Advisors

Phynart Studio Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, an astounding 53% of the American population felt anxious about personal finances. Undoubtedly, that percentage has grown significantly, with more than 26 million Americans becoming unemployed since then. The statistics are alarming, but it is not time to panic — it’s time to plan. Although many financial plans

Adam Hester America is a resilient nation. Americans are optimistic, innovative, forward-looking and compassionate. And when a crisis occurs, America’s best qualities shine through and burn brightly. We are in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis that has caused a momentous disruption to our nation’s and the world’s economy as businesses have been ordered

filadendron As small businesses sought emergency federal loans, financial advisors not only assisted clients, but also applied for aid to bolster their practices. The Paycheck Protection Program, the $349 billion small-business loan offering, ran out of money on April 16 after being open for close to two weeks. More than 1.6 million businesses were approved

Chad Springer It’s obvious we are living in highly uncertain times. Markets are extremely volatile, and monetary and fiscal policies change from day to day. Most clients are extremely anxious, unsure of how the market is going to move and how those moves will impact their portfolios. While financial advisors must continue being proactive –

Our brains are wired to look for danger and react quickly to an approaching attack; however, this most recent threat is invisible, but no less distressing to our primitive brains. Plummeting stock prices are sending some investors over the edge, leading to irrational behavior that has dire long-term financial repercussions. In his book, “Your Money

Brandon Colbert Photography As markets careen in response to a near-unprecedented public health crisis that’s brought the U.S. economy to it knees, financial advisors are often the first place worried investors are turning — perhaps after favorite news outlets — for advice, information and solace. While calming clients and working with them to shore up

For anyone who became accustomed to watching their 401(k) account balance climb higher for years on end, the market’s recent drop and continued volatility may be unnerving if not downright scary. Nevertheless, you shouldn’t let fear cause you do something that could hurt your long-term retirement planning, advisors say.  “The coronavirus is certainly creating a

Photo by Ariel Skelley via Getty Images Markets have been a roller coaster ride in the weeks since the coronavirus pandemic reached the U.S. Most of the country’s financial advisors think we haven’t hit bottom yet, a survey finds. Despite periodic rallies — like Monday’s more than 7% rise of both the Dow Jones and

For decades, financial advisors have counseled clients that they should be able to safely withdraw 4% of their assets each year as a means of providing income, while maintaining an account balance large enough to keep income flowing through retirement. While some of the underlying thinking behind the so-called 4% rule was prudent, it was

Thomas Barwick The group that oversees certified financial planners is making it tougher for consumers looking for a new advisor to find out how a particular CFP gets paid.   The CFP Board of Standards — a nonprofit that governs the CFP designation, held by 86,000 financial advisors in the U.S. — erased a part of its

There could be a tug of war brewing over which standard financial professionals should follow when they provide advice or sell products such as annuities to individual investors. The Securities and Exchange Commission is unveiling a new regulation, called Regulation Best Interest, which requires broker-dealers and professionals associated with them to keep their clients’ best

eclipse_images | E+ | Getty Images If you can’t beat the crypto crowd, it might be time to join them, experts say. Virtual currency and its underlying technology, blockchain, are here to stay – and that means both will play some role in investors’ lives. “It’s actually very hard to decouple blockchain and bitcoin,” said

Find yourself struggling to manage your health-care costs in retirement? You’re not alone. As the cost of health care continues climbing faster than the rate of inflation and an aging population is living longer, many financial advisors are focused on the line item in their retired clients’ budgets more than ever. “It’s a cost we

Jordan Siemens | Getty Images When Tara Unverzagt started her own financial planning firm, South Bay Financial Partners, in 2014, she already had a head start. That’s because Unverzagt’s mother, Janet Tussing — one of the first female certified financial planners — was retiring and passed along her book of business. Those clients ranged from

PeskyMonkey | iStock | Getty Images The bull market in U.S. stocks rolls on. From the trade war between the U.S. and China and the slowdown in global economic growth, to Britain’s messy exit from the European Union and the potential impeachment of President Trump, nothing has dampened the enthusiasm for stocks. The American economy

Ariel Skelley | DigitalVision | Getty Images For some financial advisors, the person behind the assets is the key to providing the best investment advice possible. That is, awareness of the nuanced differences that distinguish clients helps those advisors construct investment portfolios based on more than, say, a person’s age and how long until they