Consultant Bill Winterberg and RIA April Rudin offer advice on how to protect your firm from hack attacks and cyberfrauds.
Despite the Bitcoin hype, many advisers are steering clear of the online currency, which is unregulated by central banks and traded freely on the Internet.
Fixed-annuity sales in the third quarter reached their highest level since 2009, topping $22 billion. That number represents a 31% rise from the previous quarter and more than a 35% increase from the same period last year.
As more retail alternative investments hit the market, financial advisers are doing more due diligence and seeking out firms that provide the most transparency and have solid performance.
Investors have poured $156.6 billion into alternative investments, including nontraditional bonds, since 2010, according to data from Morningstar Inc. Nearly half of that amount — $74.6 billion — has come in 2013, giving the alternative market total net assets of $227.3 billion. Still, some believe that overdiversifying is unlikely to add value for clients and maintain that sticking to stocks and bonds is enough.
Nontraded REITS are estimated to bring in about $20 billion in retail investor capital flows by the end of this year, compared with $10.3 billion in 2012.
The New York-based trio works with more than 2,000 clients and plans to grow
The U.S. stock rally that has extended over the past year is due for a correction of more than 5%, warned investment strategists at T. Rowe Price Group Inc. That doesn't mean it's a time for advisers to stick their heads in the sand, but to proceed with caution.
Though not cost-free, products find favor and a key place in client portfolios.
Wealth Enhancement Group, which has $3.7 billion in AUM, has nearly doubled its assets since 2007.
