Robo Advisors

US retailers discounted heavily on Black Friday to clear out bloated inventories but customers responded with only modest traffic, leaving profitability in doubt for many chains.

The following is a loose collection of random thoughts and observations on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Rather than a coherent article, I offer some insights that have emerged as the war has dragged on.

A hybrid model that combines sophisticated digital capabilities with human expertise and advice is not just today’s reality but will be a key differentiator for winning customer relationships.

China has a powerful weapon in its rare-earth dominance.

Elon Musk has wasted no time in showing the world that Twitter Inc.’s new sheriff is in town — or rather its “chief twit” is. That was his new Twitter bio last week when he walked into the company’s San Francisco headquarters holding a sink, a gag prop for a tweet.

The Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter is the leading authority on industry structure and competitiveness. His framework shows how RIAs should think strategically about the current state and future evolution of their industry.

I’ll be the first to say that the RIA model is not for everyone.

UK Prime Minister Liz Truss fired Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng and replaced him with former Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt as she prepared to make a humiliating U-turn on parts of her economic plan.

Democracy is under attack, yet many Americans fail to see the threat, according to Seth Klarman. Leadership must come from the business community to respond to this challenge.

Elon Musk is reviving his original $54.20 takeover bid for Twitter Inc., perhaps because he doesn’t want to go through a legal process that divulges more embarrassing text messages.

Introverted financial advisors can stand out from the competition. Here are three marketing strategies to help you play to your strengths as an introvert.

It’s a binary world. To an extreme extent, opinions on the market are divided, and they are split on one key issue: Will the Fed have to “pivot” toward easier monetary policy in the next few months, or won’t it?

Here are the 10 best books I read from September 2021 through August 2022.

We know that the US economy is currently weak, but the real economy is really weak, and the Federal Reserve’s commitment to precipitate a recession to curb high inflation will make this reality obvious to seemingly oblivious investors.

“We need to make these chips here in America to bring down everyday costs and create jobs,” said Biden...

We encounter plenty of obstacles as financial planners. And the biggest of all are the barriers thrown up by our clients.

It can be daunting to get back on track once you’ve fallen behind.

A whistle-blower’s complaint alleging Twitter Inc. ignored a rash of spam and bot accounts could help Elon Musk in his effort to walk away from a $44 billion buyout of the social-media platform, legal experts say.

President Joe Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act on Tuesday caps nearly two years of efforts to pass sweeping climate legislation. But the real work is just getting started. 

The recent Democratic bill on climate and taxes increases the funding for the Internal Revenue Service by an additional $80 billion over 10 years, with the purpose of collecting more revenue by enforcing existing tax laws.

Recent revisions to oil demand forecasts aren’t as bullish as they might appear. Don’t get too excited about prices going up just yet.

Why is persuasion so difficult?

The one place that asset managers can show a measurable commitment to ESG – and appeal to investors who want to drive changes in corporate behavior and responsibility – is by providing a pass-through proxy voting experience.

Imagine: Elon Musk, known for his delight in defying authority, is ordered to move ahead with his $44 billion purchase of Twitter Inc. -- and refuses.

The Supreme Court’s decisions on abortion and gun safety reinforced how ideology polarizes politics and prevents civil discussion and progress. Market ideology has also polarized discussion and harmed advice standards.

In what has become one of the worst years on record for the stock market, with the S&P 500 Index down 20%, the Solactive Roundhill Meme Index is down much more, tumbling in excess of 50%.

The one speed bump advisors keep tripping over is that, well, people are funny about their money.

Here’s how financial marketers can repurpose virtual meetings and video content.

Several avenues for diversifying cryptocurrency portfolios exist. Investors should weigh the costs and benefits of each of the following three methods.

Russia’s blockade of Ukraine’s ports is a “declaration of war” that threatens to trigger mass migration and a global food crisis, a United Nations official said, adding to the dire warnings on the opening day of the World Economic Forum in Davos.

I require clients to send me their most recent tax returns. Here are the insights I learn and how it provides a ton of value to clients.

I hope the discomfort and pain you experience reading this piece are but a small fraction of what I experienced writing it. I keep reminding myself that most of our problems today are first-world problems that are generally trivial and insignificant compared to what people in Ukraine are going through.

Europeans enduring an unseasonal April cold snap may be forgiven for thinking winter is back. But for the natural gas market, summer has arrived. April 1 marked the start of a new year in the energy calendar, moving the focus to injecting enough gas into storage during the coming low-demand months in preparation for next winter. It’s a race Europe cannot afford to lose, but one it will struggle to win following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Geopolitical upheaval and rapid inflation have driven volatility and, with that, questions from clients about whether to reposition portfolios defensively. In my wide-ranging conversation with Harold Evensky, he explained how he responds to fears that this time is different.

Oil fluctuated as investors weighed threats to supplies from the month-old war in Ukraine, with President Joe Biden set to address the crisis on a key trip to Europe that may see more sanctions imposed on Russia.

Call them brazen, call them naïve, but stock investors are giving no sign of being daunted by the hottest inflation in decades or the accompanying surge in bond yields. Their boldness has sent analysts in search of ways to explain how the S&P 500 Index has managed to rally in five of the last six sessions, even as the Federal Reserve promises higher rates while war rages in Europe and Treasury rates see the biggest two-day jump in two years.

Javelin and Stinger missiles, Molotov cocktails and now…crypto war bonds. To support its life-or-death struggle against Russia, Ukraine is seeking to tap the rapidly expanding potential of cryptocurrencies. If it succeeds, other nations facing dire circumstances may follow.

Jasmin and Ryan recently exchanged ideas about trading apps and new software that can help educate investors about key investment principles.

Cryptocurrency exchanges and other financial services companies were stars amid a Super Bowl ad blitz that featured the return of many longtime sponsors and an overall more celebratory mood than last year.

Europe’s stricter environmental, social and governance rules might be forcing companies in more controversial sectors to look across the Atlantic for funding.

UBS made a huge investment in acquiring the robo-advisor Wealthfront. But neither this investment nor any other robo pose a threat to traditional financial advice.

While no one knows what 2022 holds in store for investors, my concern is that it should not foster the same optimism as 2021.

Bob Huebscher’s mother passed away on December 23, 2021.

You might think that the IPO of electric-truck wunderkind Rivian Automotive Inc. — with its valuation soaring past $100 billion on zero revenue — perfectly captured the madness in autos in 2021.