Trader Talk

Seven years ago I was running a successful financial planning practice, but as a divorced father of three boys, my life felt unmanageable. Then, on Oct. 21, 2013, I quit drinking. It was a turning point for me. Beyond the Serenity Prayer, which asks us to accept the things we cannot change, I’ve learned other

For some of the few Black and Latino executives in the financial services, the added work of boosting representation and mentoring is simply “a practical reality,” says Northern Trust’s president of asset management. “You have a whole other job, different than your majority counterparts,” Shundrawn Thomas said during a panel discussion at the Association of

Though a new Labor Department proposal could hinder the use of ESG factors in retirement plans, the world’s largest money manager isn’t stepping back from sustainable investing. In fact, BlackRock is upping its commitment. By the end of this year, 100% of its portfolios will integrate ESG metrics, up from 70% at the end of

Snowflake IPO begins trading at the NYSE on Sept. 16th, 2020. Source: NYSE So you think Snowflake up over 100% on its first day is a big deal? Nah, there’s been plenty of companies that have had first day pops bigger than that this year.  They include biotech firm CureVac, up 249% on the first

In the spring, the coronavirus pandemic threatened to bring financial advisor recruiting, a core growth engine for many wealth management firms, to a screeching halt. Nationwide lockdown measures in March cancelled the traditional routine for advisors looking to move: a VIP office tour, hands-on technology demonstrations, dinner at a nice restaurant and the all-important handshake.

FINRA is working on racial equity from multiple angles and CEO Robert Cook is examining his own actions, he says. “It all starts with individual accountability,” Cook said in a panel at the Association of African American Financial Advisors’ virtual Vision conference. “It all depends on how individuals change their own personal behavior. And as

The Federal Reserve left interest rates near zero and signaled it would hold them there through at least 2023 to help the U.S. economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic. The Federal Open Market Committee “expects to maintain an accommodative stance of monetary policy” until it achieves inflation averaging 2% over time and longer-term inflation expectations

The software business is on fire. This is going to be by far the biggest year for software IPOs in history. Four big software IPOs are pricing this week: Snowflake, Unity Software, Jfrog, and Sumo Logic. Palantir and Asana are coming at the end of September.   Snowflake priced its IPO at $120 per share, raising

A 1% increase would be better than none at all for 60 million Americans. Older adults, along with workers with disabilities and their families, will receive what may be one of the lowest cost-of-living adjustments to their Social Security benefits in 2021, according to a new estimate by a nonpartisan advocacy group. Roughly a month

A global pandemic and unprecedented economic upheaval have taken a toll on Raymond James. After years of growth, the firm is now laying off hundreds of employees. In an internal email, Raymond James CEO Paul Reilly said the firm will cut less than 4% of its global workforce across business lines. With 13,900 employees, that

In recent months, Wells Fargo advisors have cited scandal and an inability to lock clients’ PPP loans as motivation for their moves.Bloomberg News As some companies formulate reopening plans, Raymond James is bringing new teams into the fold. Most recently, the regional BD recruited a $500 million team from Wells Fargo to its Alex. Brown

U.S. investors expect actively managed ETFs to skyrocket in popularity in the next few years, surging to more than a quarter of client allocations by 2023. Money managers in the world’s largest ETF market predict the share of active products in ETF portfolios will rise to 26%, up from 19% today, according to a survey

It took just 10 months for an ex-advisor to deplete virtually all of a couple’s $2.2 million of retirement savings. That’s according to the SEC, which charged former advisor Hai Khoa Dang with defrauding the couple who had been his clients for 20 years. Dang engaged in a “risky and unauthorized options trading strategy” that

Amid a tumultuous year of market volatility and a global pandemic, Rockefeller Capital Management is on a recruiting hot streak. The firm has picked up roughly two dozen elite teams, eclipsing the 15 it added last year. The moves further Rockefeller’s efforts to develop a boutique firm catering to wealthy clients and their advisors, and

Wealthy investors who have ridden the likes of Apple and Amazon.com to all-time highs are getting increasingly nervous about the stock market’s fragility. “There’s definitely desire to stay long the equity markets on some level but have some downside protection,” says Ben Huneke, head of investment solutions in Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division.Bloomberg News High-net-worth

Raymond James recruiting efforts have netted the firm advisors managing nearly $2 billion in client assets, according to company announcements. The newest additions further the company’s aggressive hiring streak and in some cases will open new branches. Among the latest hiresare a former UBS team that managed approximately $1.2 billion. Advisors Jared Stricklin, Darryl Dunn

Though clients using digital investment platforms are commonly stereotyped as rookie investors with limited assets, new data shows robo advisors are attracting wealthier and more sophisticated clients. Across demographic groups, use of robo-advisors is highest among consumers with at least $500,000 in investable assets, according to a survey of more than 5,400 households by data

JPMorgan Chase is requiring its most senior sales and trading employees to return to their offices by Sept. 21, the strongest move yet by a U.S. bank to restaff its workplaces. The new order applies to managing directors and executive directors who oversee subordinates, according to a person briefed on the plans, which were communicated

Citigroup picked Jane Fraser as its next CEO, placing the first woman atop a major Wall Street bank. Fraser will succeed Mike Corbat, who is retiring in February after more than eight years in the top job. Fraser, who was named the company’s president last year in a move that marked her as the heir

An ex-Stifel advisor allegedly defrauded an elderly widow of more than $450,000, spending her money on a vacation home, groceries and other expenses for himself, according to the SEC. The regulator filed a legal complaint earlier this month in a federal court in Colorado and ordered Steven Rodemer to pay a civil penalty of more

When President Trump issued an executive memorandum on Aug. 8 offering payroll tax deferral until the end of the year, a big question was whether the deferral — of the employee portion of Social Security tax — was optional or voluntary to the employer. Guidance was issued 10 days later, on Aug. 18, in Notice

When it comes to retirement accounts and taxes, the question isn’t so much whether income tax will need to be paid, but rather, when income tax will need to be paid. Accordingly, solid tax planning generally means trying to accelerate the taxation of income that would otherwise be taxable in future years into the current

UBS will offer sustainable investments as its preferred solution for wealth management clients worldwide as the COVID-19 crisis underscores the need for more socially and environmentally responsible financing. “The pandemic has brought the vulnerability and interconnected nature of our societies and industries to the forefront of investors’ minds and shown that sustainability considerations cannot be

If there’s one thing clients have always relied on in troubled times, it’s that last bastion of savings, the retirement account — whether it be a 401(k) or an IRA. But we’re now into the ninth month since COVID-19 hit our shores and nothing can be taken for granted. Business closures, bankruptcies and lawsuits from

Nearly $3 trillion that acts as a barrier against the cuts to Social Security benefits from insolvency could run out even sooner than previously expected. The Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will begin sustaining annual deficits of more than $100 billion by next year — and vanish by 2031, according to a Sept. 2

The free lunches are over. Sort of. Merrill Lynch is placing new limits on the perks its advisors receive from third-party asset managers. The move restricts long-held practices, but likely won’t have a big immediate impact given that the coronavirus pandemic has curbed events such as dinner parties and in-person meetings. Merrill Lynch told employees

Traders wearing masks work, on the first day of in person trading since the closure during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 26, 2020. Brendan McDermid | Reuters There’s a spate of new exchanges ready to launch that want

Democrats on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee introduced a bill to overturn President Trump’s executive action to defer payroll tax contributions, along with a resolution of disapproval that’s being coordinated with Democrats in the Senate. Last month, Trump signed a memorandum to defer the 6.2% employee’s share of Social Security taxes from Sept.

Insurance providers and consumer advocates agreed on little during the recent five-and-a-half-hour Labor Department hearing on its new fiduciary rule replacement, except this: The whole process was rushed. Interested parties had 30 days to comment on the department’s new proposal — less than half the time allotted to the Obama administration’s iteration before it was

Fidelity’s National Financial Services agreed to its largest regulatory payout in at least 13 years to settle an SEC case involving delivery of prospectuses. The Fidelity Investments subsidiary underwrote the public sale of more than 70 million shares of stock in a fuel cell technology firm for $148 million over a dozen years without providing