The 2019 Secure Act paved the way for types of assets to be added into 401(k) plans by limiting the legal liability of partners. Since then it’s been a series of new companies announcing the addition of annuities to retirement plans. However, this is a huge chunk of money in the form of a deferred income that advisors won’t necessarily be managing. A growing number of advisory firms are concerned as large amounts of traditional investment being managed by advisors will now be tied up in annuity contracts. A peek behind who the major lobbyist for 2019 secure reveals its mainly insurance companies limiting their liability and existing retirement vehicle supporters like Fidelity. Finally, this could be bad for clients as many institutional investors can get better deals on annuity prices for their clients.

FINSUM: While the care act will undoubtedly affect annuity demand, it could adversely affect advisors in their client’s retirement future.

There were lots of large transitions in the financial advisor community this year, but these were some of the biggest splashes in 2021. In August Dane Runia, transitioned his $3.2 billion dollar team from Merrill Lynch to Morgan Stanley. This wasn’t the only transition from Merrill this year as just a couple of months prior RBC moved in one of Merrill’s teams that were in control of over $2 billion. However, it was Merrill Lynch’s April deal with the biggest tagline of the year snagging an advisor of $17 billion from Citi Private Bank. Wells Fargo has been desperately kicking its recruiting into high gear as they lost $7 billion after they stopped serving international wealth management clients. Finally, UBS made a splash as they stole $10.5 billion teams from J.P.Morgan.

FINSUM: These were some of the most high-profile deals this year, but 2022 could be just as wild in the advisor transitioning world.

ESG has been one of the fastest-growing stories of 2021 and has taken over every other headline with it. However, things could be shifting in 2022 for ESG, and fund leaders see things shifting for ESG in 2022. The first big area of change will be talent and analysts more catered to addressing and differentiating ESG content. Investors will also face greater scrutiny from compliance officials and regulators, and language will be more cautious moving forwarded. Finally, investors themselves will definitely demand more than just a green label, but rather specifics of how companies are meeting and leading the way in ESG.

FINSUM: If 2021 was the year of explosion in ESG and impact investing, 2022 will be marked by how regulators tightened the reigns on this explosive industry.

The deadline is approaching for many investors to capitalize on tax strategies to minimize their bills moving forward. The most important thing investors can do is capitalize before the end of the year and claim losses they have. Special deductions are given to those with losers outpacing winners, up to $3000. However, investors should be wary of wash rules that may penalize them for repurchases within a 30-day period. The other most important strategy is to actually pay off excess medical expenses. Special provisions will mitigate your tax losses if they reach a certain portion of your income. Deferring income could also be a way out but it could be a risky strategy because next year could be even better than 2021.

FINSUM: Now is the time to capitalize on bond market blues and sell off those useless-yieldless tickets to save on the tax bill.

Everyone and their dog is searching for viable alternatives because omicron has the stock market skittish and there’s absolutely no yield in bond markets. This has many investors turning to REITs, but how do you find the outperformers. There are six key metrics to look out for: a high fund from operations, total cash from operations growth, high liquidity ratios, accelerated dividend growth rates, a good-sized market cap, and finally price gain. These are the most important factors when evaluating REITs. Some of the best examples in these leading categories are Prologis, Essential Properties, Innovative Industrial Properties, and Life Storage Inc.

FINSUM: Alternatives could have their most promising year yet with all the outflows from the bond market coming in.