Banking

Funding long-term care is an increasingly important topic for planners to cover with clients, especially mass-affluent clients. "Even when you nail it down, the market changes on you and you have to re-evaluate," says advisor Bob Stowe.

Many partnership agreements cover what will happen if one of the partners dies, but fail to address the possibility of one of the principals becoming disabled.

Many clients don’t fully understand the coverage of their homeowners insurance policies and can use a qualified advisor’s help.

As opposed to more complex policies, such as universal life, which include more bells and whistles can also be more expensive, mass-affluent clients may want to keep it simple with whole life and term policies.

Some academics maintain that if a client obtains an immediate annuity, it pays an income stream for life and the individual is less likely to outlive his or her money. But of course, many planners often see issues with this in real-life situations.

Recent studies have found that as people age, many lose their ability to make sound financial decisions. So what can be done to safeguard elderly clients’ hard earned assets?

Increased taxes on long-term capital gains has renewed interest in trusts that can sell donated assets, avoid tax, and pay a stream of income to the donors.

What could cause the dollar to fall and inflation to rise? Planners should keep their eyes on three potential triggers.

A 529 owned by a grandparent doesn’t count as an asset on the standard financial aid form but planning is necessary to avoid an aid reduction when money is withdrawn to pay college bills.

Marital divorce is by definition an adversarial process, but from a financial standpoint it works out better for both parties if it’s also a cooperative one.

For those nearing retirement, a market downturn may be something they simply can’t afford to endure. Without enough time to make up for the damage to their portfolios, they won’t be able to afford the retirement lifestyle they had envisioned.

Health insurance questions may dominate this year’s conversation, as the Affordable Care Act’s effects become widespread, but advisors should help clients with other key areas as well.

Married clients can arbitrage Social Security benefits for maximum long-term payouts.

There’s been a steady increase in opportunities for overseas investment and clients’ willingness to include international investments in their portfolios.

Over time, by angling a portfolio towards value-oriented stocks and small caps, investors will be compensated for taking on additional risk according to academic research.

ETFs let you maintain asset allocation while taking tax losses.

On YouTube, puppet shows are fine for consumers, but to appeal to businesses many banks are taking a more serious tone and putting their own clients in the spotlight.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. has agreed to pay $88.3 million to settle charges related to apparent violations of economic sanctions dating back to 2005.