(New York)

Be careful of sketchy deal solicitations that are floating around the market right now. Apparently there are fake securities firms, either posing as real ones or using aliases, who are soliciting deal interest in the advisor market. Many times the fake deals will cite endorsement from the SEC or other regulators, often fictitious ones (e.g. The Bureau of Financial & Protection Services). The SEC itself issued the warning to investors about the phony deals.

FINSUM: Any advisor will know these are fake and that the SEC does not endorse deals, but many clients could fall for these scams.

(New York)

We became concerned for our advisor readers today when we read an article in the FT warning that many trading platforms are at serious risk of hacking. The article says that many trading platforms, such Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and Interactive Brokers, secure data in an unencrypted or partially unencrypted format, leaving them highly vulnerable to hacking. If a hacker got your password, they would be able to do anything you could on the platform. Generally speaking larger brokers had safer platforms than smaller ones, and both Schwab and TD Ameritrade emphasize that they are making progress on the issue.

FINSUM: This seems like a major risk that has gone ignored. We wanted to make sure to warn our readers as we are aware that many of you use Charles Schwab and TD Ameritrade.

(Washington)

Okay, here is an honest question for our readers that we are debating internally. Did the DOL rule face more criticism, or is the SEC’s Best Interest rule taking more heat? While it initially seemed that only investor protection groups disliked the SEC’s Regulation BI, coalitions of brokers are now railing against it too. Amazingly, both brokers and investor protection groups agree—the SEC’s rule is too vague and confusing. Brokers say the rule is so vague they don’t even know how to comply, while investor groups say it is so weak it won’t change current practices (these are effectively the same argument!). “This will only serve to harm the brokerage model and limit choice for those investors who prefer the brokerage advice model”, says a broker group.

FINSUM: Honestly, we think the current iteration of the SEC rule is all but dead. The comment window closed yesterday, and we expect a serious redraft.

(New York)

Elon Musk shocked the world and the market yesterday. After several weeks of turbulent rhetoric and behavior, the CEO yesterday announced that he was seeking to take Tesla private. Musk said bluntly, “Am considering taking Tesla private at $420”, continuing “Funding secured”. The stock was trading at only $356 when he announced his intentions. There are three ways doing so would benefit Musk and Tesla. Firstly, they wouldn’t need to do anymore public equity funding issues. Secondly, he would not need to face anymore pesky questions from analysts. Thirdly, doing so would stick it to the short-sellers that Musk hates.

FINSUM: If we take a step back and examine it, Tesla does seem like the sort of company which might be better off private at this point. Just as Uber has stayed private while it has burned mountains of capital, Tesla might be wise to follow that lead.

(New York)

If you are a strong advisor looking for a change, Deutsche Bank may be interested in speaking with you. At least that is what Deutsche Bank is saying. The US wealth management arm of the German bank says it wants to growth the ranks of its wealth advisors by 25% this year. According to the head of Americas wealth management there, the orders from the top are to “grow, grow, grow”, adding that “We’re getting dollar investment going into the unit for headcount . . . there’s great access to the management board.”

FINSUM: This is a big initiative considering that the only European brand to have any foothold in US wealth management is UBS. The other big names are all American.