There were lots of large transitions in the financial advisor community this year, but these were some of the biggest splashes in 2021. In August Dane Runia, transitioned his $3.2 billion dollar team from Merrill Lynch to Morgan Stanley. This wasn’t the only transition from Merrill this year as just a couple of months prior RBC moved in one of Merrill’s teams that were in control of over $2 billion. However, it was Merrill Lynch’s April deal with the biggest tagline of the year snagging an advisor of $17 billion from Citi Private Bank. Wells Fargo has been desperately kicking its recruiting into high gear as they lost $7 billion after they stopped serving international wealth management clients. Finally, UBS made a splash as they stole $10.5 billion teams from J.P.Morgan.

FINSUM: These were some of the most high-profile deals this year, but 2022 could be just as wild in the advisor transitioning world.

ESG has been one of the fastest-growing stories of 2021 and has taken over every other headline with it. However, things could be shifting in 2022 for ESG, and fund leaders see things shifting for ESG in 2022. The first big area of change will be talent and analysts more catered to addressing and differentiating ESG content. Investors will also face greater scrutiny from compliance officials and regulators, and language will be more cautious moving forwarded. Finally, investors themselves will definitely demand more than just a green label, but rather specifics of how companies are meeting and leading the way in ESG.

FINSUM: If 2021 was the year of explosion in ESG and impact investing, 2022 will be marked by how regulators tightened the reigns on this explosive industry.

The deadline is approaching for many investors to capitalize on tax strategies to minimize their bills moving forward. The most important thing investors can do is capitalize before the end of the year and claim losses they have. Special deductions are given to those with losers outpacing winners, up to $3000. However, investors should be wary of wash rules that may penalize them for repurchases within a 30-day period. The other most important strategy is to actually pay off excess medical expenses. Special provisions will mitigate your tax losses if they reach a certain portion of your income. Deferring income could also be a way out but it could be a risky strategy because next year could be even better than 2021.

FINSUM: Now is the time to capitalize on bond market blues and sell off those useless-yieldless tickets to save on the tax bill.

Everyone and their dog is searching for viable alternatives because omicron has the stock market skittish and there’s absolutely no yield in bond markets. This has many investors turning to REITs, but how do you find the outperformers. There are six key metrics to look out for: a high fund from operations, total cash from operations growth, high liquidity ratios, accelerated dividend growth rates, a good-sized market cap, and finally price gain. These are the most important factors when evaluating REITs. Some of the best examples in these leading categories are Prologis, Essential Properties, Innovative Industrial Properties, and Life Storage Inc.

FINSUM: Alternatives could have their most promising year yet with all the outflows from the bond market coming in.

There have been widespread attempts by the new administration and private financial companies to expand the access to retirement vehicles, but a ‘fiduciary only’ regulation will kill retirement hopes for many low-income communities. Nearly half of black families and almost two-thirds of Hispanic families have no retirement savings account, and a stricter fiduciary rule would make it virtually impossible for these communities to get access to financial securities like annuities which allow them access to guaranteed lifetime income. Previous strict fiduciary rules like in 2016 left 10 million small retirement account owners without financial advisor access and a new rule could have a similar impact. Regulators and public officials should look into alternative approaches if they are interested in building retirement savings in underserved communities.

FINSUM: Unintended consequences of policies most often impact those the policies are seeking to help!