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  • Seniors & CyberCrime
    Seniors & CyberCrime

    How online fraud is permeating our investment safety nets… with alarming success

    by R. Dale Hall, FSA, MAAA, CERA, CFA

    Cybersecurity threats are on the rise worldwide. According to the 16th Survey of Emerging Risks Key Findings, a report released in January 2023 by The Society of Actuaries (SOA) and the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS), cyber/network was identified as a top five current and emerging risk. Identity theft and fraud have become prevalent cybersecurity issues,…
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  • More Than Just Labor
    More Than Just Labor

    How banks are driving new cost reduction strategies

    by Tyler Higgins and Chris McGee

    Investment bank revenues are plummeting, commercial bank earnings have experienced mixed results, recession is looming, and market volatility continues to be turbulent – and the result for financial services has been an increase in layoffs and bonus cuts.
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  • Did Covid Alter Our Perceptions Of A Safe Retirement?
    Did Covid Alter Our Perceptions Of A Safe Retirement?

    Pre-retirees and retirees alike are taking a fresh look at their income timeline

    by Mike Janky

    By early 2020, the world started to change forever with the spread of Covid-19. We knew nothing about this virus, as many people around the world lost their lives or had family or friends that were infected with this new enemy.
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  • A New Renaissance In Financial Guidance
    A New Renaissance In Financial Guidance

    Why annuities will continue to thrive in 2023 (and how advisors will lead the charge)

    by Corey Walther

    While risks to retirement like market volatility and inflation were top of mind in 2022, annuity sales set records. The value proposition for including an annuity within a portfolio was compelling. Consumers who were anxious about risks to their retirement could use an annuity as a way to create a dependable income stream.
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  • New Perspectives On Longevity
    New Perspectives On Longevity

    How investors are recalculating their retirement and income timelines

    by Mike Downing

    When the pandemic turned the world upside down in March of 2020, many Americans found themselves in difficult positions, not only with increased stress around their health and the health of their loved ones, but also with new stressors on their financial well-being and their retirement savings strategies. As the world adapted to its new…
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  • Getting Ahead Of Economic Uncertainty

    Getting Ahead Of Economic Uncertainty


    Three conversations every advisor should have with their clients

    by Kurt Auleta

    While 2023 has brought some hope around moderating inflation numbers and the potential for the Federal Reserve easing its rate hikes, economic uncertainty remains. 2022 ended with a double dip: stocks were down near bear market levels (the S&P 500 Index was down -18.11%) and bonds were down nearly as much (the Bloomberg Aggregate Bond…
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  • Fear And Longevity
    Fear And Longevity

    An action plan to help your clients make it all the way through

    by Tamiko Toland and Paul Yakoboski

    Death is a doozy of a conversation opener, but it’s worth finding out how well clients know how long the average retiree will live—for their sake and yours. The uncertainty of a person’s lifespan makes retirement planning challenging due to two complementary concerns: on the one hand, the risk of running out of money and,…
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  • Hidden Obstacles To Growing Your Practice
    Hidden Obstacles To Growing Your Practice

    And five strategies to help you overcome them

    by Tiffany A. Markarian

    Financial advisors are often told by leadership or business consultants to “grow your financial practice,” expand your assets under management, or increase activity. The challenge with growth-based goals is they often overlook the obstacles and historical sticking points that can plague an advisor’s business.
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  • A Conversation With James Katz
    A Conversation With James Katz

    ESG: Investors Are Human Too

    by P.E. Kelley

    As more investors begin to embrace and seek to understand, and ultimately invest in, emerging ‘environmental, social and governance’ portfolios (ESG), the industry has mobilized to deliver these opportunities in a way that makes sense to its clients. But that’s where things often get a little hazy, because socially responsible investors, who usually come to…
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  • Planning For The Future
    Planning For The Future

    Four ways financial advisors can help clients with extended care strategy

    by Steve Sperka

    As Baby Boomers enter retirement and the aging population grows larger, many individuals are beginning to find themselves in what is known as the “sandwich generation”— the generation of individuals who are responsible for both raising their children as well as providing care for their parents. In fact, according to a 2022 survey from diversified…
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  • Working In A Post-Covid World
    Working In A Post-Covid World

    How digital mental health solutions address stress-related exhaustion in the workplace

    by Dr. Byron Crowe, M.D.

    Emotional exhaustion is a condition much of the American population is familiar with. Emotional exhaustion is a symptom of burnout. Generally characterized by a sense of fatigue and a loss of enthusiasm for one's work and personal affairs, emotional exhaustion is often associated with burnout. External stressors such as those related to politics, social change,…
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  • The Normalization Of Self-Employment
    The Normalization Of Self-Employment

    As the Gig Economy Comes of Age, Can Choice and Need Find a Working Balance?

    by Sir Nigel Wilson and John Godfrey

    As the gig economy expands, the normalization of self-employment has shifted the center of gravity for American workers and employers alike. This new relationship to work delivers changes in both personal and financial arenas as gig workers navigate a rejiggered and constantly evolving model of employment, tipping the norm at least in the U.S. to…
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  • Secure 2.0 And The Future Of Retirement
    Secure 2.0 And The Future Of Retirement

    Understanding, and managing, the 90+ new provisions is no small task

    by Lance Schoening

    When the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) passed in the Omnibus Bill on December 23, there was an instant celebration across the retirement industry. And for good reason, given the anticipated benefits it offers to help working Americans establish a more secure retirement.
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