Separately managed accounts (SMAs) are gaining traction among financial advisors, with Cerulli Associates projecting assets in these programs to surpass $2 trillion in 2025. Assets grew 12% in 2023 and are expected to rise another 15% this year, boosted by the popularity of unified managed accounts (UMAs) that combine SMAs, mutual funds, and ETFs for tax efficiency and personalization. 

Advances in technology have made SMAs easier to manage, lowering minimums from millions to as little as $100,000 and expanding access beyond just high-net-worth clients. 

Advisors now use SMAs to tailor portfolios for tax management, ESG preferences, or concentrated stock positions, while UMAs provide a holistic view for strategies like tax-loss harvesting. The shift from commission-based brokerage accounts to fee-based managed accounts reflects investor demand for fiduciary oversight, transparency, and control. 

Finsum: With features like fractional share trading and portfolio-wide tax optimization, SMAs are increasingly seen as a flexible and efficient tool for personalized wealth management.

The 2025 NFL season is nearly here, and ESPN has released its final offseason Power Rankings, weighing holdouts, injuries, and breakout performances ahead of Week 1. 

• The Philadelphia Eagles top the list at No. 1, with new offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo under pressure to keep the team’s high-powered offense running smoothly after last year’s Super Bowl win. 
• The Kansas City Chiefs come in at No. 2, where wide receiver Rashee Rice faces expectations to prove he can be the go-to option alongside veteran Travis Kelce. 
• Ranked third, the Buffalo Bills are counting on Joey Bosa to stay healthy and anchor the pass rush after signing a one-year deal. 
• The Baltimore Ravens take the fourth spot, with tight end Mark Andrews needing to bounce back in a contract year after an uneven 2024 season. 

Finsum: Overall, the rankings highlight both team depth and the individuals most under the microscope as the new season kicks off.

Financial advisors often focus on younger investors, but women over 60 are becoming a powerful and growing segment of primary asset holders. Many acquire wealth through widowhood, divorce, or lifelong independence, and they bring unique priorities to financial planning, including legacy, caregiving roles, and family impact. 

According to Jen Hollers of LPL Financial, these women value personalized, relationship-based advice and often seek to align their financial decisions with personal values rather than focusing only on performance. 

A challenge for advisors is that many older women are new to active wealth management, having been excluded from earlier financial conversations, and may feel overwhelmed when suddenly in charge. Hollers urges advisors to lead with listening, avoid jargon, and embrace a holistic model that blends estate planning, family dynamics, and legacy goals into a cohesive plan. 

Finsum: By fostering transparency, empathy, and family involvement, advisors can help ensure these clients’ intentions are honored while also building lasting relationships with the next generation.

Farther has launched an AI-powered Investment Proposal tool, designed to help advisors generate customized client proposals in under 10 minutes. Built entirely in-house, the tool consolidates tasks that once required multiple platforms into a single secure system, ensuring both efficiency and compliance. 

It analyzes a prospect’s existing portfolio, compares it against Farther’s investment models, and produces tailored recommendations that advisors can further refine. The goal is to streamline onboarding while delivering more personalized and client-friendly proposals, helping prospects better understand their options. 

Advisors already using the tool say it allows them to focus more on strategy and client conversations, making their pitches more effective. 

Finsum: AI continues to modernize wealth management by blending automation with human expertise.

In the evolving “post-60/40” investing landscape, alternatives often come with higher fees and reduced liquidity, but investors tolerate these trade-offs for the potential of higher returns and skilled management. Wealth managers stress that allocations should reflect an investor’s liquidity needs, risk tolerance, and experience, with recommendations ranging from a cautious 10% to as high as 50% for those with no short-term cash flow requirements. 

While some, like Marina Wealth’s Noah Damsky, seek niche managers with unique strategies, others—such as International Assets Advisory’s Ed Cofrancesco—favor straightforward private real estate projects for their simplicity and transparency. 

Ballast Rock Private Wealth’s Andrew Mescon highlights private credit and private equity secondaries as compelling opportunities, citing diversification, downside protection, and discounts to net asset value as advantages. Managers also note the growing role of evergreen fund structures, which can ease liquidity constraints and broaden access to these asset classes. 

Finsum: Ultimately, successful alternative investing hinges on aligning product complexity, fees, and liquidity with each investor’s unique financial situation.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that could reshape 401(k) investing by allowing retirement savers broader access to private equity, cryptocurrency, real estate, and other alternative assets. 

Proponents argue the change could improve diversification and expand opportunities, particularly as more companies remain private, while critics warn of higher risks, limited transparency, and steep fees compared to traditional mutual funds and ETFs. The order directs the Department of Labor and SEC to review guidance and consider rules that would make these investments more accessible within 180 days, potentially encouraging more employers to offer them. 

Supporters in the asset management industry see this as a democratization of private markets, but fiduciary advocates caution that inexperienced investors could suffer devastating losses without strict safeguards. Experts recommend limits—such as capping exposure to 5%–10% of a portfolio—and robust investor education to mitigate risks. 

Finsum: Even if changes take months to materialize, the move signals a major shift in U.S. retirement policy, one that could expand investment menus while also amplifying the stakes for 401(k) participants.

Investors with goals in the three- to 10-year range, those already retired, or anyone seeking portfolio stability often benefit from including bonds. Fixed-income exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a simple and cost-effective way to gain this exposure, with many tracking indexes that provide transparency on duration and credit quality. 

Low expenses are especially important for bond ETFs, where returns are typically more modest than in stocks, making cost efficiency a key driver of performance. Morningstar’s highest-rated Gold Medalist bond ETFs—such as Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND), iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG), and Fidelity Total Bond ETF (FBND)—can serve as solid anchors for the fixed-income portion of a portfolio. 

These ETFs span categories like intermediate-term core and core-plus bond funds, with some offering added flexibility to invest in high-yield, bank loans, or emerging-market debt. 

Finsum: For investors seeking stability, diversification, and liquidity, these total market bond ETFs provide a strong starting point.

Despite political pushback and policy rollbacks, most large U.S. companies have maintained or even increased their sustainability investments in 2025, according to a survey by EcoVadis. 

Nearly half of executives said spending remains steady, while about a third reported higher investments paired with reduced public promotion — a trend dubbed “greenhushing.” The findings suggest that firms increasingly view supply chain sustainability as a strategic advantage, with many citing its role in attracting customers and maintaining operational stability. 

Only a small share have cut back, underscoring a belief among corporate leaders that sustainability supports long-term growth, even if it’s less publicly advertised. Concerns remain over regulatory rollbacks, with nearly half of C-suite leaders warning they could increase supply chain disruptions. 

Finsum: The data points to a quieter but still committed corporate approach to sustainability in the face of shifting political and regulatory landscapes.

Investors seeking to diversify or enhance income potential have increasingly turned to options-based ETFs, which have proliferated over the past two years as market conditions favored their growth. 

Rising interest rates and bond market challenges have driven demand for strategies that generate income from option premiums, particularly in volatile markets. These ETFs span a wide range of asset classes—from equities and bonds to alternatives like bitcoin and gold—allowing investors to either augment returns on existing exposures or diversify income sources. 

By combining traditional asset exposure with systematic covered call writing, these funds provide double-digit distribution rates while optimizing after-tax returns. 

Finsum: For income-focused investors, especially those mindful of tax efficiency, options-based ETFs represent a compelling complement to more traditional income-generating assets.

Tariff-related market volatility in 2025 highlighted the stabilizing role of fixed income, as broad bond indexes delivered 4% to 7.25% returns in the first half of the year, largely from higher coupon income. The April tariff announcement initially triggered a sharp sell-off in risk assets, but bonds held steady, underscoring their resilience compared to equities. 

While the most extreme tariff scenarios have been avoided, a projected U.S. weighted average tariff rate of around 12% is still expected to influence inflation, growth, and interest rate paths. Higher yields now provide a stronger income cushion than in prior years, reducing the downside impact of rising rates and enhancing potential returns if rates fall. 

Active fixed income ETFs can be especially well-suited for this environment, as managers can tactically adjust duration, credit quality, and global exposure to navigate tariff-driven market shifts. Investors are finding opportunities in high-quality bonds and global fixed income as hedges against policy-driven uncertainty.

Finsum: Tariffs remain a key macroeconomic variable shaping strategy, even in a more moderate form than initially proposed.