Just when you think Medicare couldn’t get more complicated, it does. But in this case, the complication is a nice surprise. Did you know that when a Medicare beneficiary dies, their estate or family may be entitled to a refund? First, a little background about Medicare premium payments. When someone enrolls...
The increasing use of artificial intelligence, predictive analytics and other algorithm-based tools in the financial industry has led to some new steps in the ongoing dance of regulators and regulated. As Mark Schoeff Jr. reported in late July, the Securities and Exchange Commission has approved releasing a 243-page proposal...
As America’s population ages, more people are likely to need long-term care in their retirement years and advisors need to bring up that conversation. The care issue is highlighted in a recent survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute Long-Term Care survey, conducted in partnership with Limra, which found that some...
Warning bells are ringing for U.S. stocks given signs that high fiscal spending, which underpinned economic growth this year, is unsustainable, according to Morgan Stanley’s Michael Wilson. The strategist — one of the most bearish voices on Wall Street — said Fitch Ratings’ downgrade of U.S. government debt last week...
Morgan Stanley said it’s more than two-thirds of the way toward achieving its target to finance $1 trillion of low-carbon and sustainability investments by the end of the decade. The Wall Street firm said in an ESG report this week that it has allocated $700 billion of financing, with more than $550 billion of...
The state of Massachusetts is concerned about what it calls a growing and potentially unchecked use of artificial intelligence in the securities industry. On Wednesday, Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin announced that his securities division would launch an investigation into how firms are using AI to engage with Massachusetts...
State regulators and securities plaintiffs’ attorneys continue to resist a Finra plan that would allow brokerages to conduct remote supervision of their registered representatives. In March, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. released a proposal that would treat a home office from which a broker is supervising other reps as...
Still catching up after the pandemic, vacationing Americans are streaming onto foreign shores in record numbers this summer. Maybe they should check out some cheap international stocks in between beach and museum visits. Or at least tell their advisors to start looking abroad for deals as the U.S. dollar declines....
For all of the Republican Party’s furious opposition to ESG, its efforts to accomplish something on the legislative front have fallen short. At least that’s the view of Cowen Inc. analyst John Miller, who closely tracks regulatory affairs for the firm’s Washington Research Group. House Republicans held a series of hearings last month, which Miller monitored....
When household budgets are squeezed, it can be hard to prioritize finances for the future when bills need to be paid today. But such is the importance placed on retirement savings by millions of working Americans that continuing to make contributions to their 401(k) remains a priority even as stubborn...