Women & Planning

Tight monetary policy and rising government debt will drive a regime of high interest rates, depressing stock prices and destroying the wealth of clients, most severely those at or near retirement.

The $6.5 trillion US ETF industry boomed in 2022 as innovative product debuts and market volatility fueled a near-record number of launches. But the fanfare revealed a major flaw in the space: the lack of women helming the funds.

Relative to the accumulation phase, strategies that mitigate the unique risks faced by retirees in decumulation are less understood and researched. By identifying and illustrating those risks, planners can better prepare clients for retirement.

Congress is on the verge of passing a bill called SECURE 2.0 to help American workers save for retirement.

The end of 2022 can’t come soon enough for many in the banking industry. Sputtering capital markets, job cuts, raging inflation, the crypto meltdown and rising interest rates marked a year of upheaval.

Over the years, clients have told me what resonated when I spoke to them. But there have been three situations that go beyond my expertise and ability to be helpful.

Allan Roth’s recent article, The 4% Rule Just Became a Whole Lot Easier, promises too much, makes inaccurate comparisons and blurs the notion of risk.

“I have never seen so much bearishness in the market,” Jeremy Siegel said, “which is a great sign for stock investors.”

As climate change moved higher on the Wall Street agenda, there had been fewer indications that financial giants took similar interest in the biodiversity crisis.

The breakthrough in nuclear fusion is likely to spark investment in the technology that could transform the global energy landscape with nearly limitless clean energy.

Here are four questions independent financial advisors should ask before choosing a TAMP.

The Twitter chatter of Ford Chief Executive Officer Jim Farley is good vibes only: factory photos, race tracks, corporate boosterism and a lot of retweets of Ford customers gushing about their vehicles. It’s all cars, and it’s all anodyne.

The following is a loose collection of random thoughts and observations on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rather than a coherent article, I offer some insights that have emerged as the war has dragged on.

Here are three signals people use to let you know when they are feeling pushed.

If you aren’t willing to niche, at least decide whether you are trying to help your clients thrive or survive. Then build a message around one of those themes. Are you selling them life rafts (survive) or sailboats (thrive)?

How will you leverage networking’s holiday season grand finale without being perceived as the friend who is desperate for business?

Here are some of the cues that indicate a prospect has accepted what you have presented and want you to move on to the next step.

The overriding story of Vietnam is the triumph of free markets over communism.

What problem could be solved or what issue or challenge could be addressed that would offer wide appeal to the expansive advisor community? The answer that made sense to me was financial education.

Here are some suggestions to consider when remarrying.

It took 16 months to pay off my husband’s student loans after we got married.

As veterans of this male-dominated industry, we have faced our fair share of challenges and uncertainty. However, that led us to venture out on our own and start solo planning firms.

Aligning your stated values and your spending (a core tenet of ESG investing) is something I encourage as part of financial wellness. But it isn’t always easy to do.

Few would disagree that the period from 1870-2010 saw immense technological advancements that improved our quality of life. But, according to Bradford DeLong, far fewer advances lie ahead, and societies should adapt by “slouching” away from a free-market system. He’s wrong on both counts.

This is Advisor Perspectives' fourth consecutive year of ranking ahead of The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg among the e-newsletters listed, with 14% more readership across the 1,120 financial advisors surveyed. Advisor Perspectives also claimed the number one spot for e-newsletters among the independent registered investment advisor (RIA) segment.

The Federal Reserve’s influential staff judges that under the surface the US economy is running even hotter than they thought, helping to explain why inflation remains at a 40-year high and providing reason to expect even more interest-rate hikes.

Reg BI is the most divisive issue in the fiduciary discussion and was a focus of the discussion during September’s event.

I know what you’re thinking: “Longevicide? What is that?”

Bank of America has positioned itself as one of the leading lenders in the green credit space, while peer Goldman Sachs is facing questions from the Securities and Exchange Commission over greenwashing claims.

Here are five steps female financial advisors should take when putting a continuity plan in place for their firm.

What will happen to the clients of advisors who don’t have a formal succession plan in place?

The Harvard Business Review is celebrating its 100th birthday with a fat book of its most influential and innovative articles and an electronic fanfare of videos, charts and online articles.

Fidelity Investments and Vanguard announced a rare collaborative effort Wednesday to help employees keep their retirement savings in tax-advantaged accounts like 401(k)s when they switch jobs.

I’ll share some insights as you encourage your team to be more open-minded and innovative and to help with facilitating change efforts within your organization.

The search for information and direction about financial assistance and special-needs planning can be especially frustrating for caregivers.

Most seers believe the US labor market is overly strong.

What are the worst ROI marketing tactics advisors are taking on today? Behold, the top four.

Insurance protects against losses – fires, floods or a wrecked car. Because of the life-altering consequences of such as loss, clients rarely question the cost of the insurance. When viewed through an analogous framework, the cost of lifetime-income insurance, such as a GLWB, is fairly priced.

In a surprise move, General Motors Co. this week joined forces with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) to recommend tougher emissions rules for passenger vehicles. But skeptics remain unconvinced by the company’s professed commitment to going green, citing GM’s history of battling tougher fuel economy rules.

Compared to the dotcom and great financial crisis recessions, our fiscal and monetary response over the last two years has been far more aggressive. But the true cost – in terms of inflation – presents a more threatening risk.

When you choose a client niche, you may find that the focus is too narrow or too broad. Here’s how you can remedy the situation.

I need someone to tell me if it’s time to get off this treadmill or if things will change and I can go back to being exhausted only on Thursdays and Fridays instead of every day of the week.

The IRA impacts everyone, but the healthcare portions of it mean substantial changes to the way advisors incorporate healthcare costs into their financial plans for clients who are retired, on Medicare, or are still working.

Millennials are self-centered and allergic to commitment. They switch jobs every six months and will never buy homes. And don’t get them started on marriage and kids.

The $24 trillion US Treasury market has gotten too big for even the “Masters of the Universe.” As the Federal Reserve reverses its bond purchase program and more government securities flood back into the hands of dealers, banks, investors and traders, the chances of extreme, unhealthy volatility are rising.

Five new Federal Reserve policy makers are seen as having a slightly greater focus on employment than inflation, but don’t expect a swift impact from this dovish tilt, economists surveyed by Bloomberg said.

Shortfalls in retirement savings have been widely regarded as a crisis of our times.

Americans in their early 60s are pretty close to record labor-force participation, too. The big declines are all among those 65 and older.

Prateek Bhardwaj broke out as a social media star on TikTok’s short-video platform, drawing in close to a million followers and a slew of big-brand endorsements. But he’s no longer on the app.

Even as flows into environmental, social and governance ETFs are slowing, Emerge is introducing its first set of active sustainable ETFs with a twist -- each fund will be overseen by women.

My article, “The Trial of Ken Fisher for Crimes Against Annuities,” marked the beginning of my effort to aggressively defend annuities against criticisms that had become too exaggerated, too longstanding, and too inaccurate to be left unchallenged.

When Naeche Vincent’s employer told her she had to start coming to the office last year, she decided to make a TikTok video about preparing to step foot inside the Wall Street investment bank for the first time.

We have a team of advisors who are the kings and queens of gossip.

A strong culture is key to inspiring the team and workplace of tomorrow.

“It is not true that we need to gut our environmental protections in order to scale up green energy,” said Mahyar Sorour, deputy legislative director for Beyond Dirty Fuels at the Sierra Club. And thus goes the next chapter in the political war over whether and how the United States will join the battle against climate change.

Almost three decades after coining the term “exchange-traded fund,” Morgan Stanley is finally set to enter the $6.9 trillion ETF arena with its own products.

Are high-deductible or low-deductible Medicare supplemental plans better?

In the current unstable economic environment, producing safe, reliable income over the course of an unknown retirement is a daunting goal for any financial professional. As a result, many Americans sub-optimize their retirement experience.

Demography isn’t destiny. If population size was history’s major determinant, China might have conquered Europe in the 15th century, and Britain certainly would not have conquered India in the 18th.

In an American housing market that for years has been plagued by too little inventory, builders are suddenly finding themselves with a glut of unsold homes.

When it comes to a comfortable retirement, women in the US have the cards stacked against them.