If some financial advisors seem to know clients’ needs before they do, there’s a good chance software is part of the reason. Financial technology — or fintech, for short — has increased competition in the advice business via automated online platforms. Yet at the same time, advisors have found that those digital advances have bolstered
Investing Strategies
Damir Khabirov | iStock | Getty Images “He who makes no mistakes makes nothing.” Talk about a silver lining, especially when applied to finance. This 200-year-old quote, attributed to Casanova, gives hope to all those ruing a grave error or missed opportunity. And it’s true: We learn what not to do going forward when we
JohnnyGreig | E+ | Getty Images While a gym workout can be a lot of fun, the cliche “no pain, no gain” is also true. The same goes with finances. Savers and investors who want secure financial futures tomorrow often have to face painful financial facts today — and it can fall to financial advisors
Slocan Lake, BC Ira T. Nicolai | Stone | Getty Images It’s not every day that you’d tell a retiring client to ratchet up their stock exposure, but if she has some guaranteed income, it just might make sense. That’s because pension income, Social Security benefits and income annuities all provide retirees with a measure
Thomas M. Barwick | Getty Images Financial advisors have another “best interest” rule around the corner: This regulation applies to life insurance and annuity recommendations. New York is rolling out a regulation that will require financial advisors to place their clients’ interests above their own when they’re making recommendations around proposed or in-force insurance contracts.
10’000 Hours | DigitalVision | Getty Images Doling out advice on money matters is the stock in trade of the financial advisor. After all, it’s in their job title. So financial advisors, financial planners, wealth managers and the like are used to offering up advice on a daily basis to paying customers. But what about
manusapon kasosod | Moment | Getty Images As Generation X and millennials inherit their baby boomer parents’ assets amid the so-called Great Wealth Transfer, some will look to invest it in rental property to generate income. This property might be a duplex, an apartment building or, depending on the location, a single-family house that could
Feverpitched | iStock | Getty Images No two retirements look the same. But there is one thing all individuals face in their golden years: high health-care costs. Medicare beneficiaries will need as much as $400,000 for health expenses per couple, according to 2018 research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. That is up from $370,000
Jim McGuire | Getty Images The Social Security program is approaching insolvency. Social Security costs keep escalating, with future expenses for the program expected to be 20% higher than projected revenue. To that point, action must be taken promptly to prevent an across-the-board benefit cut for many current and future beneficiaries, according to the Social
izusek | E+ | Getty Images Eat what you kill. It’s not the most subtle description of the career path for financial advisors, but it is accurate. Historically, the financial advice industry has been built around people who can come to the job and quickly build books of business to generate revenue. Young advisors have