According to a Vanguard client relationship manager, the world’s largest mutual fund company has not taken necessary steps to address serious security concerns with its website. Karen Brock said that in May 2013, a user reported being able to access his account despite deliberately misspelling an answer to a security question, and a Vanguard tech expert was able to verify that. Brock has also reported Vanguard’s voice verification system failing, and said the company forgot to redact personal information of clients in training materials. A Vanguard spokesperson told TheStreet.com that they had investigated the claims and remain confident in their customers' security. Investment firms are balancing cybersecurity with client demand for convenience, which can allow for "fuzzy" answers to make security questions more usable, but Brock says Vanguard is leaving doors open for intruders. Brock has since filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC and FINRA, both of which declined to take action.
Unlike the players we’ve seen in recent weeks on HBO’s Ballers, Detroit Lions wide receiver Ryan Broyles doesn’t want to become part of the statistic that 78 percent of NFL players go bankrupt two years off the field. According to an interview with ESPN, Broyles and his wife live off a $60,000 a year budget and invest the rest. He credits a rookie financial literacy symposium and speaking with a financial advisor for his decision. The NFL player stands to make $3.6 million, or $900,000 per year.
A new partnership will let Orion Advisor Services’ account management and performance reporting software feed directly in Advizr’s goals-based financial planning software. The integration with will help advisors save time by pre-populating the plans made by Advizr’s software with a client’s bank, investment and loan account data. The companies will host a webinar at 2 p.m. Thursday to provide more details about the integration.
An ex-Wall Street banker, writing on his blog Bankers Anonymous, has a fitting response for any client considering buying a boat. Don’t. “Boat ownership is like taking out your net worth into the open ocean, weighing it down with stones, and making it walk the plank. Boat ownership is like wadding up a tightly packed cannonball of all your $100 bills and firing it at Old Ironsides. Buying a boat is like sending your life’s savings into the Bermuda Triangle in the midst of hurricane season.” To his mind, the cost-to-own per hour of use is never a good number. “It’s a bit like golf, only if golf cost 100 times more per hour. Seriously. I did the math and everything.”
