If firms haven’t addressed and mitigated any potential conflicts of interest yet, they better start soon. Both FINRA and the SEC have not only brought their first Regulation Best Interest enforcements this year, but both agencies are promising that they will be ramping up enforcement. Robert Cook, President and CEO of FINRA, warned at the recent ALI-CLE Life Insurance Products Conference in Washington, D.C. that “Anything that would be a violation of the old suitability standard is now going to be a violation under the Reg BI standard.” He also warned firms that there are more Reg BI enforcement cases in the pipeline and said FINRA exams will “continue to evolve in terms of expectations and the depth of what we’re looking for.” Reg BI, which requires that registered reps demonstrate they have put customers’ best interests before their own is an upgrade from the old suitability standard, which only required reps to make sure products and services are appropriate for clients. The SEC has also promised more Reg BI enforcements and is bringing similar cases against investment advisor reps under the fiduciary standard. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler recently stated, “The ‘interplay’ between Reg BI and the fiduciary standard is important and that the agency will publish a staff bulletin on the topic.”

Finsum:After bringing their first Regulation Best Interest enforcements this year, both FINRA and the SEC are ramping up Reg BI enforcement. 

According to Pensions & Investments' annual survey of index managers, worldwide indexes managed in exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes have fared much better than index assets in other wrappers. Worldwide index assets managed in ETFs and ETNs totaled $6.51 trillion as of June 30th, down 4.8% from $6.84 trillion last year. Worldwide index assets overall fell 12.7% to $18.23 trillion. Exchange-traded products continued to see strong inflows despite headwinds such as inflation, rate hikes, and stock and bond losses. In fact, the global ETF industry saw its 40th straight month of net inflows during September and is on pace for annual net inflows that will be second to only last year's record of $1.29 trillion according to research and consultancy firm ETFGI LLP. Emily Foote McKinley, Head of Institutional Specialists for ETFs and Indexed Strategies at Invesco Ltd explained why ETFs continue to see strong inflows this year. She told Pensions & Investments, "I think that we've always seen the biggest pickups in institutional usage of ETFs around and after times of severe market volatility. That's because the ETF wrapper is able to prove itself as a provider of liquidity and access and transparency to underlying markets in times of crisis."

Finsum:ETFs continue to see massive inflows this year despite market volatility due to the wrapper’s ability to provide institutional investors with liquidity and transparency. 

Someone say crystal ball?

Well, might not be a bad idea, given that, this year, according to projections from the Global “Real Estate Market" Report, the ballooning of the real estate market’s expected to hit multimillion dollars by 2029, reported marketwatch.com.

Revenue wise, the Real Estate Market will register a “magnificent” spike in CAGR over the next seven years according to the report, a detailed, comprehensive analysis for global Door and Real Estate market. Against the backdrop of a perpetually changing market, the report delves into the competition, supply and demand trends. That’s not to mention key factors abetting its evolving demands across many markets.

Meantime, October saw the lowest volume of sales seen by the Tahoe Sierra MLS predating 2016, according to moonshsinenk.com, based on TLUXP.com.

In September, the number of single family homes dipped while the median price – both month and over month and year over year – scooted north. And this year? Funny you should ask: it represents the highest October median month in the same period the area’s had. Varying peaks and valleys are being felt in each micro region, culminating in a landscape of inconsistency. 

Seems volatility hunkered down with a good book in front of a roaring fireplace and felt well at home this month.

During October, implied volatility was unfailingly hovered well above average. In fact, it hit its highest monthly average since June 2020, according to gia.com. Down to the nitty gritty: half of the days parked beyond the first two weeks of the months experienced swings in the equity market of at least +/- 2%. Joining the party was an Oct. 13 intra-day move exceeding 5%. That unfolded before the gales of an advance in the midst of the months’ second half.

As for next year? Um, don’t ask. According to msn.com, with investors updating their economic outcome probabilities, UBS Global Wealth Management recently said investors should figure on even more volatility in the 2023 S&P.

"Large month-to-month swings could continue well into next year," said UBS.

In all probability, wide monthly S&P 500 swings will stretch in 2023. Why? Investors will watch moves by the Fed and economic data to ascertain the chances of a soft landing or recession in the U.S.

"[Expect] more volatility and large market swings exacerbated by positioning as investors update their economic outcome probabilities in reaction to each new data point and Fed utterance," Jason Draho, head of Asset Allocation Americas at UBS Global Wealth Management, in a note.

It seems model portfolios are one of the cool kids on the block with more financial advisors groovin’ to ‘em, according to research from Cerulli Associates, reported smartasset.com.

Thirteen percent of advisors outsource and expand their businesses primarily to model portfolios suggested by no less than broker-dealers, advisory turnkey asset management programs, asset managers or third-party strategists. Modifications? Nada, according to Cerulli’s most recent “Cerulli Edge – U.S. Advisor Edition” report.

And, as they say, there’s always room for more, 26% of advisors turn to similar third party resources, according to Cerulli. Ah, but they do throw in modifications to the portfolio to, you know, accommodate the needs of preferences of the clients.

Fair enough, huh?

And there’s this: model portfolios could be peeking even further around the corner.

In fact, the industry’s segue to a financial planning oriented service model’s expected to be a major force toward the adoption of model portfolios, expects Cerulli, reported thinkadvisor.com.

What’s more, chew on this: Cerulli indicated that advisor groups that whip up individually tailored portfolios – or practice level custom models could put a major dent in the time they divvy by opting for model portfolios.