How does the current performance of U.S. stocks compare to the long-run historic average?  Since the stock market is essentially a vote by millions of investors on future cash flows of companies, growing faster than average would indicate that, at least on this dimension, Trump is delivering on his promise to “make America great again.”  (American companies, that is.) To read the full article in FinancialPl ...

Client confidence has climbed and that rosier outlook for the economy and the stock market is propelling robust flows into equities and retirement accounts, advisors say.  Allocations to stocks strengthened sharply, according to the latest Retirement Advisor Confidence Index—Financial Planning’s monthly survey of wealth managers—and helped to support further improvement in business conditions for the invest ...

Financial advisors, more accustomed to fielding questions about fees or the stock market outlook from prospective clients, should get ready to also answer queries about best interest or suitability standards.  This is, if state regulators and AARP have anything to say about it. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: AARP Wants Prospective Clients to put Advisors on the Record. ...

A new survey reveals fake financial news is affecting Americans' ability to make retirement, investment and health care decisions.  Even worse, Americans feel that fake news will be more prevalent in the future.  The AICPA National CPA Financial Literacy Commission has tips to help keep Americans from falling into the fake news trap. To read the full article in AICPA Insights, click: 5 Tips to Help Identify ...

2016 Saw Record Number of Small Businesses Sold The 7,842 closed deals in 2016 were a record high for business sales, according to BizBuySell.  Gene Marks, Marks Group owner, explains that the factors driving the trend were strong business performance, low interest rates, and owners' desire to retire. To read the full article in The Washington Post, click: A Record Number of Small Business Owners are Sellin ...

Part II of II This is the second of a two-part article. In this second part, Edward Mendlowitz illustrates how stocks can be acquired and what factors to consider when developing or modifying a stock portfolio. Read Part I here. ...

Plus: Bishop v. Commissioner Rules on When and Whether a Bad Debt Loss Can Be a Claimed Deduction In Schwab v. Commissioner, a case turns on when a variable universal life insurance policy is a taxable event.  In Boone Operations Co., LLC v. Commissioner, find out when contributing fill dirt to the city of Tucson is or isn’t a charitable or taxable event. ...