Results for "earnings"
Displaying 510 results
Bank of America CFO says decision to stop paying IRA commissions won't incite Merrill Lynch brokers to quit
October 17, 2016
Bank of America Corp.'s chief financial officer Paul Donofrio on Monday dismissed the notion brokers working for its Merrill Lynch brokerage unit will defect en masse because of the firm's decision to stop paying commissions on individual retirement...
Stock market falls into earnings season
October 12, 2016
Earnings season kicks off with a little stock market selloff. Just enough of a dip to keep us on our toes, but not enough to keep us up at night. “You are coming up against very low expectations.” The price of gold is signaling an increased...
Downtrodden international funds looking for a break
October 11, 2016
For international funds to race ahead of domestic funds, you typically need a falling dollar and rising foreign markets. This year, most international funds are misfiring on at least one cylinder. The average large-company foreign blend fund...
Small-cap stocks have more room to run
October 10, 2016
Despite the run-up by small-cap stocks this year, the longer-term view still favors smaller company stocks over larger companies, according to some market watchers. Small-cap growth funds tracked by Morningstar gained an average of 6.6% since...
What to do when smart beta looks like dumb beta
October 6, 2016
Let's say a financial adviser — not you, of course — recommends a few smart beta ETFs for his client's portfolio. And unfortunately, those smart beta ETFs promptly head south. What should that financial adviser — not you — do? If you...
Deutsche Bank turmoil exposes ETN counter-party risk
October 4, 2016
Nearly two dozen exchange-traded notes have come into Deutsche Bank's troubled shadow. Counterparty risk assessments. Projecting the next move for stocks. Going down to go up. Dissecting the dividend-payer buzz. Is dividend payment mandatory?...
Don't discount public company disclosures in fiduciary process
September 30, 2016
While individual investors rarely read disclosures or give them much thought, advisers should not discount their importance to the fiduciary process. Investment fiduciaries are inherently both producers and consumers of disclosure data. The...
Why you should still be worried about big-bank failures
September 16, 2016
The risks of big banks failing might be greater now than it was leading into the financial crisis. That should get Elizabeth Warren's attention. A “nontrivial probability.” To all the index junkies out there, here are some arguments in support...
Investors pile in as REITs move closer to S&P 500 sector status
September 15, 2016
The establishment of real estate as an eleventh sector of the S&P 500 Index is morphing into a near-term investment strategy, according to some market watchers. The real estate play, ahead of REITs' elevation to sector status on Friday, is seen...
Financial-advice firms see record 2015 earnings yet slowest growth since crisis, study shows
September 13, 2016
Independent financial-advice firms produced record earnings last year, but their growth rate dropped off the most since the financial crisis, according to an annual benchmarking study by InvestmentNews research. Revenue rose to a record $3.89...
Donald Trump tries to shame the Fed into raising rates
September 13, 2016
In his campaign to become the next president of the United States, Donald Trump is pushing the envelope in his attempted influence over monetary policy. Trying to shame Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Too much Fed speak is now rattling the bond market....
Wave of new strategic beta ETFs make passive investing more complicated
September 13, 2016
No one likes more rules — unless they're rolling out a new exchange-traded fund. At the Morningstar ETF conference last week, strategic beta was one of the biggest topics of conversation. The question now is whether they can stand up to their...
Adviser pricing for ultrawealthy clients is under pressure
September 12, 2016
Advisers who specialize in helping ultra-high-net-worth families with all aspects of their money management are finding the market is softer today than it was a few years ago. Family offices that handle clients with wealth of $20 million or...
Time to start navigating that minefield of mutual fund capital gains
September 9, 2016
Heading into capital gains distribution season for mutual funds, there are some potential pitfalls worth noting for financial advisers. Don't assume a fund will always be tax friendly. The muni-bond lovefest continues. Investors are pouring...
Fed finds more reasons to keep sitting on its hands
September 8, 2016
The Fed's latest reason for not raising interest rates is that only highly-skilled workers are getting raises. Also, U.S. job openings surged to a record high in July. There might be times when you want to curse during communications with clients,...
Schwab's Liz Ann Sonders: Old bull market doesn't mean dead bull market
September 8, 2016
The time to worry about the stock market is when investors are giddy with euphoria — and that's just not happening yet, says Liz Ann Sonders, Schwab's chief investment strategist. Despite the looming presidential election and the prospect...
Financial-sector ETFs bet on a possible interest-rate hike pays off
September 7, 2016
With the most recent employment report coming in weaker-than-expected, the odds of an interest-rate hike in September have dropped into “unlikely” territory. But don't tell that to investors in financial-sector exchanged-traded funds. Similar...
Are junk bonds becoming the new equities?
September 1, 2016
It's a well-known reality that high-yield bonds are generally more correlated to equities than they are to higher-quality bonds, but is it possible to actually substitute junk bonds for stocks? That argument is being made on a selective basis...
Advisers are bracing for a September market storm
August 31, 2016
As financial advisers prepare to relax over the Labor Day weekend break, many are also bracing for an increased focus on the kinds of market volatility that typically comes with September. With perspectives ranging from, it happens every year...
Moody's upbeat on mutual-fund companies for the third quarter
August 30, 2016
The third quarter could be upbeat for mutual fund companies, according to a new report from Moody's Investors Service, but those with high costs and poor performance won't fare as well. On the plus side, low volatility after the Brexit vote...
