Trader Talk

Charles Schwab unveiled a new feature that allows customers to invest in personalized indexes, an increasingly competitive area that appeals to tax-conscious customers. Clients will be able to invest directly in securities of an index through Schwab Personalized Indexing, according to a statement Thursday from the Westlake, Texas-based brokerage. The approach can help reduce taxes

While no known major, successful cyberattacks have disrupted the U.S. financial system since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began, U.S. authorities and cybersecurity experts are warning American businesses, including independent advisory firms, to remain vigilant. Late last month, the White House warned that Russia could be planning to launch cybersecurity attacks in response to

Women make up only a small slice of the portfolio management business, but a recent study shows that the top performers surveyed beat their benchmarks most of the time. The study by Investment Metrics, a data analytics firm in Norwalk, Connecticut, covered 353 portfolios across 176 firms over a 10-year period. The top-performing managers beat

For a long time, Catherine Valega, a wealth consultant at Green Bee Advisory, wasn’t sure if she really needed her Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst certificate. Nowadays, the Boston-based advisor is getting overwhelming interest in cryptocurrency from her clients, and not just the recent graduates coming out of Harvard and MIT. One 65-year-old plumber recently complained

In another example of the shift in its business model from capturing breakaway brokers to buying RIAs, Hightower has made a cash and stock investment in Altium Wealth Management, a $2.7 billion RIA in Purchase, New York. A Hightower spokesperson said the firm would not disclose specific terms of the transaction, only that it involved

Toronto-based CI Financial is buying the RIA unit of Eaton Vance Water Oak Advisors from Morgan Stanley, which is shedding the RIA it acquired when it bought asset manager Eaton Vance last March. The RIA, Water Oak, advises on approximately $3 billion in assets. It was acquired by a unit of Eaton Vance in November

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon reaped another windfall.Bloomberg News Jamie Dimon just received almost $56 million of JPMorgan Chase’s stock, before taxes, from an incentive program the bank valued at less than half that much just three years ago. The CEO collected 398,708 shares last week from a performance award dating to January 2019, according

Interaxis and CPE World, two digital asset education companies, are merging to form a comprehensive platform to teach financial advisors and accountants how to incorporate cryptocurrencies into their practices. Interaxis began in 2019 as a YouTube channel for Adam Blumberg, a certified financial planner, and Ron Rixon, a financial analyst, to explain the world of

Thousands of financial advisors are facing new potential rules from the Department of Labor that could affect their businesses significantly or just start a new wave of industry legal fights. After taking over last year, the Biden Administration’s Labor Department acted quickly in withdrawing the Trump Administration’s Independent Contractor Rule and unveiling its plans “to

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed legislation that would expand the tax benefits for retirement accounts to bolster the savings of Americans, many of whom have nothing banked for after they stop working. The legislation, approved on a 414-5 vote, creates a tax credit of up to $1,000 per employee for small businesses that

Morgan Stanley is finally entering a 30-year-old exchange-traded fund market, but the firm is likely to lean toward active management to stand out in a crowded field, analysts say. Actively managed ETFs, which rely on fund managers rather than tracking indices, have only been around since 2008, so analysts say there is much more room

It’s déjà vu all over again — and another bout of uncertainty and frustration for financial advisors — with the White House’s proposal to increase taxes on the wealthy. President Joe Biden’s federal budget proposal released March 28 both resurrects prior efforts to raise taxes on the richest Americans and introduces new curbs. Among other

The CFP Board kicked off the new year with three additions to its growing collection of resources for professionals looking to comply with the board’s ethical dos and don’ts. Guides on satisfying the duty of care when providing financial advice, the seven-step financial planning process and managing material conflicts of interest developed by the organization’s

Wall Street’s deal-making frenzy for independent financial advisory firms is starting to look a bit different. With 2021 marking the eighth consecutive record-making year of acquisitions, several new trends are emerging. Here’s what registered independent advisory practices, or RIAs, should be thinking about, according to a new report by Advisor Growth Strategies, a management consulting

A major LPL Financial hybrid RIA enterprise quietly settled a fraud victim’s lawsuit alleging its response to a former financial advisor’s scheme was “as egregious as the crime itself.” With a joint payment of $500,000 each to “homebound” widow Dianne G. Crossland last February, Integrated Partners’ RIA — Integrated Wealth Concepts — and LPL resolved

People wait in line for t-shirts at a pop-up kiosk for the online brokerage Robinhood along Wall Street after the company went public with an IPO earlier in the day on July 29, 2021 in New York City. Spencer Platt | Getty Images News | Getty Images Hey Mr. Retail Trader: do you like to

Pres. Joe Biden is reviving a call by Senate Democrats to tax ultra wealthy Americans.Bloomberg News President Joe Biden will propose a minimum 20% tax rate that would hit both the income and unrealized capital gains of U.S. households worth more than $100 million as part of his budget proposal to be released on Monday.

Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, is also a tax haven.Pixabay Not just azure waters and pristine beaches make Puerto Rico an attractive destination. With its generous financial incentives, the territory is also a haven for wealthy Americans seeking to legally avoid taxes. Now, in a twist, a big financial advisory firm in Florida is aiming

Choir, a technology firm that measures and promotes increased visiblity and representation of women, minorities and non-binary people at industry events, announced the first group of events that have passed its assessment. UBS is offering a fully remote working options in some wealth management roles. A Bitcoin mining company has settled a case in Massachusetts

American essayist and environmental activist Edward Abbey once wrote, “Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell.” As you build and maintain your advisory business, it’s critical to keep a close eye on your growth initiatives and make sure they are ultimately sustainable and profitable for your business. Growth for

After bulking up its recruiting team last year, Cetera Financial Group has just picked up a major team from a rival that includes two 20-year veteran financial advisors. Michael Breard and Ray Hays of Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based Hays Breard Financial Group, left LPL Financial to align with Cetera Advisor Networks as their brokerage and Summit

Citizens Financial Group is mulling the acquisition of a wealth manager or even a lender in Florida following a deal spree by the bank last year, CEO Bruce Van Saun said. “In Florida, we’re just trying to get really smart on the market,” Van Saun said in an interview Thursday at Bloomberg’s New York headquarters.

Edward “Ned” Johnson III, who revolutionized the money management industry by promoting mutual funds for retirement plans and money market checking accounts while head of Fidelity Investments, has died. He was 91. He died on March 23 in Florida, according to Fidelity. No cause was given. He was a resident of Wellington, Florida, according to

About four years after its alleged supervisory breaches and negligent omissions, a midsize wealth manager resolved a FINRA case involving sales of risky and costly alternative products. On March 18, Geneos Wealth Management became likely the first brokerage to settle a regulatory case relating to sales of limited partnership interests issued by scandal-plagued alternative investment

In a new episode of the Financial Planning Podcast, financial advisor Harry Sherdil explains how he plans to use his newly independent firm to expand access to planning and wealth. Sherdil, associate advisor Nestor Belmonte and virtual administrator Monique Miller launched Newark and San Ramone, California-based Humanity Wealth Advisors in December. The 22-year veteran advisor’s

A Cetera Financial Group brokerage must pay the biggest arbitration award ever assessed against the firm to clients who accused the firm of negligence and misrepresentations. Nancy and Ivan Mailhot and their IRA accounts won an award from Cetera’s First Allied Securities ordering the firm to shell out $2.7 million in damages, attorney fees and

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only sent oil prices soaring, it is disrupting the supply chains for a wide range of commodities. In a recent webinar, a panel of economists from Moody’s Analytics focused on the global economic effects of the war, specifically on certain commodities that are produced predominantly in Russia and

A financial advisor who was barred by FINRA two years ago and fired by his firm in 2018 now faces hate crimes charges alleging he stole from victims because of their ages. Louis Cook selected two victims in 2019 and 2020 based in “whole or substantial part because of a belief or perception regarding [their]

Advyzon, one of Financial Planning’s best fintechs to work for, is the latest wealthtech company to start offering outsourced investment management services. The company — which provides an all-in-one tech solution that includes CRM, portfolio management and reporting to about 1,000 financial advisors — announced the launch of Advyzon Investment Management (AIM), a turnkey asset

Several years ago, a client of financial advisor Laila Pence’s practice used foul language with her staff and called them stupid to their faces. She recalls speaking to the client about it like it was yesterday, Pence said. She reminded him that her staff “is an extension of me” and asked him to come to