Divorce

How are advisors coping with the new Department of Labor (DOL) rollover rules? Here are a dozen observations.

Memorial Day deserves the great recognition it gets. Remembering the service of those who died for our country is a civic duty. This includes remembering, doing and acting in a manner that there is no doubt the character of military and finance leaders must be first.

The price of foods, fuels and other essential items are spiraling ever upward as Russia’s war on Ukraine compounds supply-chain woes stemming from the pandemic. Central banks may be in the driving seat when it comes to tackling inflation, but it’s governments that face the fallout and so are compelled to act.

The parallels between the 2020s and the 1970s grow more numerous by the day. The economy faces the threat of stagflation. Fuel prices are surging, and shortages loom. Politicians are flailing. The international environment is deteriorating. The Supreme Court is revisiting the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

A fatal shortcoming lies beneath the academic papers that have relied upon “back-testing” to promote the 4% rule. Use our Premium membership service to add your logo and send this to clients.

Plan for long-term Inflation that will be fought aggressively by the Fed, higher policy rates, and slower economic growth, according to Raghuram Rajan.

Unless RIAs modify their communications strategies, the failure to address the need for retirement income communications will be felt for years.

We have a woman on our team who seems to enjoy stirring things up.

From organizing your closet to deep cleaning your kitchen, we're sure there's plenty for you to do. But we've got one more item to add to your list – spring clean your business plan.

In an ambitious new book, the economist Andrew Smithers rejects core “Newtonian” principles of economics, replacing them with radical departures from conventional wisdom. But as I will explain, some of Smithers’ theories fail meet the standard of empirical verification.

Imagine that you have joined some friends for a day of fishing. About two miles offshore, you sense that something is wrong. The small, single engine boat’s handling has changed. There seems to be more. Use our premium service to add your company’s logo and send this to clients.

Firms often consider launching multiple niches rather than focusing on just one. Though sometimes successful, this approach can dissipate your marketing efforts. This article offers guidelines to determine whether having multiple niches is for you.

Many advisors would greatly benefit from scale yet are hamstrung by the very temperament that led to their success in the first place.

Here are five ways to win new business and clients for life by creating urgency, so your prospects want to create a financial plan now with you.

Jerome Powell wants to quell inflation without sinking the labor market. Success or failure will be a defining part of the Federal Reserve chair’s legacy and the pro-employment policy he’s championed.

Depending upon the annuity that is being recommended and its purpose, your discovery process should include these questions. This article is written for clients and can be forwarded to them using our Premium Membership Service.

We’ll tackle IRMAA in this article. I’ll provide you with information to teach you how you might be able to get rid of IRMAA.

Does the scenario below sound likely? If so, you are among the thousands of RIAs who are likely to lose significant assets over the next decade.

In this article, I will explain how to structure an income strategy that best serves the needs of constrained investors. Demographic, economic, cultural, and social forces argue for a new approach to retirement planning.

RIAs must align their communications, planning methodologies, and product set with the needs of retirees, especially women, whose chief priority is reliability of income more than return on investment.

People tend to associate environmental, social and governance investing with stock-picking, a way to sort through companies based on their ESG practices. But not every investor can be choosy about the companies they own. Big pension, endowment and sovereign wealth funds oversee tens of billions and even trillions of dollars, which means they have to own practically everything.

Here’s how to customize your calendaring system so that you weed out unqualified prospects and spend your time talking to qualified ones.

As a solar panel was raised onto the roof of their ­mud-brick home in a Tanzanian village in sight of Mount Kilimanjaro, Akida Saidi and his wife felt giddy at the prospect of entering a new era. In a place where most residents make do with pit latrines instead of ­toilets and till their fields of maize and pigeon peas with hoes, suddenly having electricity would catapult them into the 21st century.

Watch replays for CE credit. We recap the webinars presented at our Market Outlook Summit.

Recently one of our best advisors gave notice. He said we don’t “value youth.”

While putting together a marketing plan is more complex than reading an article, here are three important pieces of advice to get female solo practitioners started.

Here are the nine steps you need to take when entering a new niche market.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Thursday that consumer spending fell 0.4% in February from January after adjusting for inflation. This may not seem like much, but real spending has dropped in three of the last four months. Without strength in household outlays, the economic expansion is doomed.

For more than a quarter century, the U.S. government has been sending an unmistakable message to poor, single mothers: Get married. If America genuinely wants to address poverty and achieve gender equality, this has to change.

The House overwhelmingly passed legislation that would expand the tax benefits for retirement accounts to bolster the savings of Americans, many of whom have nothing banked for after they stop working.

It may be inconceivable to the moneyed class, but there are in fact very good reasons not to raise interest rates quickly or dramatically. Yes, inflation is worryingly high, Ukraine is burning and Covid-19 still threatens to upend supply chains. However, the reality many Americans face — if not low-income and middle-class workers across the globe — is quite different from what the stock market and go-to suite of economic indicators tell us.

After spending many years in the planning profession, I’ve found that advisors place superfluous importance on speaking intelligently and comprehensively.

Buyout activity is picking up pace in Europe, but a number of banks are taking a cautious approach to new risk, looking for higher pricing, more flex protection and in some instances fuller fees on junk-rated debt underwrites against a backdrop of heightened volatility, inflation and rising rates.

America is facing a retirement crisis. Most experts agree that a significant portion of the population will lack the resources to live comfortably after they stop working. This, in turn, will place an increasing burden on the country’s social safety net.

Does being busy equate with being productive?

Here are five winning tactics to leverage immediately for more online introductions.

The world has never seen sanctions like this. But ironically, those sanctions may give Putin even more power.

We describe how an intentional and sustainable vision for diversity and inclusion at Wealthspire took form.

ICYMI: In this roundup, we’re highlighting the five most popular pieces of content from the previous week.

An important part of tax planning is medical expenses, which add up quickly. Your clients (including spouses and dependents) will have medical expenses throughout the year, and hanging onto those receipts could save them money this year.

Many people experience setbacks or life circumstances that result in temporarily relying on others for financial help. Being financially dependent in the longer term, however, is a financial disorder.

This year, the theme for International Women's Day is #BreakTheBias. This theme celebrates the achievements that women have made, takes action for equality, and raises awareness against bias. What better way to honor the holiday than to examine how women are breaking down barriers in the financial services industry?

Bill Hench is head of the small-cap team at First Eagle Investments and portfolio manager of its small-cap strategy. The First Eagle Small Cap Opportunity Fund (FESCX) was established April 27, 2021.

Advisors who reject bucketing strategies because they won’t invest as many as five years of assets in low-yielding securities are exposing clients to risks that threaten their standard of living in retirement.

Governments that had propped up Covid-ravaged economies by issuing social bonds are now turning their attention to longer-term climate goals, while companies are keen for increased flexibility when spending proceeds from sales of environmental, social and governance (ESG) debt. That’s crimping the flow of social notes that typically fund specific projects such as job creation or affordable housing.

Starting May 15, New York City will require every job posting to be accompanied by a minimum and maximum salary for the position. Colorado, Nevada, Connecticut, California, Washington and Maryland already have laws requiring some salary-range disclosure; Rhode Island will join them at the start of next year. Similar laws are under consideration in Massachusetts and South Carolina.

There is no greater threat to your financial wellbeing than divorce. Unless you are very wealthy or extremely poor, both former spouses will see a decline in their lifestyle

For an ambitious, career-ladder climber, what sort of person makes the best mate? The human heart is not known for being coldly calculating, but pretend, for a moment, that it could be. What personality traits should be preferred?

I have charged Ken Fisher with crimes against annuities. I will begin this proceeding by expressing my gratitude for his anti-annuity advertising campaign including its famous tagline, “I hate annuities and you should too!”

Not since the late 2000s, when lavish bonuses rained down before and after federal bailouts, have pay packages at U.S. investment banks swelled as much as they have right now.

How would you answer this question, “What makes you different and unique from everyone else who does what you do?”

The decade-long bull market has infected advisors and their clients – especially those in or nearing retirement – with a dose of complacency that hides the perilous outcomes most consider impossible.

Insights into the economy can be found in surprising places. In a brothel, for instance, how services are priced and who ends up working there can reveal a lot about the state of the business cycle. It also reflects structural changes in our economy and society.

In my work with female clients in transition, some of the most difficult conversations are with those whose lives have been upended by the death of their spouses.

Laurence Kotlikoff is a world-class economist who can convince you to pay off your mortgage and make you snort out your nose laughing at the same time; Money Magic is his compendium of life hacks aimed at leaving the reader wealthier and happier.

If a recently widowed client hasn’t fired you, then you are among a lucky few. Here’s a thought experiment that illustrates the vulnerability advisors face when they don’t engage the female half of a couple.