January and early February offered some rough times for investors. The two-week meme stock debacle had most investors’ hearts skip a beat...view the full story on our partner Magnifi's site

Two junk bond indices, Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Corporate High Yield Index and ICE BofA US High Index Yield, hit record lows both dipping to about 4%...view the full story on our partner Magnifi's site

(Chicago)

Municipal bond market returns remain low, but nonetheless investors seem willing to keep demanding low yield munis. This rise in demand...view the full story on our partner Magnifi's site.

(Washington)

In what comes as a surprise to the entire industry, President Biden’s administration has just let the Trump-era version of the Fiduciary Rule go into effect. Almost everyone in wealth management thought Biden would surely use his administrations powers to stop the rule’s enactment, but they elected to let it go into effect as of this Tuesday, accompanying the announcement with positive and supportive language. The industry’s reaction was immediate and positive, while consumer advocates were disappointed as they were hoping for a more stringent rule from the Democratic administration.

FINSUM: Frankly, we take this as an incredibly positive sign for the wealth management business. This is a big signal to us that the Biden administration is not going to be as onerous and impractical on the regulatory front as many might have feared.

(New York)

In what is easily our favorite investing metaphor of the year, Kiplinger recently wrote an article that said annuities are the broccoli of investing—many people try to avoid them, but every retirement portfolio needs them. A recent study found that while most people buy auto, home, health, and life insurance, the large majority of people avoid buying insurance for one of their biggest fears—running out of money in retirement. This is exactly where annuities come in, as they are essentially insurance contacts that provide guaranteed income in retirement (depending on the type you choose). Deferred annuities are the most common option, as they defer payment for up to decades, and then start paying out upon retirement or an age threshold.

FINSUM: Advisors who are sell annuities already understand utilities, but many don’t fully grasp their use, especially given the negative aura they have had for many years. Most retirees’ portfolios can benefit from annuities.