While participating in competitive sports can teach youth valuable lessons, it can be costly. Parents whose children participate in competitive youth sports spend between $100 to $499 a month per child on the activities, according to a recent TD Ameritrade survey. The costs may even affect parents’ retirement goals; one-third of sports parents don’t contribute regularly to a retirement account, and 57 percent don’t have a long-term financial plan, the survey found. Six in 10 sports parents say the costs have them concerned about their ability to save long-term, while nearly eight in 10 say the expenses affect household budgeting. But parents are hoping they’re paying it forward; two-thirds hope their kid will earn scholarships to cover more than half of college costs, and one third expect their child to go to the Olympics or turn pro. Those are inflated expectations, however. Only 2 percent of the children of those surveyed went on to the Olympics or turned pro; 24 percent got a scholarship.
What U.S. Debt Means for Investors
As the presidential campaign lumbers towards Election Day, there will likely be a renewed focus on America’s debt, how candidates plan to deal with it, and clients wondering how it will impact their portfolio. To help, Wells Fargo Investment Institute compiled five installments of its “Paying America’s Bills” series into a single report on what investors should know about the government’s finances. The report says it's unlikely that investors will feel damaging effects from the country’s fiscal challenges, but still recommends investors assume low inflation, low yields, low returns and longer maturities. Wells Fargo also recommended increasing retirement savings rates, staying on the job longer and working with an investment advisor to create or update a financial plan.
RightCapital Secures $1M in Seed Funding
New York City-based financial planning platform RightCapital has secured $1 million in new seed funding, according to the FinSMEs blog. The round was led by Camellia Venture Capital, which focuses on early-stage fintech companies, as well as participation from investors Jac Herschler, Bruce Ferris and Chanjuan Pan. RightCapital plans to use the money to reach more advisors and deliver product updates. RightCapital, which was founded in 2015, develops interactive financial planning software that can be shared by advisors and clients. In the first 10 months since the platform went live, it's been used by more than 200 firms.
