Displaying items by tag: wealth management

(New York)

A fool-hardy travesty is the word that came to mind when we read the headline that Bank of America was dropping Merrill Lynch branding. Our worst fears were allayed when we saw the move was only for the investment banking brand, not wealth management. Yet the change stills begs big questions and seems like a poor idea for B of A. Bank of America had little in the way of a strong investment banking brand before it bought Merrill Lynch, so the change is an interesting (read “odd”) one. It also makes one wonder if the Thundering Herd is safe from its own B of A rebrand in the near future.

FINSUM: We have to believe B of A will be smart enough not to drop the Merrill Lynch name from the wealth management business, but even the current move is an exceptionally poor idea. Members of our team worked in investment banking at “Bank of America Merrill Lynch” and can say from experience that the first part of that name didn’t carry much weight. To be honest, Bank of America would have done better to drop its own name!

(New York)

The DOL’s fiduciary rule may be gone for now, but it is a long way from dead. The rule will be taking a new form in 2019, and even now, its spirit lives on in the form of a number of state-based fiduciary rules. One such is in New Jersey. However, Wall Street is putting up a massive fight to block the rule. Financial Advisor Magazine puts it this way, calling it a Battle Royale and saying it is “pitting the nation’s largest Wall Street and broker-dealer associations against comparatively tiny fiduciary advisor and financial planning associations”.

FINSUM: We think if NJ passed a comprehensive fiduciary rule, it would probably give momentum to not only the DOL, but a number of other states which are working towards this or are on the fence about it.

(New York)

Merrill Lynch’s new compensation plan is not being received well by brokers. Many are angry about certain aspects of the plan and are pushing back. In particular, brokers don’t like that the plan incentivizes them to tell clients to take on more debt during a period when interest rates are rising. Around 15,000 advisors have complained to Merrill Lynch management. Management responded by saying it was a good incentive and was designed so that it didn’t heighten conflicts of interest.

FINSUM: This seems like it will just create misaligned incentives, especially given that it is being put in place when it is very unfavorable to be adding debt.

(New York)

It is no secret, but new data is out showing just how much advisors don’t like the SEC’s new best interest rule. While there has been strong pushback about aspects of the rule, including its governance of the use of titles, there hadn’t been concrete data about how advisors felt about it. Well, now there is. A new survey from Fidelity shows that two-thirds of advisors say that the rule will either have a negative impact or won’t help. Only one third think it will have a positive impact. Interestingly, only 73% were actually aware of the SEC proposals in the first place.

FINSUM: The SEC rule is confusing and not well conceived. And when you combine with the updated DOL rule that is coming out in 2019, the new regulations could turn into a real headache.

(New York)

Financial advisors appear to not give a hoot about the forthcoming SEC Best Interest rule. Fatigue from the endless on-again-off-again DOL saga seems to have taken hold of the industry. A new survey by Fidelity found that 40% of advisors says that even though they are aware of the proposals, they are currently taking no action. A further 78% of advisors say they will need help in assessing and evaluating the proposals.

FINSUM: While there is definitely some fatigue, the reality is that most advisors did a lot of preparation for the fiduciary rule, and thus they think they are in a good position for the forthcoming SEC rule.