Wealth Management
The SEC’s Office of the Investor Advocate announced it will examine the increasing use of private equity and other alternatives in retirement accounts as part of its fiscal 2026 objectives. The office has warned that adding private market products to 401(k)s and 403(b)s can pose risks for retail savers, especially in target-date funds and managed accounts.
Concerns include limited liquidity, incomplete disclosures, and a higher risk of fraud or losses, which the agency will evaluate in relation to fiduciary duties under ERISA. This move follows Senator Elizabeth Warren’s letter to Empower Retirement questioning its plans to offer private equity in its 401(k) products.
Beyond private equity, the investor advocate’s 2026 agenda will also prioritize improving retail investor disclosures, analyzing China-based VIE structures, collaborating with the SEC’s crypto task force, and using investor research to support rulemaking.
Finsum: Advisors should aim to ensure retirement plan participants understand the trade-offs of these complex and often opaque investments.
Capital Group and BlackRock both launched new active ETFs this week, reflecting how demand from advisors and asset allocators is pushing active ETF innovation into fresh territory.
Capital Group unveiled three funds — a large-cap growth ETF, a large-cap value ETF, and a high-yield bond ETF — as it expands beyond its traditional mutual fund business and deepens ties with RIAs seeking tax-efficient, actively managed building blocks for their model portfolios. These new ETFs build on Capital Group’s push to support advisors with tools like its RIA Insider platform and its recent rollout of active ETF model portfolios.
Meanwhile, BlackRock introduced the iShares Global Government Bond USD Hedged Active ETF, managed by its Global Tactical Asset Allocation team, to help diversify global bond exposure while protecting against currency swings. BlackRock’s new offering taps into growing advisor concerns over concentrated U.S. Treasury allocations and fits within its broader suite of institutional-grade active ETFs.
Finsum: These launches highlight the shift in advisor priorities toward portfolio construction and model-based solutions, with active ETFs increasingly serving as the core tools for delivering customized, fee-based client strategies.
Closed-end funds (CEFs), around since 1893, function much like pooled mutual funds but differ in that they have a fixed number of shares trading on public exchanges after their IPO.
Unlike mutual funds, which create or redeem shares daily to match investor flows, CEFs trade like stocks, meaning their prices can swing above or below the fund’s actual net asset value (NAV). This market pricing dynamic allows investors to potentially buy a dollar’s worth of assets for 90 cents, creating attractive opportunities to purchase CEFs at discounts.
In addition, CEFs can use leverage to amplify returns, which often translates to higher distribution yields than traditional funds. However, investors should generally avoid paying a premium above NAV, just as they wouldn’t pay $1.10 for a dollar.
Finsum: CEFs trading at reasonable discounts with strong yields may offer a compelling addition to income-seeking portfolios, combining discounted asset value with robust payouts.
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There’s something uniquely magical about playing golf in the fall, when the crisp air and vibrant foliage transform each round into a sensory celebration.
- At The Equinox Golf Resort & Spa in Vermont, brilliant reds, golds, and ambers create a postcard-perfect setting against the backdrop of the Green Mountains.
- In Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, Jack Frost National Golf Club combines dramatic elevation changes with fiery autumn leaves for unforgettable panoramic views.
- Arcadia Bluffs in Michigan pairs Lake Michigan’s sweeping shores with a kaleidoscope of colors that makes every fairway feel like an artist’s canvas.
- Farther south, Linville Golf Club in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains offers golfers a spectacular blend of mountain terrain and rich fall hues, turning each hole into a living painting.
- Finally, Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club near Portland, Oregon, wraps players in misty mornings and a colorful tapestry of evergreens and deciduous trees, creating an almost mystical experience.
Finsum: Together, these destinations prove that fall golf is more than a game—it’s a journey into nature’s most beautiful season.
A new provision quietly inserted into President Donald Trump’s latest tax bill would give private equity firms expanded tax breaks when they acquire companies and burden them with debt. This language, buried in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, would increase the allowable deduction on interest payments—effectively subsidizing leveraged buyouts that often result in layoffs, wage cuts, and bankruptcies.
Despite the provision’s potential to drive billions in tax savings for Wall Street, lawmakers have downplayed its implications, describing it only as an increase in business interest deductibility.
By altering how interest deductions are calculated—without raising the 30% cap—the bill could hand private equity firms up to a 15% increase in write-offs, according to legal and budget analysts. Over the next decade, this tax tweak is projected to cost the government $200 billion in lost revenue, deepening concerns about corporate accountability and tax fairness.
Finsum: If CNL capital is a well-positioned private equity firm that could be in a good position to benefit to these legal changes.
Tax-efficient investing is gaining momentum, with separately managed accounts (SMAs) emerging as a preferred tool for personalization and tax savings. Unlike mutual funds or ETFs, SMAs allow investors to directly own securities, enabling tailored strategies like tax-loss harvesting.
Assets in tax-managed SMAs have surged past $500 billion, a 67% increase since 2022, with direct indexing leading the way due to its scalability and precision. Asset managers are now extending tax overlays to active equity strategies, though the process is more complex due to potential conflicts with managers’ top stock picks.
Meanwhile, model portfolios are incorporating tax-aware transition tools to help advisors move clients into new strategies with minimal tax impact, further expanding the reach of tax management across investor segments.
Finsum: Fixed-income SMAs offer fewer tax opportunities but can still provide benefits during periods of rate volatility or credit stress.