Over the years, I have often been asked about whether a registered representative can borrow money from clients (or in a few cases, lend money to). The answer is either Yes, but or No, but and what comes after that makes all the difference in the...
Do you have clients who want guaranteed income, but are reluctant to sign onto an annuity that pledges underlying assets to an insurance company? New hybrid products, known as “Stand Alone Living Benefits (SALBs)” combine an annuity...
In business succession and estate planning involving a closely held business, employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) should be one of the prime planning alternatives considered. Unfortunately, they rarely are. That's probably because ESOPs are...
When a trust is to be the recipient of retirement plan assets and you want it to benefit from stretch-out, you're going to need to qualify that trust as a “see-through trust.”
The unprecedented seems to happen all too frequently in financial markets. Is there something wrong with the way financial advisors build their clients' portfolios?
The Department of Labor and the SEC are holding a joint hearing today in Washington to explore “issues” related to target date/lifecycle funds. Many of these funds actually underperformed the S&P 500 last year. You can watch the...
Today there is a fairly common story heard along the boulevard of broken Wall Street dreams. It goes something like this. In late 2007, a 65-year-old wirehouse broker happily trotted into his office crowing about his plans to retire in 2008. This...
With mortgage rates at a 40-year low, it's a great time to start refinancing the mortgage, but be sure to use the proceeds of the loan wisely.
In times like this, who isn't worried about the financial stability of their place of work? Long before their clients hit the panic button, financial advisors need to be analyzing whether their clients' employers are likely to file for bankruptcy...
Immediate fixed annuities and deferred fixed annuities are finding a growing market in the wake of the financial market meltdown. It’s no wonder. Their guaranteed payout rates are more than 8 percent and 5 percent, respectively at a time...
