Trader Talk

Artificial intelligence has the potential to forever change financial services. And now more than ever, advisors seem ready to move in lockstep with the shift. The attitudes, opportunities and barriers related to AI in wealth management were the focus of recently published research from consulting firm Accenture. Their “AI in Wealth Management” survey polled 500

As trading in cryptocurrency and other digital assets continues to grow, advisors are facing a surge of interest from knowledgeable clients.  “What we’re hearing now is a lot of questions about how do we think about [cryptocurrency], what’s the impact to my business if I start to think about adding these products in and what

Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Canadian bank that’s been expanding through acquisitions, is weighing a deal for the brokerage firm Cowen, according to people familiar with the matter.  The Toronto-based lender is working with advisors to study a possible transaction for Cowen, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. No

Millennials shouldn’t rely on Social Security for 100% of their retirement. In fact, a new study says, they shouldn’t even rely on it for 100% of their Social Security checks. According to the HealthView Services, a healthcare research group, Americans born between 1981 and 1996 should expect about a 20% cut to their projected benefits

In today’s environment, financial institutions face challenges that include: ● New and more complex calculations due to regulatory demands (i.e., FRTB) and climate risk● Explosive data growth and the need to move and analyze this data● Limited on-premise compute capacity● Need to improve time to value by accelerating risk model deployment to production To help

This week, Docupace’s turn-key Advisor Transitions Program hit a milestone it has been building to since its launch in 2017.  The California-based fintech focused on helping financial professionals on the move “re-paper” all client accounts at one time has successfully transitioned more than 500,000 clients for advisors going to new wealth management providers. Docupace CEO

UBS Group agreed to pay the SEC $25 million in penalties to settle allegations that some of its advisors recommended a complex investment strategy involving options that may not have been in their clients’ best interest. UBS investment advisors marketed and sold YES, or the Yield Enhancement Strategy, for about a year starting in February

If you haven’t planned for an SEC audit, you should.  Why? Because you are likely to face one. Advances in technology and the adoption of a data-centric approach have made it fast and easy for the SEC to comprehensively audit even the smallest firm, regardless of its location.  Thomas Reid The SEC’s 2021 Examination Priorities

Technology needs to become more human. As wealth management firms increasingly use digital tools to reach and serve investors, they’re also honing in on clients’ personal values, attitudes and goals for building a long-term nest egg. The missing piece in those two trajectories, according to a senior J.P. Morgan executive: not deploying technology in a

When getting to know a client, some questions dig deeper than others. Oddly, sometimes it’s the least direct ones that reveal the most. Behavioral finance, the study of how psychology affects markets and investors, can shine a light on which inquiries will get to the root of clients’ motives. Advisors who take this approach use

A midsize wealth manager that’s under new ownership after a compliance overhaul agreed to its second major FINRA settlement this year relating to sales of affiliated alternative products. As part of a June 23 order, National Securities agreed to pay nearly $9 million to settle FINRA’s charges that the firm “engaged in misconduct intended to

Roth IRAs have been incredibly popular retirement vehicles since their first introduction under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997. In exchange for making contributions in after-tax dollars to a Roth account, growth within the account is tax-deferred, and those gains can ultimately be withdrawn tax-free as “qualified distributions” if certain basic requirements are met. Because

UMB Financial in Kansas City, Missouri, has agreed to buy a Midwest peer’s health savings account business that includes client assets of $500 million. The $41 billion-asset UMB said in a press release after markets closed Monday that the seller is the $46 billion-asset Old National Bancorp in Evansville, Indiana. The assets, which consist of

Everyone worries about too much inflation. But merely discussing it can make goods and services even more expensive and potentially disrupt retirement planning. This dynamic, now center stage as consumer prices have ticked up rapidly each month since April 2021, puts wealth advisors between a rock and a hard place when it comes to walking

Henry Yoshida isn’t a fan of referring to alternative investments as, well, alternatives. He understands that is how they’re categorized by the industry and consumers. But for the co-founder and CEO of Rocket Dollar, investments into things like real estate, private equity and even digital assets are far from fringe. Instead, he believes they are

After the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade on Friday, ending women’s right to abortions nationwide, some banks jumped into a highly charged social policy debate that the industry long sought to avoid. Both JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America made it known that they are generally following the lead of Citigroup, which recently

A decade after a former Citigroup financial advisor said the firm first cut off her access to its stock allocation system, she received vindication in the form of a FINRA arbitration award. Erin Ann Daly won an award of more than $1.4 million from Citigroup Global Markets and other Citi entities for compensatory damages plus

Add Napa wineries, tours of Petra and a stay in a Versailles hotel to the list of perks Bank of America’s biggest spenders can now expect.  In the high-stakes battle for affluent clients, the bank is rolling out a host of travel sweeteners to ultra high net worth customers. It has partnered with luxury travel

A federal investigation into the meme stock frenzy that gripped Reddit investors in early 2021 has led to a host of recommended policy changes from the House Committee on Financial Services and calls for better treatment of all retail investors.  The majority staff report titled “Game Stopped” was released Friday by Committee Chair Maxine Waters,

In an age of political gridlock, one cause is gaining rare bipartisan momentum in Washington: helping Americans save for retirement. Several bills concerning retirement plans are currently making their way through Congress, which is expected to eventually combine them into one package: SECURE 2.0.  “Bipartisanship is strong on achieving this objective,” said Paul Richman, chief

At first glance, Atlantic Union Bankshares’ decision this month to sell its registered investment advisor subsidiary looks like something of a head-scratcher.  It’s not like the unit, Dixon Hubard Feinour & Brown, was underperforming.  Just the opposite, in fact. In a little more than four years as part of Atlantic Union, DHFB’s assets under management

With complex questions about how wealth managers can boost Black representation among financial advisors and executives, Raymond James may have at least one answer. That’s because Philadelphia area complex manager Tony Barrett and Maryland financial advisor Kaon Nelson created the firm’s Black Financial Advisors Network in 2013 with the support of CEO Paul Reilly and

When Britney Spears announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Sam Asghari last fall, Octavia Spencer had some advice. “Make him sign a prenup,” the Oscar-winning actress reportedly wrote on Spears’ Instagram page.  The pop singer did just that, with Asghari later posting on his Instagram, “Of course, we’re getting an ironclad prenup to protect my

When Citibank Global Wealth Management head of technology and infrastructure Julia Carreon joined the firm last year, she ran into troubles often faced by clients. It took her six months to roll over her accounts from her prior job through paper checks that kept getting lost in the mail. “Eleven years ago, I said we

If recent judicial findings in Los Angeles are any indication, Nasdaq’s board diversity rule and policies like it could face increasing challenges by interest groups going forward. And should they largely succeed, it is not only diversity goals in the financial services industry that would be hindered, but also the interests of investors.  Earl Carr

As small and midsize advisory firms merge into larger wealth managers seeking new business lines in a competitive industry, Advisor Group secured its second big deal in as many months. The private equity-backed wealth manager agreed to purchase Holbrook, New York-based American Portfolios Financial Services, an independent brokerage and RIA spanning 850 financial advisors and

In a new episode of the Financial Planning Podcast, Chris Zuczek explains why he believes data centralization done right is a game changer and what customer satisfaction means to him.  Zuczek, chief product officer for Skience, is a 20-year financial services veteran who joined the solutions and consulting provider last year. Before that, Zuczek was

Pass rates for those taking the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams tanked in 2021, reaching a record-setting low. It’s a phenomenon that’s led to a lot of hand-wringing among current and future candidates for the charter who wonder if the three-level exam was just “too hard” that year or whether disruptions caused by the pandemic,

Ordinary investors can soon build their very own versions of the S&P 500 index, and for the price of a large Starbucks latte. Fidelity Investments said Tuesday that it would allow Main Street investors to create custom indexes and pour money into their underlying stocks. With no account minimums and a flat $4.99 monthly fee

It’s hard to think of many upsides to selling a stock at a big loss, but there is one: Lower tax bills. Investors who take a loss in a taxable account can use it to offset capital gains taxes owed from selling stocks that have appreciated. Such tax-loss harvesting usually gets talked about at year-end,