- What Is a Professional Risk Manager (PRM)?
Banks, brokerages, insurers and even some government agencies spend significant resources to identify, assess and mitigate financial risk. One of the top certifications for professionals in this line of work is the professional risk manager certification (PRM). Here’s what you… read more…
- What Is an Independent Broker-Dealer?
An independent broker-dealer is a type of financial firm that allows financial advisors to operate with more flexibility compared to traditional brokerages. These firms are not tied to specific investment products or large corporate financial institutions, which means they can offer a wider variety of investment options to their clients. Independent broker-dealers often provide back-office… read more…
- What Do Asset Management Services Include?
When managing your portfolio and growing wealth, many investors turn to a financial professional for help. Often this means finding a financial advisor who offers asset management services. Asset management can cover a wide range of services to help you achieve… read more…
- An Investor’s Guide to Income Funds
An income fund is a type of mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) that primarily focuses on generating steady income for investors, usually through dividends, interest payments or bond yields. These funds are often comprised of bonds, dividend-paying stocks or other assets that offer reliable income streams. Investors who prioritize receiving regular cash flow, such… read more…
- A Guide to Aggressive Investment Strategies
In most cases, if you want to see aggressive growth in your portfolio, you’ll need to take on a bit of risk. After all, risk and return are intimately entangled in the investment world. If this style of investing is… read more…
- What Is a Capital Market?
Capital markets, often referred to as financial markets, connect individuals, corporations and governments with excess funds (capital) to those in need of financing for growth, projects or other needs. These markets come in various forms, including stock markets, bond markets and commodity markets, where securities are actively bought and sold by investors seeking returns on… read more…
- A Guide to Education Planning
The cost of a college education is at an all-time high, leaving many Americans wondering how to best save money to pay for tuition and other college costs. There are many options available to help you save, including 529 plans,… read more…
- A Guide to Long-Short Equity Investing
For both retail and professional investors alike, most portfolios should strike a balance between risk mitigation and profit-seeking. Long-short equity investing is one strategy that many large-scale investors use to pursue. In a long-short equity approach, the investor takes a… read more…
- A Guide to the 11 Market Sectors
When building a portfolio, you may be interested in one or more specific market sectors. A sector is a slice of the stock market that represents a certain part of the economy or industry. Knowing how these sectors work can… read more…
- Your Financial Advisor’s Conflicts of Interest
If you’re working with a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm or financial advisor, you’ll likely encounter some conflicts of interest that arise from your advisor’s compensation arrangements. Some advisors have legal obligations to disclose such conflicts, but others don’t. When… read more…
- Comprehensive Guide to Tax Planning Strategies
Taxes can have a major impact on your financial and investing plans. Planning out your taxes ahead for these costs can make your financial plan much more tax efficient. While many people only think about taxes when they’re filing in… read more…
- A Guide to Investing in Asset Allocation Funds
An asset allocation fund invests in a mix of asset classes, like stocks and bonds, in fixed percentages. It provides built-in diversification to investors. They can make it easier for the investor to maintain a portfolio. Read on to discover… read more…
- How to Find a Financial Advisor You Can Trust
Working with a financial advisor can be helpful if you need advice on creating a retirement savings plan, getting out of debt or reaching another financial goal. But they’re working with your money and have to earn your trust. You can find this trust by interviewing potential advisors or using recommendations from others you trust,… read more…
- How to Switch Financial Advisors
For many people, switching financial advisors can be very difficult and they end up avoiding the topic and putting it off, indefinitely. However, replacing your advisor doesn’t have to be a big hassle or come with high costs, if you… read more…
- What Does a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) Do?
As you age, it can be difficult to know what decisions are best for your health, finances or estate planning. That’s why it’s important to make those decisions with someone you trust. A Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) can help ensure… read more…
- Understanding Needs vs. Wants for Your Budget
When setting a budget, it’s important to differentiate between what you need and what you want. Indeed, many budgeting systems ask you to assign percentages to your needs and wants. For instance, the 50/30/20 budget popularized by Elizabeth Warren recommends… read more…
- Choosing a Financial Advisor Custodian
Registered financial advisors use custodians to house and protect their clients’ assets. Often, financial advisors offer multiple custodian options to their clients. This allows them to expand their services, investment options, and diversification of assets. By offering multiple custodians, your… read more…
- What Does a Certified Risk Manager (CRM) Do?
Certified Risk Managers (CRMs) are financial professionals with training in risk management, which comes in handy when helping clients chart a financial future. The CRM designation is one of the most important designations for risk managers working in the finance,… read more…
- What Does A Financial Risk Manager Do?
Your friend wants to borrow $20, so you take a minute to think about it. What happened the last time he borrowed money from you? You might see that 20 bucks again, but even the odds say you don’t. So… read more…
- What Is a CPA, and What Do They Do?
Certified public accountants (CPAs) are accounting professionals who have passed both the privately issued CPA exam and public licensing requirements. The main service they provide is preparing and filing tax returns, and they can represent clients in audits and disputes as well. Beyond accounting, a CPA can also assist with tasks like auditing financial statements… read more…
- What Is a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)?
The Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) certification helps Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) demonstrate expertise in all aspects of wealth management. A PFS is someone with a CPA who also offers financial planning services. There are many requirements before getting the PFS… read more…
- What Constitutes a Breach of Fiduciary Duty?
When partnering with a financial advisor to manage your money, one of the most critical aspects to consider is whether they are required to uphold a fiduciary duty to their clients. A fiduciary duty means that advisors are legally and ethically obligated to act in your best interests, prioritizing your financial well-being above their own… read more…
- What Does A Family Office Do?
A family office is typically a full wealth and asset management firm that works with ultra-high-net-worth families to grow that wealth and pass it on to the next generation. Most people don’t need a family office, but it’s good to… read more…
- Demand: A Guide to the Economic Concept
The law of demand is a basic economics. As the price of at item rises or falls, with all other things staying the same, the demand for it rises or falls. However, despite determining everything from the price of bananas… read more…
- Assets Under Management (AUM) Definition & Guide
Assets under management (AUM) refers to the market value of the assets a financial institution has discretion over on behalf of clients or investors. Increasing AUM is a primary goal of most brokerages, mutual funds and financial advisor firms, and many… read more…