Trader Talk

Racism at the branch and in the workplace makes it harder for Black Americans to gain access to financial services. In the second episode of the Access Denied podcast, innovators and researchers from the fields of human resources, banking and wealth management explain how industries leave people out — and what needs to be done

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to repeal President Trump‘s tax cuts as soon as he is inaugurated, but the ongoing financial crisis and the prospect of a Republican-controlled Senate could waylay that proposal for the foreseeable future. Biden will likely soon send a deficit-financed economic recovery bill to Congress, delaying any progress on a tax-increase

One of the great financial innovations in recent decades is target date funds. These investment vehicles, which have $2.3 trillion in assets, are intended to be a sort of “set it and forget it” program for investors saving for retirement, automatically shifting one’s asset allocation from aggressive to conservative over time. This might not seem

What does former Vice President Joe Biden’s win mean for advisors? Retooled advisor regulation, potentially higher taxes for wealthy Americans and new rules governing retirement plans, experts say. Certainly, addressing the coronavirus pandemic and economic turmoil will be top priorities for Biden. Beyond that his administration will likely pursue a more investor friendly regulatory approach,

Joe Biden has been elected president of the United States. Some of your clients are dancing in the streets, and others are expecting the end of the world. Both reactions, from an investing perspective, are probably overblown. For your clients who are out standing on the window ledge, remind them that historically, the stock market

As I write this, the election results are not yet perfectly clear. But we have enough visibility into probable outcomes that we can begin to divine possible policy changes in the next couple of years. Leading up to the election it became apparent that the Senate was the real contest. And it looked like the

“Catastrophe” they say, and “Disaster waiting to happen” as the time eventually nears to file 2020 taxes. The pandemic has sent legions of workers — and tax clients — nationwide to a work location other than their business. These remote workers are now beginning to wonder if they’ll have to pay income tax to more

Presidential elections create tough market headwinds. But resolution allows for powerful relief rallies. It is critical though that investors are not blindsided by that rally as it unfolds. What is clear is that yesterday was not an instant blow-out. What is not clear is how soon we will know a winner or who that winner

Buoyed by one of the largest recruiting moves in the independent broker-dealer sector, Kestra Financial has added incoming advisors with at least $3.5 billion in client assets this year. The private equity-backed firm recruited at least 63 advisors in 2020, including a billion-dollar team that left Merrill Lynch for Kestra in September, according toFinancial Planning’s

Wells Fargo plans to freeze raises for top earners as the bank’s new leadership team retools compensation practices with a close eye on costs, according to people briefed on the plans. The measure, revealed to some managers on a conference call Wednesday, will halt increases in base pay in the coming year for employees making

SEC enforcement staff carried out fewer enforcement actions even as it ordered record fines and disgorgements in a year buffeted by the coronavirus pandemic. Enforcement actions fell 17% from the previous year to 715 in fiscal 2020, according to the SEC Division of Enforcement’s annual report, released Nov. 2. It’s the lowest number of actions

Financial advisors say that growing majorities of clients are feeling at least somewhat prepared for their financial future — a welcome result, they say, of the hard look clients have had to take at their financial situation over the long grind of economic dislocation springing from the coronavirus pandemic over the past seven months. But

What’s next for markets? With the election over, some old themes will be re-emerging, regardless of who will be president.  The rally is due to better earnings visibility On one issue, all traders agree: the market rally is largely due to the unlikelihood of higher corporate and individual taxes next year. “The Senate numbers from the

Even as state and local officials worked overtime to count ballots in a few battleground states and finalize the presidential race, one result of the election seems fairly clear to tax experts: We shouldn’t expect much wide-ranging tax legislation coming out of Washington, D.C., in the near future. While a few congressional elections still need

Unlike many airlines, cruise ships, movie theaters and other industries, fintech feels like it was created for this moment in history. After all, helping people access financial services whenever and wherever they want is a core principle of financial technology startups. It’s no wonder that as many industries have struggled to adapt to work-from-home orders,

Large-cap funds with the biggest gains of the decade have racked up even bigger returns in a year marked by coronavirus-driven market volatility. One caveat for advisors and clients looking to ride the wave: Their outsized gains come with hefty price tags. The 20 large-cap mutual funds and ETFs with the best 10-year returns generated

With no clear winner yet in the presidential election, advisors and clients will have to wait a bit longer to find out the ramifications for financial planning. Several key battleground states were still counting ballots as of midnight Nov. 3, and election officials cautioned it could take time to reach a final tally. From potential

As Charles Schwab embarks on its integration of TD Ameritrade’s technology, top leaders are shedding more light on what the firm will keep — and what it won’t. The strategy executives decide on will have big implications for thousands of advisors and hundreds of tech vendors. At Schwab’s virtual Impact conference, the company’s tech executives

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton is telling corporate America it needs to get much more vigilant on security. In an interview Monday on CNBC’s “Power Lunch,” stressed that significant cybersecurity threats remain, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and election season. “Cyber risks have not gone away with the unfortunate, unforeseen risks we’ve faced with

The Labor Department put the final touches on its ESG rule, which paradoxically doesn’t mention ESG by name, but nonetheless could curb sustainable investing within retirement plans. It’s the latest guidance on sustainable investing from a department that has gone back and forth on its stance since 1994, despite the rising popularity of ESG investing

It’s almost over (thank goodness)! Hopefully, within a few days, we will know who’s going to be parked in the White House for the next four years. I imagine, like me, some of your clients are asking what they should do depending upon who wins the election. I try very hard not to engage a

Even as low interest rates crimped Charles Schwab’s revenue last quarter, the company reeled in more than $51 billion in assets across its RIA custody and DIY investor divisions. Its fastest growing segment in the retail business? Wealthy clientele. “Our plan is to continue to add the services and capabilities that the high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth

How is Wall Street positioned for the election? Even Wall Street isn’t sure.  For most of October, “buy the stimulus trade” was the main idea on Wall Street. After all, polls showed odds were good for a Biden victory that would likely entail some kind of large-scale stimulus.  Investors were buying small-cap stocks, infrastructure plays, and

RBC Wealth Management added a veteran UBS team to its roster with more than $475 million in client assets. The Loupee/Graziani Wealth Management Group, based in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, includes advisors Robert Loupee and Michael Graziani and senior client associate Barbara Pesci, according to the firm. The advisors, previously with UBS for nearly a decade,

If I told you that the most important lesson I’ve learned during this cataclysmic year is gratitude, you would probably think either that I was naive enough to change my name to Pollyanna or that I was living in a clinical state of denial. Believe me, I would understand either reaction. For many of us,

Lower interest rates amid the coronavirus are slashing Ameriprise’s wealth business to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a quarter. The firm’s Advice and Wealth Management segment’s pretax adjusted operating earnings fell 19% year-over-year to $320 million, Ameriprise said in its third-quarter earnings on Oct. 28. The firm’s average yield on client cash

With Election Day upon us, the prospect of a new president in the White House in January seems a distinct possibility. For high-income earners — those households making $400,000 a year — the risk is palpable for both increased income tax and estate and gift tax per the Biden tax plan. That’s why now is

The top Democrat and Republican on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee introduced bipartisan legislation to encourage more Americans to save for retirement, with increased tax credits and improvements for 401(k), 403(b), IRA and SIMPLE plans. House Ways and Means Committee chairman Richard Neal, D-Massachusetts, and ranking member Kevin Brady, R-Texas, teamed up Tuesday

Five months into Reg BI’s reign, initial regulatory exams reveal wealth managers are making a bona fide effort to meet new requirements — but the industry is hardly up to snuff, according to regulatory officials. Some firms have failed to disclose how they make compensation. Others inaccurately reported their disciplinary history. And at least a

In a move Advisor Group CEO Jamie Price predicts will be followed by the entire industry within a year, the firm is eliminating ticket charges paid by financial advisors. “We think the ticketing structure is an old model,” Price said this week at the firm’s virtual ConnectEd conference. “There could be a conflict in a