Wealth Management
(Washington)
Joe Biden jut rocked markets in a big way. Yesterday afternoon, Bloomberg reported that Biden was planning to increase the capital gains tax rate on the wealthiest Americans by double, or up to just under 40%. The same rate as income taxes. Market reversed very sharply, but have been strong today. The tax would only affect Americans earning over $1m per year, which is 0.3% of the population, but taken in conjunction with other proposals to change the basis for capital gains taxes as it concerns inheritance, this is another big step.
FINSUM: The full scale tax overhaul on the wealthy has begun in earnest. Inheritance taxes and now capital gains taxes look likely to soar, with the latter not only on the wealthy. Advisors need to be very mindful of these changes as they disproportionately affect those who employ financial advisors.
(New York)
There are a number of forces propelling annuities forward at the moment. Not only is their component of tax deferral getting more and more valuable given the new administration’s tax plans, but the need and desire to lock-in guaranteed income has grown over the last year. The single biggest force, however, is the US demographic trend. An astonishing 10,000 people per day are turning 65, and 16.5% of the population is now 65 or older. By 2030 all Baby Boomers will be over 65. That means this gigantic cohort is moving out of their wealth accumulating years and into their drawdown years. Many need guaranteed income.
FINSUM: A lot of advisors have an automatically negative reaction to annuities, but the market has improved a great deal in recent years, and for any clients they are a good option.
(New York)
Not a lot of people think about the tax benefits of annuities. This is partly because 401(k)s are also a key retirement product and get most of the “tax-deferred” attention, and partly because annuities just aren’t all that well understood. But what they allow is the tax-free accumulation of interest and gains over time. This feature is growing increasingly popular, especially this year, as tax rates look likely to rise under the new administration/Congress.
FINSUM: This is just one of several reason why annuities are being seen as more valuable, but it is certainly a good one as taxes even on middle class Americans looks likely to rise.
More...
(New York)
Whether you are thinking of changing firms or just keeping an eye on the market, it is always good to know where you could maximize your take-home pay. With that in mind, here are the firms where you can get the best pay as a $1m producer. It is important to note that these are pretty bullish times for the industry given high market pricing and how that inflates fee income. Additionally, the totals shown have assumptions in them, for example an average balance of AUM across asset classes, length of service at 10 years etc. Here they are: Merrill Lynch, $485,000; UBS, $475,000, Wells Fargo, $472,325; Morgan Stanley, $445,000; Edward Jones, $543,350; Stifel, $514,000; Janney, $510,000; Raymond James $493,000.
FINSUM: The advantage of being at an independent really sinks in when you see these stats. There is nearly a full $100,000 spread between Ed Jones’ payout and Morgan Stanley’s at the same production level.
(Washington)
The Biden admin is tackling some of the changes made during Trump's administration, particularly to…see the full story on our partner Magnifi’s site
(Washington)
The Biden admin is tackling some of the changes made during Trump's administration, particularly to environmental social governance, fair lending, and consumer protection rules. The administration will not allow a set of measures that disincentivize ESG factors by shareholder voting restrictions. They have also reinstated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ability to seek monetary penalties for abusive practices and expanded the Equal Credit Opportunity Act to gender and sexual orientation protection. Finally, the administration reinforced the SEC’s ability to investigate and subpoena companies and individuals for investigation. These measures are just some of the ways the new administration is changing the regulatory landscape.
FINSUM: These regulations could have a profound impact on companies in the near and long term. One result is more definite, that this is just one more of many ways that the Biden Admin is incentivizing ESG.