- Social Distancing Measures Challenge Advisors’ Practices
How our ‘high-touch’ industry grapples with the new reality of contact
Not being able to meet in person with their clients during the pandemic ranks as the biggest impact for 9 in 10 advisors according to a recent study. Market factors including low interest rates and increased market volatility have also been disruptive to advisors’ practices.
read more - 60% Are Willing to Risk Their Health To Vote In Person In November
Americans don’t think healthcare should be a political issue
Sacrificing one's health to vote in the November election: 60% are willing to risk their health to vote in person, according to the latest healthinsurance.com consumer pulse survey. 63% of Americans don't think healthcare should be a political issue. Yet when asked what the most important issue is to them in the 2020 election, 50%…
read more - Take Advantage of the Current Financial Mess
Advising business clients today
by Ami Kassar
There’s no denying a societal crisis, especially a global one is a game changer in many ways, especially in the business community. Plenty of business people – entrepreneurs and otherwise – are dealing with real pain and life- and business-threatening situations. You can only hope for the best.
read more - A Second-Half, Second Chance for Investors
It may be a good time to make sure your client’s investment mix is on target
So here we are, in July 2020, faced with the important question of how to position our portfolios for a most uncertain future. Usually, following a large decline as we experienced from February 29 to March 23, many investors would be mourning their losses and wishing they could turn back the clock to rebalance in…
read more - Economic Optimism Drops Again; Now at Lowest Level Since September 2015
Presidential leadership index, national outlook index continue to fall
The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index, a leading national poll on consumer confidence, fell by 6.4% in July. The index’s reading of 44.0 has dropped nearly 10 points, or 18.37%, in the last four months. It is now at its lowest point since September 2015. This also places the index in negative territory for the fourth…
read more - LIMRA: How COVID-19 Is Impacting Employers Offering Insurance Benefits
Employers show new interest in modifying their benefits packages, enrollment strategies and their relationships with their carriers
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought many operational changes to U.S businesses. It has also drawn attention to the importance of many types of financial protection, which may increase employers’ interest in offering certain benefits. A new LIMRA survey provides insights into recent changes to their business practices, interest in modifying their benefits packages, enrollment strategies…
read more - Unemployment Numbers Are Coming Down
Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusts for ’temporary layoffs’
The latest jobs report shows the national unemployment rate at 13.3%, which is 10% below the peak of 14.7% during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. To provide more context at the city level, WalletHub today released its report on the Cities Whose Unemployment Rates Are Bouncing Back Most, as a follow-up to our report…
read more - Special Update: Quarterly Report
In a holiday-shortened week, stock prices turned higher as encouraging economic data outweighed an increase in COVID-19 cases and a rollback in economic re-openings.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3.25%, while the Standard & Poor's 500 increased by 4.02%. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 4.62% for the week. The MSCI EAFE Index, which tracks developed stock markets overseas, picked up 0.22%
read more - Covid-19: Beyond Testing, Measurement & Reporting
Global spread and deaths are much higher than official reports
Not enough testing and large numbers of asymptomatic infections mean official reports underestimate COVID-19 infections and deaths. But by how much? New research by a team at the MIT Sloan School of Management estimates that COVID-19 cases and deaths are 12 times and 1.5 times higher than official reports, respectively. The study examined 84 of…
read more - Scam Alert: Don’t Lose Money to Fake Change-of-Address Websites
Many are paying steep fees for services that are often free
Summer is typically a popular time to make a move, and scammers are looking for ways to take advantage of those moving to a new home, as noted in a recent BBB study on moving scams. The Better Business Bureau is urging consumers to be extremely cautious when searching for official websites which allow you…
read more - The Impact of Financial Decision Making in Retirement
The first few years of retirement tend to be the most expensive
In a new Issue Brief, Retirement Security and Financial Decision-Making, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) indicates that the first few years of retirement tend to be the most expensive, and many retirees are not spending less over time, which is what is typically expected.
read more - Northern Trust Launches Industry Leading Wealth Institute
The Northern Trust Institute: A bold new approach to wealth optimization
Northern Trust (Nasdaq: NTRS) announced today the launch of The Northern Trust Institute, a research center dedicated to providing comprehensive, industry-leading advice to clients across the continuum of family wealth issues. The Northern Trust Institute will research and produce timely and actionable insights, informed by data and analytics, and vetted through real world experiences with…
read more - CFP Board Now Enforcing Its Strengthened Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct
Obligation to ‘act as a fiduciary'
Today, Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc. (CFP Board) begins enforcing its new, strengthened Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct (Code and Standards). All CFP® professionals are required to abide by the Code and Standards, which went into effect on October 1, 2019.
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