Trader Talk

Days two and three of Morningstar’s annual investment conference in Chicago surfaced strong theses on value stocks, inflation and Putin. Here’s a rundown, plus what the roughly 2,500 attendees (including Morningstar staffers) wore and the best corporate SWAG. The only constant is change Cliff Asness, a co-founder and chief investment officer at AQR Capital Management,

Ally Financial has launched a new wealth management offering, hiring a team of human advisors in an effort to complement its existing robo advisor service. Customers will be able to get one-on-one wealth advice through the service, which is open to people with at least $100,000 in investable assets. The Detroit-based company says that cutoff

Gary Gensler, Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, takes his seat before the start of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021. Bill Clark | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images SEC Chair Gary Gensler is testifying

On Dec. 20, 2019, the Secure Act Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act – otherwise known as the SECURE Act, was signed into law, ushering in some of the most significant changes to the rules for retirement accounts in well over a decade.  As is often the case with statutory language, the SECURE

When Santiago Burridge founded Lumiant in 2020, his more than 15 years of experience as a financial advisor played a significant role in the process. Now a solutions provider, Burridge said he wanted to find a way to leverage technology to harness “every advisor’s superpower” — that being the ability to guide and coach clients

Far from taking an adversarial stance toward the industry, enforcement officials from the SEC and FINRA are asking for wealth managers’ help in averting more future compliance cases. In a May 17 panel at FINRA’s annual conference, SEC Associate Enforcement Director Melissa Hodgman and FINRA Head of Enforcement Jessica Hopper shared the key lessons for

Target-date funds have muscled into nearly half of Americans’ retirement savings as a painless way to build a long-term nest egg. But for some investors, the set-it-and-forget-it approach can be set it and regret it, especially when it comes to taxes and returns. The funds have a seemingly simple sales pitch for ordinary savers: Game

This year’s annual Morningstar Investment Conference in Chicago tackled big themes and new ideas on its first day: the individualization of investing, inflation, shifts in sustainable investing and the risk of recession due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. From “active personalization” to “friend-shoring” to SUVs over Formula 1 race cars, here are big concepts from

Despite market conditions making the lives of financial advisors more complicated by the day, answering the question of what planners will be paid in 2022 is pretty simple. In many cases, it’ll be the same as last year, save for inflation potentially playing with payouts. And where firms have made adjustments, think in terms of

Welcome to Ask an Adviser, EBN’s weekly column in which benefit brokers and advisers answer (anonymous) queries sent in by our readers. Looking for some expert advice? Please submit questions to askanadviser@arizent.com. This week, we asked Ted Benna —whose “Father of the 401(k)” title dates back to when he created and gained IRS approval of

Wells Fargo has promoted Sol Gindi to lead Wells Fargo Advisors, turning to a former JPMorgan Chase executive to lead its team of financial advisors. Gindi will replace longtime Wells executive Jim Hays, who has been in the post for nearly three years and is retiring after 35 years in the financial industry. Hays will

While tech-focused advisors flocked to Texas last week with enough fervor to make this year’s Technology Tools for Today conference the biggest T3 ever, not everyone was able to make the trip. With the final headcounts tallied, officials said T3 2022 drew about 975 total attendees to Denton with roughly 450 of those people being

Pablo Garnica Alvarez-Alonso isn’t letting the trillions of dollars in recent global stock market losses curb his wealth management plans at JPMorgan Chase. The CEO of the lender’s private bank in Europe, Middle East and Africa is continuing to target double-digit percentage growth in headcount over the next five years as he seeks to expand

Retirement may feel like a distant prospect, and there are always things to spend on now. But since more than half of Americans born today are expected to live to 100, saving money to fund a secure and vibrant lifestyle in retirement should begin long before people become retirees, according to an Edward Jones study. 

LPL Financial’s Strategic Wealth Services, the firm’s specific channel for ex-wirehouse financial advisors and teams, added planner Nick Bevad from Marlton, New Jersey-based Claritas Financial Partners. He joined the existing firm associated with LPL from Merrill Lynch, where his team managed about $135 million in client assets. “This decision did not come lightly,” Bevad said.

In a new episode of the Financial Planning Podcast, Spuds Powell explains why having a strong defense is the best offense when the market starts to play rough.  Powell, managing director at Kayne Anderson Rudnick, is a top-ranked advisor with nearly 30 years of experience in the investment management industry, guiding clients through multiple stages

With RIAs reaching new milestones each year, one billion-dollar practice returned to an old friend that helped it launch when both firms were getting off the ground a decade ago. Financial advisors Brad Kowalczyk, Mark Moshier and Scott McCartney of Ascent Wealth Partners, an RIA with three offices in Upstate New York and $1.06 billion

Wealth management has traditionally been affected by a degree of tunnel vision when it comes to digitalization of the client experience, focusing mainly on younger, mass affluent investors as the key prospect pool. Mark Shields However, all types of investors, from mass affluent to high net worth and across all age groups, are demanding a

If you’ve ever dreamed of attending a wealth management conference headlined by a diverse lineup of industry voices and a Grammy stacking hip-hop icon who likes “The Way You Move,” the inaugural Future Proof Festival has you covered. Advisor Circle and Ritholtz Wealth Management announced Wednesday that Big Boi of Outkast will hit the stage

A nonpartisan budget watchdog whose support for House Democrats’ previous Social Security reform proposal raised hopes for bipartisan consensus is panning the new version of the bill. Rep. John Larson of Connecticut introduced “Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust” after making changes to the prior package of higher taxes, expanded benefits and a fix to

Everyone loves a comeback story, and the Technology Tools for Today conference has been penning its tale of resurgence since the world experienced a hard reboot in March 2020. Better known as T3, the annual advisor technology conference that has been bringing all things fintech together under one roof for nearly two decades became not-so-annual

Wealthy Americans already face new restrictions when transferring assets to heirs, particularly when retirement accounts are involved. Now there’s additional sobering news. In a little-noticed proposal last month, the Treasury Department said it would “claw back” the tax savings of several wealth planning strategies come 2026. That’s the year when the historically high exemption levels

The Croatan Institute is inviting wealth management professionals to a webinar on how to use public equities in order “to create institutional and systemic change.” Cetera Financial Group started a service for financial advisors to aid them in hosting their own live or virtual events for clients and prospects. Annuity sales are up in the

A financial advisor faces charges of robbery, conspiracy and impersonating a law enforcement officer after detectives linked him to a bizarre botched crime in the summer of 2020. Anthony A. Naso was arrested on May 4 in Paramus, New Jersey, after investigators examining DNA evidence, surveillance footage, vehicle records and social media identified him as

You know you’re not supposed to look, but it’s impossible to resist.  When stocks are plunging, checking your investment accounts is risky business. The market turbulence is jarring for younger investors, who are used to the idea that stocks always go up. And for those with a bit more experience, watching hard-earned money suddenly disappear

Mercer acquired a dually registered wealth manager with $1.2B in client assets. Ex-Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley executives took positions with rival firms. The CFP Board has a new head of research. Scroll down our cardshow to see these stories, and more on the latest mergers and moves activity in wealth management over the last

Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures Management is leading a $185 million funding round for Canada’s Neo Financial Technologies, propelling it to a valuation of more than $1 billion as it plans expansion into mortgages. It’s the third time New York-based Valar has led a fundraising for Neo, which offers a no-fee Mastercard, bank accounts and investments

FINRA opened for comments on a potential rule to regulate “complex products,” and investors made their feelings crystal clear. More than 800 commenters expressed opposition to the regulator’s queries about  whether it should limit access to complex products for self-directed retail investors. The regulator is considering rules that could prevent or restrict U.S. investors from

Envestnet CEO Bill Crager said he spent a lot of his time in the first quarter of 2022 on the road, traveling to speak with clients and partners about how they view the future of financial services.  The leader of the Chicago-based tech firm and turnkey program said every company he spoke with is accelerating

The advisory industry is based on relationships and focused on helping people navigate their financial lives. That’s one reason why, until two and a half years ago, most of our work was done face to face. When the pandemic upended that model, we needed to figure out another way to establish the deep connections that