Posts by Stephanie Horan:
Over the past decade, the total number of U.S.-based registered investment advisors (RIAs) has increased by 20.29%. Total assets managed by RIAs have grown at an even steeper rate, more than doubling over the same period. Assets managed by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) RIAs rose from $43.8 trillion in 2010 to more than $110 trillion in 2020, according to figures reported by the Investment Advisory Associations. Read more
Socially responsible investing – commonly referred to as environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing – is gaining traction among institutional investors as well as individuals. According to a recent Natixis report, the percentage of institutional investors that implement ESG approaches increased by 18% from 2019 to 2021. Similarly, Natixis reports that a growing number of individual investors are interested in ESG. Though the names of large institutional investors adopting ESG approaches are often widely publicized, there is less research surrounding the question of which individual investors are driving this interest (and therefore increase in assets). Keeping this in mind, SmartAsset took a closer look at the characteristics of individual investors who are interested in ESG. Read more
Hispanic and Latino Americans have seen some of the highest unemployment rates during the COVID-19 pandemic of any race and ethnic group for which the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports data. In the second quarter of 2020, the Hispanic and Latino unemployment rate was 16.7%, the highest unemployment rate in that period compared to that of white, Black and Asian Americans. More recently, in the second quarter of 2021, the Hispanic and Latino unemployment rate was 7.2% – 2.1 and 1.6 percentage points higher than the white and Asian unemployment rates, respectively, and 2 percentage points lower than the Black unemployment rate. Read more
Though the COVID-19 pandemic has financially impacted Americans in many ways, the homeownership rate has risen and stayed elevated. Census Bureau data shows that the homeownership rate actually hit… Read more
There are 218,100 personal financial advisors in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This means that there are 9.70 financial advisors for every 10,000 adults ages 25 and older. Of… Read more
An increasing number of nurses are trading in traditional hospital-staffing positions for higher-paying temporary jobs with traveling nurse agencies. The difference in pay is often significant. The… Read more
Business growth is often top-of-mind for financial advisors. Many financial advisory firms follow an “economies of scale” model – that is, larger advisory firms generally tend to be more cost… Read more
Tax filers with higher adjusted gross incomes (AGIs) tend to move less than filers with lower AGIs. This may be due to various reasons, including that taxpayers in higher income brackets often skew… Read more
Financial advisor firms are on the move. That’s in part because the COVID-19 pandemic has presented an opportunity for firms to pull up stakes and relocate their headquarters to new areas that better… Read more
The COVID-19 crisis has significantly affected the U.S. job market, and its impact will likely be felt for some time. After publishing 2019-2029 job projections in the fall of 2020 that did not… Read more
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data from the second quarter of 2021 shows that female, full-time wage and salary workers earn 82% of what their male counterparts do on average. This pay gap has… Read more
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), almost one in 10 personal financial advisors are based in the New York-Newark-Jersey City metro area. While the Big Apple may be a hot spot for… Read more
Over the past year and a half, in-person conferences have been put on pause. However, as vaccination rates increase and businesses reopen, many conferences across a variety of industries are… Read more
In April 2020, the U.S. unemployment rate increased by 10.3 percentage points to 14.7%, the highest rate and largest month-to-month increase in the history of this data since the Bureau of Labor… Read more
The median household income is about $65,700, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. However, the top 20% of earners nationwide makes about twice this amount, potentially increasing their… Read more
On June 24, 2021, President Joe Biden reached an agreement with a group of bipartisan Senators for an infrastructure plan that will invest over $1.2 trillion in eight years on roads, water,… Read more
Over the past several years new tech hubs have emerged across the U.S., with hotspots such as San Francisco and New York City losing some ground. The COVID-19 pandemic may have accelerated this trend… Read more
Though they comprise a relatively small fraction of total homes, the number of million-dollar homes in the U.S. is growing. In 2016, about 2.3 million homes were worth $1 million or more. Meanwhile,… Read more
The past year has been a difficult time for many working parents who have had to balance remote work, potential job losses, school closings and limited access to childcare. A February 2021 survey by… Read more
With higher housing costs and smaller living spaces, many large cities are less conducive to families. According to Census Bureau data, average monthly housing costs for homeowners across the 100… Read more
The average 401(k) balance in the U.S. hit $123,900 in the first quarter of 2021, according to a recent report by Fidelity Investments. This marks more than a 70% increase from the average 401(k)… Read more
Less than three in 10 six-figure earners in the U.S. are women, according to the most recent Census Bureau data. Though far from equitable, the percentage of women who are breaking the six-figure… Read more
Estimates on the return on investment from having a financial advisor vary. In a 2019 whitepaper, Vanguard assessed an “Advisor’s Alpha,” or the value that a financial advisor adds to a client’s… Read more
Historically, first-time homebuyers have made up about 40% of all homebuyers in the U.S. However, over the past decade, the share of first-time homebuyers has fallen below that norm, hovering around… Read more
Over the past decade, the cost of a college education in the U.S. has increased significantly. Accounting for inflation, data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) shows… Read more
