Most financial advisors base investment decisions on home office models, with new data showing that the profession continues to move more toward planning and customer service. With a surfeit of models available from home offices and third parties such as asset managers, asset allocation is now all but commoditized, according...
The SEC gave a big present to crypto ETF firms just ahead of the likely government shutdown, reportedly granting approval for a number of ethereum futures strategies that could start trading soon. First on its list appears to be Valkyrie Funds, which had filed with the regulator to add ethereum...
It’s a story that has become too common: An investor, often retired, transfers a big chunk of their 401(k) or IRA to buy gold and in doing so ends up losing a lot of money. A new lawsuit from California and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission comes with a grim...
SEC Chair Gary Gensler faced rounds of grilling and scolding at a House Financial Services Committee hearing Wednesday, with Republicans focused on the agency’s efforts on climate-related disclosures, crypto regulation, artificial intelligence, the Consolidated Audit Trail and overall pace of rulemaking. The hearing occurred just ahead of a likely government...
Carina Diamond has always been interested in what comes next. That’s led Diamond, a former financial advisor, on a journey through the financial services industry, with a career that has spanned banking, a broker-dealer and an RIA. Through much of that, she focused on mentoring, so it may come as little...
Half the states in the country suing the DOL won’t get the agency to budge on its new rule that allows retirement plan fiduciaries to consider ESG factors. Last Thursday, coincidentally during Climate Week NYC, U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk granted summary judgment to the Department of Labor, finding...
Financial planner Brenda Morris and nearly all her clients have something in common: They avoid eating, wearing or using anything that comes from animals. Morris and her Virginia-based firm Humane Investing have found a niche with vegans. For decades, there’s been a growing movement of consumers who avoid animal products. But...
This week, one of the hallmark events centered on curbing global warming — NYC Climate Week — convened sustainability experts and evangelists from around the world in one place. The event, which coincides with the United Nations General Assembly, has become a must-attend occasion for people in the field, mixing...
A new entrant to the world of 401(k) lawsuits is trying what appears to be a novel tactic: Contacting plan sponsors out of the blue and implying that they should settle. That’s before the hint of any lawsuit or request for information about the plan that would lead to a...
Carlyle Group is providing a cash infusion to acquisition-hungry Captrust Financial Advisors, the latest sign that private equity is still very much interested in registered investment advisors and that deals in the space may still be ramping up. Funds managed by Carlyle are making “a minority growth investment” in the...