Morgan Stanley, Charles Schwab, and the Recruiting Move That Went Off the Rails

Morgan Stanley lost a multimillion dollar arbitration case last week involving several parties and which centered on a recruiting move that went off the rails nearly four years ago.  To understand how...

The 6-Month T-Bill Breaches 5%. It Hasn’t Been This High Since 2007.

Text size The yield on six-month Treasurys reached the highest level in about 16 years. Al Drago/Bloomberg The rate on U.S. six-month Treasury bills surpassed 5% on Tuesday, reaching its highest level...

LPL Financial Profit Soars, Advisor Headcount Rises

LPL Financial Holdings’ fourth quarter reported profits soared 199% year over year, thanks in part to lower expenses and a surge in net interest income.  The company reported fourth quarter net income...

Here Are the Best Tech ETFs for 2023

For the first time in three years, it’s dead easy to pick a basket of tech stocks for the year ahead. After giant double-digit gains from 2019 through 2021, the Nasdaq Composite Index ended 2022 down ...

The Secure Act Will Change Retirement Policy. 6 Big Changes That Will Soon Become Law.

Now that the Senate has passed a sweeping spending bill to fund the federal government into next year and avert a shutdown, advisors are cheering a major overhaul of the rules around retirement saving...

6 Big Changes to Your Retirement That Are Coming

Now that the Senate has passed a sweeping spending bill to fund the federal government into next year and avert a shutdown, advisors are cheering a major overhaul of the rules around retirement saving...

Secure 2.0 Act Nears the Finish Line. What to Know About the Retirement Bill.

Legislation that would encourage saving for retirement and increase the age for taking required minimum distributions is nearing passage on Capitol Hill as part of an omnibus spending bill lawmakers a...

Where to Invest Over the Next 5 Years? Billionaires Weigh In.

The world’s billionaires see the energy sector and the Asia-Pacific region, excluding China, as top investment and business opportunities over the next five years, according to a new UBS report. Forty...

Week’s Best: What the Elections Mean for Investors

So, who won? With most of the election drama now resolved, what will the divided legislature mean for tax policy, the health of the markets, and other financial issues? We put those questions to a han...

Markets Could Go on a Tear After the Midterms, History Suggests

The autumn of 1991 was a stressful time for investors. The country had just been in a war in Iraq, interest rates were rising, and the U.S. economy was barreling toward recession. In other words, it w...

Americans Say They Need $1.2 Million to Retire. Most Aren’t Saving Enough.

When it comes to retirement, Americans are simultaneously determining they need more stashed away to have a comfortable retirement and falling behind their savings goals. That’s according to two new s...

Financial Advisor Pleads Guilty to Fraud After Airport Arrest

A Massachusetts investment advisor has pleaded guilty to multiple counts of fraud and other charges after a failed attempt to flee the country while he was awaiting trial. Steven Xigoros, of Lowell, M...

Beneficiaries of Inherited Retirement Accounts Dodge a Tax Bullet

New legislation related to taxes can come with plenty of ambiguities and complexities, but the IRS often irons them out in the regulations it proposes.  Al Drago/Bloomberg Sometimes these efforts fail...

Mortgage Rates Are Soaring. What Financial Pros Say Clients Should Do.

The low-rate mortgage boat has sailed. According to Freddie Mac, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate home loan is now 6.7%, more than double the 3.01% rate from this time last year. That...

UBS’ Solita Marcelli: Why I’m Optimistic About the Market

The financial headlines have been gloomy all year, but Solita Marcelli sees reason for optimism, in part because stock valuations have fallen so far. “Price/earnings multiples are back in line with lo...

Retired Couple Wins $5.2 Million Award From UBS Over YES Strategy

Two retirees won a $5.2 million arbitration award against UBS , which they accused of misrepresentation, unsuitability, and breach of fiduciary duty with regard to a complex options-trading strategy. ...

Ex-Morgan Stanley Advisor Pleads Guilty to $7 Million Fraud

A former Morgan Stanley advisor pleaded guilty on Thursday to wire fraud and money laundering as part of a $7 million fraud scheme, according to the Department of Justice. Ex-advisor Shawn Edward Good...

Dreaming of a Big Inheritance? Don’t Count On It, Financial Advisors Say

Separating fact from fantasy is one of the most valuable services that financial planners can provide to their clients. And a common financial fantasy is that our parents will leave us a sizable inher...

The Dollar Will Get Even Stronger. Why That Could Slam the Global Economy.

Even for mighty Microsoft , $595 million is a lot of money. That’s how much the software giant’s sales were reduced in the most recent quarter by the ever-stronger U.S. dollar. Indeed, a broad range o...

Week’s Best: Fee Hike at Vanguard

Vanguard has long maintained two platforms—a legacy mutual-fund-only offering and a brokerage—but it is now pressuring longstanding mutual-fund customers to switch over to the brokerage wing or incur ...

Should You Do a Roth Conversion? How It Can Help With Your Taxes.

The first half of this year marked the worst performance for the S&P 500 since 1970. With inflation soaring and interest rates rising, the index posted a loss of 20.6%.  The dire sentiment may hav...

Stock Market Recovery: Real Deal or Head Fake?

In a mere one month’s time, both the S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq Composite are up nearly 20%. But the brutal first half of 2022 is fresh on investors’ minds, and plenty of market headwinds remain...

Morgan Stanley’s Kathy Roeser: Prepping for the Next Bull Market

Morgan Stanley advisor Kathy Roeser has found herself using the word “cloud” quite a bit this year, as in the cloud that’s been hanging over the economy and markets. While acknowledging the gloom, she...

Ex-Advisor Sentenced to 22 Years in Prison for Ponzi Scheme

A former financial advisor was sentenced to nearly 22 years in prison for operating a Ponzi scheme that swindled $9.3 million from investors, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern D...

Fidelity Launches First Liquid Alt Funds as Stock and Bond Strategies Falter

Fidelity isn’t known for macro hedge funds that make bets on entire markets. The Boston-based mutual fund company with $4.3 trillion under management originally made its name by having the best indivi...

Vanguard to Pay Massachusetts Investors Millions Over Target-Date Fund Tax Hit

Vanguard will pay $6.25 million as part of settlement with Massachusetts’ state securities regulator over allegations that changes it made to certain target-date funds stuck investors with unexpectedl...

Vanguard Sues UHNW Advisor Over Alleged Client Solicitation

The Vanguard Group is suing one of its former ultrahigh-net-worth financial advisors for allegedly violating a one-year nonsolicitation agreement he signed while an employee. The financial services gi...

Yields Are Rising. Advisors Weigh In on Where to Stash Cash.

Is cash no longer trash? After years of yielding next to nothing, short-term bond investments are suddenly delivering yields large enough to detect with the naked eye. That doesn’t mean beleaguered in...

10 Battered Tech Stocks Advisors Should Consider for Clients

Any investors who bought the best tech stocks in the depths of despair in 2009 made multiples of the return of the Nasdaq Composite Index in the 13 years since. Shares of one tech legend, Salesforce  ...

Retirees Face a Whirlwind Market. Here’s What Advisors Say They Should Do.

Given market conditions, retirees can be forgiven if they feel that investing right now is akin to running with scissors. Risks and uncertainties abound: spiking inflation, Federal Reserve rate hikes ...