Why Investors Should Consider Fixed Annuities in Their Portfolios
A fixed annuity also known as a MYGA can be a smart investment choice for those looking to diversify their portfolios while earning higher than bank deposit rates.
How Safely Are You Trading Cryptocurrencies?
Investing in cryptocurrency comes with many risks. While some risks, like extreme price volatility, have become well-known and well-understood by the general public, others remain obscure and leave retail investors potentially vulnerable. From June 2020 to June 2021, 13% of Americans purchased or traded cryptocurrencies, according to a University of Chicago survey.
Is Gamification Bad for Investors?
The paradox brought about by digital trading platforms is that digital nudges, also called behavioral prompts, have the potential to both aid and hinder investors. Nudges can positively influence investors by encouraging behaviors--like saving--that benefit investors and serve their personal goals.
Comparing robo-advisors: Goldman, Vanguard, Schwab and Merrill
In addition to the robo-advisors discussed in Part I and Part II of our series, traditional investment companies, including Goldman Sachs, Vanguard, Schwab, and Merrill have developed their own robo-advisory services.
How the SEC Can Make Relationship Summaries Useful for Investors
Customer Relationship Summaries, also known as Form CRS, are a key accompaniment to the SEC’s Regulation Best Interest, or Reg BI, which governs the standard of conduct for broker/dealers. As of last year, broker/dealers, Registered Investment Advisors, and dually registered firms must provide each client, or prospective client, with the firm’s Form CRS.
Comparing Robo-Advisors: Albert, Stash, Ellevest
In this piece, I review three additional robos: Albert, Ellevest, and Stash. Overall, each of these robo-advisors provide a distinct experience with the objective of helping individuals in different circumstances save for retirement (and other goals, but we focus primarily on retirement here) through a streamlined and convenient process.
Comparing Robo-Advisors: Digit, Acorns, Betterment, Wealthfront
Those who do not have the workplace infrastructure to help save for retirement can benefit from digital advice.
The Paradoxical Consequences of the Employee–Contractor Designation
Last November, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule that could pave the way for these platform workers—commonly known as gig workers—to receive equity compensation just like employees and other categories of independent contractors.
Should Your Robo Adviser Include Guaranteed Income Products?
Robo advisers can be very practical and efficient for investors. While robos generally are beneficial as they often invest in low-cost funds and ETFs, ideally, they should also include quality single-premium immediate annuities (SPIAs) and deferred-income annuities (DIAs) to simplify investment planning and allow retirees to spend more.
Why Tontines Should Be a Piece of the Retirement Solution
Retirees are often faced with the fear of outliving their assets. This fear, also known as longevity risk, has been eased by the availability of annuities, specifically annuities that I’ve termed in my paper as guaranteed income products, or GIPs, that offer fixed payments until death.
Should Your Employer Default You Into an Annuity?
Congress has been devoting a lot more attention to annuities lately--and with good reason. As discussed in a recent Morningstar paper, some annuities that we call GIPs, or guaranteed income products, fill a role that is sorely lacking in the retirement investment catalog: They supplement Social Security by providing stable streams of income during retirement.
Public Option: Why Can’t It Be The American Way
While political commentators can debate whether the administration is centrist or leftist, the important question for those concerned about policy over politics is what is the most effective and practically feasible way to solve many of the social and economic problems causing and resulting from the tremendous amount of inequality in the US. In some areas, a public option has been suggested as the solution.
Regulation Can Make (or Break) Your Business
In this article, we’ll walk through how regulation can be one of three things for a company’s business: an opportunity; an obstacle; or a risk.
Did GameStop Put Congress on the Right Track to Improving Trading Regulation?
We believe that some policy ramifications of the GameStop/Robinhood uproar are likely. Here's a look at some of the possibilities and trade-offs.
The Racial Economic Gap Is Not Just About Money
The only way to make an impact on the race economic gap in the US is to understand that it is derived from several factors that comprise the gaps in status across society.
Advice to the New SEC Chair: Balance Investor Protection and Choice
In 2020, the SEC took steps to advance both investor choice and investor protection. Now, the new SEC chair will have to determine if the former has gone too far in hindering the latter.
Proposed Disclosure Changes Impact Directors
Fund directors may face several repercussions from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposal regarding fund disclosure, as evidenced by comments sent to the agency from asset managers and industry stakeholders.
SEC Proposes an Overhaul of Fund Disclosures
The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a major proposal that would dramatically change the disclosures that investors receive when investing in a mutual fund.
The Racial Gap In Economic Outcomes And What We Can Do About It
Action is necessary to mitigate the extreme inequality of economic outcomes across the board between Whites and Blacks and Whites and Hispanics. Baby bonds is one such solution.