'Tis the season, and the ultra high net worth have been doing their part. According to a new report by Wealth-X and Arton Capital, major giving from UHNW individiuals rose to an all-time high of $550 billion in 2015, up 3 percent from 2014. The report looked at major donors—those who have given at least $1 million in their lifetime—finding they have an average net worth of nearly $300 million. Their assets are also more liquid, averaging $85 million, of which they donate about half. The top causes for major donors are education and healthcare, with environmental issues increasing in importance.
Does Your Client Need a New Year's Resolution?
If your clients aren't experiencing a financial buzz this holiday, maybe they need to make a New Year's resolution. Clients who made a financial resolution last year are more optimistic, have less debt and feel more financially secure this year, Fidelity Investment's 8th Annual Resolutions Study found. “People who make resolutions on money matters tend to feel better about the state of their finances and are generally in better financial shape than those who don’t,” said Ken Hevert, senior vice president of Retirement at Fidelity. Forty-five percent of respondents overall said they are in better financial shape heading into 2017 than one year ago. That's the highest positive response in the study's eight-year history and an improvement from last year, when only 39 percent of respondents said they were financially better off. Looking ahead, 70 percent expect their financial situations to improve in 2017.
FPA Partners With Betterment for Advisors
Betterment for Advisors is now a strategic partner with the Financial Planning Association. That will bring the white-labeled version of the robo advisor to 24,000 FPA members to help them better understand how to integrate digital investment advice into their financial planning practice. The companies didn’t mention any specific initiatives, but Betterment noted how FPA’s collective expertise and knowledge will help the digital advice provider improve its offering, while FPA executive director and CEO Lauren Schadle called the partnership “a step in the right direction to educating and supporting” advisors.
