Editor's Letter
A quick perusal of the consumer press tells you all you need to know about how clients feel: They ain't happy....
Forward Motion
So says Edward F. Coyle, executive director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, who insists the buzz stems from the same people who want to cut Social Security benefits and increase the retirement age....
More than 85 percent of investors age 55 to 70 who work with independent RIAs want guaranteed monthly income for life while still allowing for stock market gains, according to Fidelity Investments....
Federal agencies really don't want boomers to retire....
Time - and inflation - is so cruel. Had boomer couples retiring this year retired in 2002, they would have paid $80,000 less in medical expenses....
Like it or not, Florida will no longer be the poster state for retirement....
Housing analysts say we might have already hit bottom....
Companies don't like layoffs, but they also need to cut labor costs....
Lawmakers are hoping nonprofits will spur second careers for boomers....
Broker/Dealer Playbook
Since autumn 2008, the money management industry has contended with one of the most uncertain business environments it's ever faced....
WSJ.com reports more than 70 percent of financial advisors in a recent survey said they were concerned about the risks insurers have taken on with guaranteed-minimum variable annuities....
"As far as 12b-1 fees are concerned, it will go a long way if we just call them what they are, which are a fee for advice," OppenheimerFunds Chairman and CEO John Murphy told us last year....
The Fund Watch
For your baby boomer clients, the ability to convert pre-tax assets in a traditional IRA to a tax-free Roth IRA is an opportunity they don't want to miss....
The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the active versus passive management debate, and the verdict goes to passive in the current bear market, according to the paper:...
And speaking of Morningstar, Michael Breen (the firm's Fund Spy) asks and answers a great question, one that also applies to advisors, financial firms, politicians, Jim Cramer, etc....
We understand that excessive executive compensation as a "cause" of the current crisis is more hype than help....
CheckList
The repeal of the estate tax is ready to sunset, and it's doubtful the Obama administration will have it rise again....