Ask 100 people what they want from a financial advisor and nearly all would say, “Um, advice?” Too bad that’s not what most financial advisors do. In fact, most are not even qualified to give advice. Sure, they take exams to be licensed as advisors. But those exams are not designed to test knowledge of… Continue reading →

Investing can feel challenging and we often just postpone thinking about our savings and investing goals. We hear you! Our Rebalance team wants you to feel comfortable and in-the-know so we are launching a video series where you’ll hear directly from a few members of our expert advice team – Sally Brandon, Christie Whitney, and… Continue reading →

A couple of years ago, I spent an inordinate amount of my time on Capitol Hill talking to lawmakers about a new investment rule in the works designed to expose hidden fees charged by stock brokers. Called the fiduciary rule, it was meant to protect the millions of Americans who rely on a financial advisor… Continue reading →

The Securities and Exchange Commission, the chief regulator in charge of Wall Street, has a startling message for investors: “You’re on your own.” The SEC has just opened to public comments a potential change to how your stockbroker must operate. The only reason any action is being considered at all is because another government agency,… Continue reading →

It was Dr. Martin Luther King who said “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Weighty words indeed, but they feel apropos of the back-and-forth we see in Washington over a rule meant to protect investors from unscrupulous financial advisors. To catch you up, the Obama administration was on… Continue reading →

Quick question: What title does your financial advisor use? What’s actually on his or her business card? If the words are “financial advisor,” the feds could come calling with pointed questions. The problem is one of legal responsibility. In the final weeks of the Obama administration the government was set to raise the bar on… Continue reading →

Being a good financial advisor is a lot like being a good personal physician. You have to listen to what the patient means, whether they are saying it out loud or not. Every primary practice doctor has this experience. The patient comes in, gets weighed, blood pressure taken, and the doctor does his or her… Continue reading →

Mark Mobius, a fixture in international investing from his perch at the Franklin Templeton mutual fund company, will retire this month after three decades of leading American investors to foreign shores. Like the founder of Franklin Templeton, the late John Templeton, Mobius followed a simple but difficult-to-replicate investment strategy: Be there first. Mobius is an… Continue reading →

Hedge funds get a lot of grief over punitively high fees and low returns, with good reason. Among the most hated are so-called “gated” funds, those with rules that lock up investor money for specific periods of time. The gate is there to protect other investors, and often that includes the manager. If one large investor decides… Continue reading →