Trader Talk

The Senate cleared changes to the popular Paycheck Protection Program on Wednesday that will allow small businesses more flexibility in using the rescue loan funds. The bill, which passed the House last week on a 471-1 vote, now heads to President Donald Trump’s desk for his signature. Senators gave unanimous consent for the legislation hours

Can funds that address diversity and sustainability deliver long-term outperformance? The answer, one expert says, is an unequivocal yes. The 20 best-performing mutual funds and ETFs with holdings that pose the lowest ESG risk generated an average 10-year gain of more than 18%, according to data from Morningstar Direct. That comes in well above broader

As protests over the killing of an unarmed black man by Minneapolis police spread across the U.S., Mark Mason, one of Wall Street’s most senior black executives, debated whether to weigh in. People around him kept asking what he thought. On a conference call last week to honor a group of junior executives inside Citigroup,

Investments in 529 plans had hit an all-time high at the end of 2019 — right before the coronavirus pandemic swept through the U.S. Since then, asset levels have dropped amid market turbulence, and as economic conditions worsen, parents may not be quick to start upping their investments in the plans, according to two new

When advisors dream about launching their own RIA, they get starry eyed about finally being in charge of their own practices. What trips them up, however, are the details. The time and cost of keeping up with regulatory changes, for one. After jumping from the institutional fixed-income world almost 30 years ago, Michael Joyce, founder

In April, as the coronavirus pandemic tore through America’s most vulnerable communities, more than 40 women advisors and other staff at Dynasty Financial Partners turned from their portfolios and news feeds to virtually attend the firm’s latest women’s network gathering. It was a particularly strong showing that day; members were anxious to learn and share

One surprise in our most recent Financial Planning Tech Survey was offset by another: Advisors’ use of financial planning technology has dropped, according to the latest data. But some formerly fringe tools are getting more widespread adoption. One year ago, only 4% of advisors told us they used chatbots. In 2020, the number leapt to

The economic fallout from the coronavirus is tilting the annuity marketplace in favor of structured products even as overall sales falter. Sales of buffered variable annuities — also known as registered index-linked annuities (RILAs) — soared by 38% year-over-year to reach $4.9 billion for the first quarter, according to the LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute. The

In an age of shrinking compensation models and shifting regulatory landscapes, digitally driven financial plans are the future when it comes to keeping and attracting clients — or so you’d think. But the latest Financial Planning Tech Survey suggests a growing number of advisors are concluding that financial planning software is not the silver bullet

Legg Mason is starting a value-focused ETF that will conceal its holdings. The ClearBridge Focus Value ETF begins trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Thursday under the ticker CFCV. The equity product will be actively managed and disclose its holdings just once a quarter, instead of doing that daily like most ETFs. So-called

BlackRock attracted some of the world’s largest institutional investors and sovereign funds when a major stake was sold this month, illustrating chief Larry Fink’s connections with deep sources of capital in the U.S., Middle East and Asia. Existing shareholders Wellington Management, Capital Group and Fidelity Investments were among those that bought shares when PNC Financial

Anyone eagerly anticipating Goldman Sachs’ foray into digital advice will have to wait a while longer. Goldman has decided to delay the launch of its robo advisor until 2021, Chief Operating Officer John Waldron said during a webcast presentation at Bernstein’s annual Strategic Decisions Conference. The firm is also slowing its hiring of financial advisors.

A popular ETF that uses complex derivatives to track oil is being investigated by U.S. regulators over whether its risks were properly disclosed to investors, scrutiny triggered by crude’s historic slump during the coronavirus crisis, said three people familiar with the matter. The SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have both opened probes into

The FPA is replacing its CEO of eight years. The association, which has begun the hunt for a new leader, has experienced declining membership and criticism of some initiatives. Lauren Schadle had worked at the association since the 2000 merger of the Institute of Certified Financial Planners and the International Association for Financial Planning that

Reversing a long-standing policy of reporting advisors’ bankruptcies on its website, the CFP Board now says it will review cases individually and may opt out of posting some. The new rules are intended to “improve the process that governs those who are subject to CFP Board’s enforcement,” the board says.Jeffrey Sauers “A single bankruptcy may

The video of an altercation on Monday between a white female executive and a black man in Central Park went viral almost immediately. Within 24 hours, the woman was out of a job. The woman, an employee of Franklin Templeton, is seen calling the police on her mobile phone saying “there is an African American

Following ‘historic call volumes’ during the coronavirus pandemic, Fidelity Institutional has brought in tens of thousands of new client accounts to its custody. Fidelity Institutional, which offers custody for both broker-dealers and RIAs, opened more than 100,000 new accounts in the first three months of 2020 — a 25% increase over the year-ago period, according

It’s not exactly a new word, but “zoom” has taken on an entirely new meaning since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic and widespread stay-at-home orders. The Zoom videoconferencing app has become almost as pervasive as the virus itself; millions of workers, friends and family members now use it daily to communicate in as close

If sheer cussedness counts as a first-line defense against the coronavirus, then LPL Financial planner and academic Kashif Ahmed came well-armed to the fight — with an assist from his firm’s succession plan. “Your orderly can kiss my ass, I need to be tested,” Ahmed, president of Bedford, Massachusetts-based American Private Wealth, told an emergency

Wyndham Rewards is a large hotel loyalty program with about 9,200 participating properties in 80 countries and includes well-known brands, such as Ramada Inn, La Quinta, Hawthorn Suites, Days Inn, Super 8 and, of course, Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. Plus, there are lots more you don’t expect (more on that below). The program is also

An unprecedented public health and economic crisis hasn’t stopped hundreds of financial advisors from switching firms. A look at 32 recent recruiting moves and news in the independent space shows that the pandemic has only taken the firms’ operations virtual rather than hindering them. If the coronavirus impeded any moves, the disruption amounted to temporary

On May 15, 2020, the SBA published the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application (SBA Form 3508). While the application clears up several of the outstanding questions that borrowers may have with regards to forgiveness eligibility, there are still some questions left unaddressed. As a crisis management professional, I have been immersed in all things

Since it was signed into law in March, advisors have pored over the CARES Act’s many provisions. Contained below are the most notable provisions relevant to financial planners and their clients. Perhaps no single provision in the CARES Act received more interest than Section 2201, Recovery Rebates for Individuals. In short, people wanted to know

UBS is setting aside hundreds of millions of dollars of its own money to invest in fintech companies, joining peers in financing startups that are upending traditional banking. The Swiss wealth manager is planning a corporate venture capital fund to make investments between $10 million and $20 million in dozens of companies, according to a

Socially responsible investing is helping robo advisors weather their first bear market. Backend’s analysis adds to a growing body of data showing impact investing beat traditional benchmarks during the recent market downturn. Asset managers including Blackrock, Allianz Global Investors and Invesco have all published research demonstrating how SRI and ESG portfolios offered more downside protection

The New York Stock Exchange trading floor, closed since March 23, is partially reopening on Tuesday. “I’m ready,” floor trader Jonathan Corpina of Meridian Equity Partners  said. “We have been waiting a long time, we are prepared. Our customers are ready.” Corpina acknowledged some trepidation about returning, a feeling, he said, of “walking into the

A father who’s a former craft beer brewer and his son, an ex-USA Rugby player, left the wirehouse scrum for LPL Financial’s largest corporate RIA enterprise. Financial advisors Bruce and Duncan Kelm of Santa Rosa, California-based ArrowPoint Wealth Management dropped Morgan Stanley to affiliate with LPL and Gladstone Financial Resources Group, the firm said May

Two theater production companies are suing UBS, accusing the bank of negligence that permitted fraudsters to allegedly swindle them out of the $3.5 million they had raised to mount two Broadway musicals. The companies — Player to be Named Later and Smokey Joe’s Café Broadway Revival — accuse UBS of breach of fiduciary duty and

LPL Financial is providing financial advisors access to AdvicePay, a payment processing technology developed by XY Planning Network founders Michael Kitces and Alan Moore to help them directly invoice clients and accept online payments for financial planning services. Advisors can use AdvicePay to collect one-time and hourly fees for services beyond asset management, or set

Fed purchases of ETFs invested in corporate debt totaled $1.8 billion in the first six days of the program, according to data published Thursday. The ETF purchases, which are part of an emergency lending program aimed at backstopping corporate debt markets during the coronavirus pandemic, were revealed in the U.S. central bank’s weekly balance sheet