(New York)

If you asked almost anyone in the industry, the answer would be the same: it is Millennials with whom ESG investing is very popular, “we just can’t get older generations to care”. However, that is not exactly true. While Millennials get most of the credit for caring about socially-conscious investments, it is actually the generation above them, Gen X, which is doing the most ESG investing. A big part of this fact is down to the reality that Gen X is still richer than the younger Millennials. Millennials still win in terms of the overall percentage who buy ESG investments, but Gen X is seeing assets in ESG funds surge quickly. Gen X consists of anyone aged 39-54 years old.

FINSUM: This is a pretty interesting statistic and one that could be useful to some advisors who might be nervous to propose ESG options to those 50+. That said, the desire for ESG investing often comes from the client.

(Washington)

It honestly seems like it would have happened sooner given all the uproar over how “lenient” the new SEC best interest rule supposedly is. Nonetheless, now it has: the SEC has just had a suit filed against it by no less than seven states and the District of Columbia as part of an effort to block the rule. It is the first lawsuit filed against the new regulation and came from a group that included, California, Delaware, New Mexico, Oregon, Connecticut, Maine, and New York. The plaintiffs argue that the rule "undermines critical consumer protections for retail investors". One top lawyer in the space said “The day the release came out [about Reg BI], we figured the SEC would get sued, and here we are”.

FINSUM: Not much of a surprise here really, except maybe that the suit is coming from a pretty formidable group (and not just some random trade body). Get ready for a long period of legal limbo.

(New York)

It has been for around a decade that value stocks have been getting hammered by growth stocks. The rut has been so bad that many have given up on the discipline altogether. But recently, something has been changing. Momentum stocks, long the darling of this bull market, have started to lag their value-oriented peers. This change started last week and is continuing today, and follows the worst month for value stocks in at least 20 years (this past August).

FINSUM: This is an encouraging sign, but certainly is not enough to say “value stocks are back!”.

(New York)

There is a new digital custodian in the industry who is promising 90% cost savings to RIAs on their technology and custodial costs. That new company is called Altruist, and is a commission-free custody service that intends to compete with the big players in the space at their own game. “Our goal is for everyone to really pay almost nothing”, says founder Jason Wenk, continuing “How much has really changed over the last 10 years? The change is way overdue. It’s not like this is some epiphany for us”. The new Altruist platform will launch in October and be very easy to integrate with the existing platforms from major competitors.

FINSUM: Technology costs are eating up a huge chunk of revenue across the industry, so anyone that can lower them and still provide stellar service will have a competitive edge.

(New York)

For the last half decade or so, financial advisors across the industry have been on an endless search for the next frontier of advice that will insulate their business from cheap, digital competitors. This has led to a wide array of new services, but one that is increasingly pervasive is college counseling. Many advisors are now taking a much more active role in college planning for the children of clients. This includes everything from figuring out how to shelter certain assets from financial aid forms (e.g. insurance products) to actually proofreading applications and helping children choose majors and study abroad programs. Demand for the service has been rising since the cost of tuition has exploded, meaning it represents a much larger financial burden than ever before.

FINSUM: Some of this seems to make a lot of sense (e.g. making financial plans to pay for college and help with financial aid forms), but having financial advisors help kids choose majors seems a little odd. That said, this seems like a good growth area for the business.