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The Index: January 2016

The Index: January 2016

Readers do it by the numbers. 

Percent of American consumers who used a financial advisor in 2015, up from 28 percent in 2010: 40

Portion of consumers who believe that financial advisors act not in their best interest but rather in their employers’ best interests, up from 25 percent in 2010: Six in 10

Percent of Americans who use financial advisors and believe that current laws do not protect consumers from being taken advantage of in the financial markets: 63

Source: Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards 2015 Survey

Source: The CFP Board of Standards, Women’s Initiative; Corporate Insight Survey of 500 advisors, New York

Percent of financial advisors who actively seek clients under age 40: 30 

Percent of seniors (aged 65 and over) who said they could recognize elder financial abuse if it happened to them or a family member, a figure widely regarded as a measure of over-confidence: 89 

Percent of younger family and friends (aged 40 to 64) who feel they have the resources to protect an elder family member: 58 

Source: Safeguarding Our Seniors Survey, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America

Source:  Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C.​

Percent change since 1973 in inflation-adjusted median wages for U.S. men and women, respectively: -5, +31

Source: Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C.

Length of the workday

Length of average workday for Americans in 2014, up 10 minutes from the year before:
7 hours, 45 minutes   

Source: American Time Use Survey, U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, D.C.​

Average amount per day that American people in 2014 spent sleeping, the largest daily activity in people’s lives, up 11 minutes from the year before: 8 hours, 48 minutes

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, D.C.​

Share of board seats held by women at 100 large U.S. companies: 22 percent

Percent of these companies that have all-male boards: 0

Source: Shearman & Sterling LLP, New York​

Number of new securities regulations calling for special coding in financial reports, designed to make data easier to compare across companies: 7

Source:  SEC, Office of Structured Disclosure, Washington, D.C.​

Number of companies in the S&P 500 that established term limits for directors, down from 25 companies in 2009: 16

Source: Spencer Stuart, Chicago​

Fine paid by Barclays to resolve an investigation into a trading practice that allowed the bank to exploit a milliseconds-long lag between an order and its execution to the detriment of its clients: $150 million

Source: New York Department of Financial Services, Albany, N.Y.​

Share of S&P 500 companies that disclose the peer group they use to gauge executive pay: 96 percent

Source: Equilar Inc., Redwood City, Calif.​

Three of the most common companies on peer group lists: 3M, Honeywell, Eaton Corp.

Source: Wall Street Journal, New York​

Percent by which the number of women graduating from college is expected to exceed the number of men in 2025: 47

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C.​

Number of VW diesel owners who have applied for the $500 Visa debit card and $500 in dealership credits that are part of the "goodwill package" VW announced in November: 120,000

Source: VW Group, Los Angeles​

Cost per use of the Los Angeles Suite, a proposed VIP lounge at LAX that will allow celebrities to get private TSA screening and be driven across the airfield straight to their airplanes: $1,500–$1,800

Source: Los Angeles World Airports, Wall Street Journal​

Source: George Washington University, Prof. Robert Brauneis, Washington, D.C.​

TAGS: Industry
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