(Washington)

The President and his team are working furiously on plans for how to open the $22 tn US economy after its unprecedented lockdown. “We’re looking at the concept where we open sections of the country and we’re also looking at the concept where you open up everything”, says Trump. In particular, the White House is looking to open the economy entirely within 30 days, or possibly 60 days, with different schedules being considered. The new strategy is to open the economy based on much more widespread and rapid testing. This will allow workers to be verified as having (or not) the virus and sent back to work.

FINSUM: Just as the coronavirus is a nearly unprecedented occurrence, so is the reopening of the world’s largest economy. It is going to take exceptionally good planning to balance the competing priorities of public health and economic restoration.

(New York)

Advisors need to be careful of how they market and sell annuities to clients. The market is rife with annuities demand as the big losses and volatility of the last month have sent many looking for guaranteed retirement income. That said, advisors need to make sure they walk a fine line in selling annuities. In particular, be mindful of wording you use. Particularly, avoid fear-based selling tactics, and even the word “crisis”—though that could be appropriate in some circumstances. Also, don’t only focus on one aspect of the annuity you are selling, as that can easily be misconstrued as misleading selling.

FINSUM: Some selling techniques are always wrong, but in this scary environment, even the most disciplined advisors could accidentally overstep the line in their approach.

(Washington)

A lot of financial advisors are small business owners, and thousands of them are likely looking for the government’s Payment Protection Program assistance right now. As anyone involved in applying for the program knows, things have been very frustrating and uncertain, with that stress exacerbated by the fact that it is a first come-first serve program. However, there is some potential good news on the horizon. The White House and Senate leader Mitch McConnell are trying to get another $250 bn of loans approved by Congress, which would add to the $349 bn that is already being deployed (apparently it is already being deployed).

FINSUM: It appears as though demand is exceeding supply, so this additional funding is likely to be very necessary.

(United States)

A lot of calculations are being done to see which states will be most hard hit by the current coronavirus lockdown. Within those assessments it is becoming clear that specific housing markets will be hit hard too. The states that look likely to have their housing markets fall the most are New Jersey, Maryland, and various counties elsewhere in the mid-Atlantic. Specifically, Sussex County (NJ), Charles County (MD), Atlantic County (NJ), Passaic County (NJ), Rockland County (NY), Orange County (NY), and Sussex County (DE).

FINSUM: These are all the locations you’d expect. The percentage of income it takes to manage a mortgage and other ownership expensive is quite high in these areas, so there is going to be a surge in delinquency.

(Washington)

Many brokers were hoping that the SEC might grant an extension of the deadline to be in compliance with the forthcoming Regulation Best Interest. Advisors must be in compliance with the rule by June 30th, a previously set date that SEC chief Jay Clayton just reiterated last week. The only reprieve the SEC granted was that the regulator would take “good faith efforts” into account in the initial phase.

FINSUM: Many hoped this deadline would be pushed back into the Fall, but the SEC is dead set on June 30th.