.

Having suffered through the worst pandemic in a century, we are keenly attuned to catastrophe. Few people are better equipped to document the history of catastrophes and our response to them, for better or worse, than Niall Ferguson.

In 1905, the first gas pump appeared in St. Louis, Missouri, to meet the fueling demands of a rapidly growing number of motorists.

This month, Louis Vuitton turns 200 years old.

The unpredictable nature of politics and government action within individual countries can make a case for disaggregating international exposure, according to our Dina Ting.

There’s more money than ever betting that apartment rents are heading to new heights.

The view that central-bank interest-rate policy can and should be the main driving force behind greater income equality is stupefyingly naive, no matter how often it is stated.

The U.S. remains in a deep employment hole, with 6.7 million fewer jobs in June than there were in February 2020. But that overstates the weakness in the economy, with last week's second-quarter gross domestic product report showing American output is back at an all-time high.

Within the space of just half a year, US President Joe Biden has completed a necessary economic-policy regime shift that started chaotically under his predecessor.

Here are 12 types of clients who have recently established DAF accounts with the assistance and encouragement of their financial, legal, tax advisors.

Frank Pape is the senior director, portfolio consulting for Russell Investments’ advisor and intermediary solutions business. In this interview, he discusses the latest research on how advisors can maximize the after-tax income for their clients.

Howard Marks doesn’t make bets on economic predictions. That’s especially true now when the biggest wildcard is inflation – a phenomenon no one fully understands. But just because something is unknowable doesn’t mean it’s unimportant. That’s why Howard has devoted his latest memo to a topic he largely disavows: macro forecasting.

Equities continued to rally in the second quarter, but the market remains undecided about whether the recent uptick in inflation is more likely to be transitory or persistent.

The gamification of markets spurred by the wave of retail investors has replaced disciplined investment analysis with speculation and conjecture. For a lucky few, the irrational behavior provided short-term success. However, such behavior goes hand-in-hand with steep losses… which you guessed it… is actually gambling rather than investing.

In today’s market, many advisors don’t realize they are dealing with gambling outcomes, thereby exposing their clients to a gambling risk that continues to grow in severity. This new dynamic makes the mitigation of gambling risk in a portfolio critical and begs the question: Are you rolling the dice with your client’s portfolio?

I’ve coached many advisors over the years and spoken to thousands of others. Here’s what I’ve learned.

The great philosopher, John Locke, brilliantly captured the way the world works.

In what shaped up to be a very impressive first half of the year for both the economy and stock market, stellar earnings growth has been a key ingredient.

Here are a few important tips to take full advantage of adding video marketing to your strategy in a way that will drive leads and sales.

We have announced our Venerated Voices™ awards for commentaries published in Q2 2021.

Tweedy Browne is one of the most respected value managers in the world, with a legacy that includes having Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffett as clients. In this interview, members of its investment committee explain why value investing is on the cusp of a resurgence.

Recent protests offer hope that change may be right around the corner. But for now, gold and Bitcoin have helped fill the gap created by disastrously mismanaged currencies.

Let me be very clear. I believe the Federal Reserve has already made a significant policy error that can lead directly to recession. An accompanying fiscal policy error by the US Congress could compound the Fed’s error, although that remains to be seen, as it is not clear what will pass Congress.

The impacts of passive investing are not as well understood as they should be.

What exactly is “transitory?”

Monetary policy is not expansionary despite widespread belief otherwise.

As a woman who has worked in the financial services industry for 23 years, I’m keenly aware of the central role we play in money decisions.