Separately managed accounts (SMAs) are gaining traction among investors, offering personalized portfolios with features like tax optimization and tailored investment preferences. Once reserved for the wealthy, advancements in technology have made SMAs more accessible, with minimum investments as low as $5,000 through platforms like Fidelity. 

While SMAs allow for benefits such as tax-loss harvesting and charitable stock donations, they often come with higher fees compared to ETFs, which can make them less cost-effective for many retail investors. 

Critics argue that customization can lead to active management pitfalls, with most SMAs historically underperforming benchmarks after accounting for fees. 

Finsum: Innovations in AI and portfolio management tools are enabling financial advisors to efficiently manage larger numbers of accounts with greater precision. 

As competition intensifies in wealth management, independent firms are leveraging bold strategies like generous payouts, cutting-edge tools, and strategic guidance to attract top advisors. For advisors considering a change, it’s vital to look beyond incentives and seek a firm that prioritizes trust, accountability, and open communication. 

A commitment to radical transparency—a philosophy emphasizing full disclosure and honest dialogue—can set a firm apart in a crowded market. This approach fosters deeper trust by encouraging clear communication, owning missteps, and making decision-making processes visible to all stakeholders. 

Advisors who embrace transparency in their client relationships can build stronger partnerships, ensuring alignment of goals and expectations. Firms that champion these values by prioritizing advisor feedback and meaningful investments in their growth will cultivate long-term success for both their teams and their clients.

Finsum: There seems to be a clear leveling up in terms of what firms are offering clients, but don’t sell short the benefits of technology and efficiency when serving advisors. 

The latest T. Rowe Price study reveals a notable shift in how employers and advisors approach retirement income within workplace plans. More plan sponsors now hold defined views on retirement income compared to previous years, reflecting increased engagement on the topic. 

Managed accounts with income planning features and target-date investments offering managed payouts or embedded annuities are gaining interest as viable solutions. Collective investment trusts (CITs) have also surpassed mutual funds as preferred target-date vehicles due to their cost-effectiveness and flexibility. 

Additionally, the study highlights growing employer interest in financial wellness programs, including emergency savings accounts, as tools to enhance employee satisfaction and retention. While ESG integration garners moderate support, the study identifies regulatory and implementation challenges as barriers to broader adoption.

Finsum: Research shows how important advisors are to clients in setting up DC strategies, and they can leverage their influence to shift perspectives. 

Municipal bonds have been essential to funding U.S. infrastructure projects, benefiting public facilities like hospitals, schools, and transportation systems through their tax-exempt status since 1913. 

With the upcoming expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in 2025, the future of this tax exemption faces uncertainty as policymakers explore ways to manage budget deficits. Removing the exemption could significantly raise borrowing costs, hinder infrastructure investments, and place added financial strain on taxpayers. 

While alternatives like public-private partnerships and Build America Bonds exist, they present notable complexities and drawbacks. The preservation of tax exemptions for municipal bonds is critical to fostering local autonomy, stimulating economic growth, and maintaining cost-effective infrastructure funding. 

Finsum: Removing this protecting this framework could reduce sustainable development and support for communities across the nation.

Over the past five years, inflation in the U.S. has reached its highest levels in decades, peaking at 9.1% in mid-2022 before cooling to around 2.7% as of late 2024. While inflationary periods are inevitable, investors can take strategic steps to protect their wealth. 

Warren Buffett, with a net worth exceeding $142 billion, advocates two timeless approaches to counter inflation’s effects. First, investing in yourself—enhancing your skills and abilities—ensures enduring value, unaffected by economic fluctuations. 

Second, Buffett highlights real estate’s intrinsic worth, noting its stability and potential for appreciation even during inflationary spikes. Real estates inherently built into the CPI making up 40% providing a strong safeguard against inflation. 

Finsum: By focusing on assets with lasting value, investors can safeguard their financial health in uncertain times.

Bitcoin is forecasted to experience significant price growth in 2025, driven by favorable regulatory changes and increasing institutional adoption. Analysts predict potential price peaks ranging from $150,000 to $250,000, with Trump's pro-crypto policies and support for a bitcoin reserve bolstering optimism. 

The approval of bitcoin ETFs and the halving event in 2024 set the stage for mainstream acceptance and reduced supply, enhancing price stability. Institutional inflows, including allocations from retirement funds and sovereign wealth reserves, are expected to mitigate past cycles' extreme volatility. 

However, experts caution against potential market corrections due to global economic disruptions or policy delays. Overall, bitcoin’s expanding role as a reserve asset and its growing integration into traditional finance solidify its bullish outlook.

Finsum: While these targets seem high its important to note that almost all experts are expecting volatility beyond typical asset classes, so these forecasts carry more risk than usual. 

President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Relief Act of 2025, ensuring government operations through March 14 but excluding life and annuity provisions.

 The legislation may push financial services advocates to focus on standalone bills, like Secure 3.0, rather than relying on broad spending packages. With the debt ceiling still in place, Congress faces another deadline this summer, creating additional opportunities for policy negotiations. 

The package reflects a shift toward separating unrelated provisions from critical bills, as seen in recent debates. These trends could reshape how financial services policies are introduced and passed moving forward.

Finsum: We’ll see a lot of potential changes that could directly or indirectly affect annuities in Trumps first 90 days, so keep your eyes peeled for regulatory changes. 

Evergreen interval funds offer a hybrid structure that combines the benefits of private investments with enhanced liquidity and oversight. These funds provide scheduled repurchase options, allowing investors more control over allocations compared to private vehicles with long lock-up periods and capital calls. 

Eliminating capital calls also avoids the J-curve effect, giving investors flexibility in adjusting their exposure and rebalancing their portfolios. As SEC-regulated entities, interval funds offer heightened transparency and protection, making them attractive alternatives to private funds. 

Studies by Couts and Goncalves quantify the liquidity benefits of these funds, showing that investors value the improved flexibility, especially when interest rates are high. 

Finsum: While focused on private credit, these advantages extend logically to private equity, venture capital, real estate, and infrastructure investments.

Category: Interval Funds

Tags: interval funds, liquidity, alts

A recent study highlights the significant impact of engagement on 401(k) savings, with active participants saving far more than those who aren't involved in their retirement planning. According to Empower's research, engaged individuals contribute 56% more to their retirement accounts, and those actively participating in their plan's resources save even higher amounts. 

These engaged savers are also more likely to fully utilize their employer's match, with 22% of them missing out compared to 48% of disengaged participants. The study also shows that those who consolidate their financial accounts or seek advice tend to save nearly twice as much as their less engaged peers. 

With fewer workers feeling confident about making investment choices, many are turning to financial professionals, which boosts their confidence in securing a comfortable retirement. Despite facing inflation and economic uncertainties, a majority of Americans remain optimistic about their long-term financial future, although short-term financial concerns have shifted their focus from retirement goals to immediate needs.

The US economy surprised expectations in 2024 by maintaining steady growth despite elevated interest rates, a cooling labor market, and political uncertainty tied to the presidential election. It outpaced other Group of Seven nations, with household spending driving much of this resilience. 

Wage growth outstripped inflation, and record household wealth bolstered consumer confidence, even as Americans depleted pandemic-era savings. 

However, challenges loomed: inflation proved stubborn, borrowing costs strained housing and manufacturing, and delinquencies rose among credit-dependent consumers. Labor market signals also hinted at strain, with hiring slowing, job openings shrinking, and unemployment rates ticking up. 

Finsum: While the Federal Reserve began easing rates later in the year, its cautious stance underscores the delicate balance needed to sustain growth amid persistent inflationary pressures.