Wealth Management
(New York)
The industry has been talking about it for years, but now it appears to be happening in earnest—advisors are finally targeting younger clients in force. While Baby Boomers dominate the industry’s AUM right now, 42% of firms say they are actively changing their marketing and networking to attract Gen Xers and Millennials. TD Ameritrade comments that “In just five years, RIAs expect 41% of their clients to be Gen Xers or millennials. This should be a wake up call to those who think that Next Gen wealth is literally still a generation away”.
FINSUM: The tide is really starting to shift and it is going to happen faster and faster over the next few years as Baby Boomers age and the wealth of the young grows.
(Washington)
One of the senior-most figures at the SEC, Michael Piwowar, who has been a commissioner for five years, has just announced he will step down from his post after July 7th. The resignation has massive implications for advisors because Piwowar has been a strong opponent of the DOL version of the fiduciary rule and has generally been very pro de-regulation. His stepping down will leave just four commissioners active, two of whom are Democrats. This means the new SEC version of the fiduciary rule, universally seen as more accommodating to the industry, might have some severe difficulties in getting approved, as the Democrats are likely to vote against its implementation.
FINSUM: So in order to alleviate this risk, the White House and Senate would need to move quickly to nominate and approve a new commissioner/s. Nonetheless, this remains a major risk.
(Washington)
The DOL made an announcement yesterday, telling the industry that it would temporarily suspend enforcement action of various parts of its fiduciary rule. The department said it “will not pursue prohibited transactions claims against investment advice fiduciaries who are working diligently and in good faith to comply with the impartial conduct standards for transactions that would have been exempted in the BIC Exemption and Principal Transactions Exemption, or treat such fiduciaries as violating the applicable prohibited transaction rules”.
FINSUM: This was largely expected given the DOL’s loss in the fifth circuit court, but evidently the wording of it came as a surprise.
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(Washington)
On Friday we reported that the DOL had let its deadline for asking for an appeal to its fifth circuit court loss pass. That meant the DOL could no longer challenge the ruling and was effectively letting the rule die. However, the AARP, as well as the states of California, Oregon, and New York, had all requested the court to let them stand in as defendants in an appeal. After about a week of time in limbo, the court has now denied all the requests, meaning case-closed, the DOL’s fiduciary rule is no more.
FINSUM: The DOL rule is so dead, that even the Consumer Federation of America, which was a major champion of it, has said it is now just focused on getting the best version of an SEC fiduciary rule.
(Washington)
Last week the DOL put out a warning to firms about launching and holding ESG investments. About the socially and environmentally conscious investments, the DOL reminded fund providers that fund performance needs to trump any social impact considerations of the funds. Despite the warnings, Bank of America has just launched five new model ESG portfolios.
FINSUM: What does this mean exactly? ESG portfolios have an explicit focus on social good, which at times could mean the funds either out- or under-perform. To us, this is an odd and pointless warning.
(Washington)
Ding, dong, the fiduciary rule is dead. As was widely expected, the Department of Labor missed its deadline this week to file for an appeal of the fifth circuit court ruling against its fiduciary rule. That means that the ruling given by the fifth circuit court, which vacated the rule, now stands, leaving the rule is all but dead. However, other bodies, including the AARP and the states of California, New York, and Oregon, have all applied to stand in as defendants in the case. None of these requests have been processed yet.
FINSUM: So it will be very interesting to see whether the fifth circuit court approves these requests, especially considering it was so adamantly against the rule.