5 Smart Insights For Financial Advisors

FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors.

There Are 4 Key Triggers For A Stock Market Correction (Barron's)

Despite the rally in stocks John Praveen, chief investment strategist at Prudential International Investments Advisers, thinks stocks are due for a "healthy" correction. There are four triggers for such a correction. 1. A slowdown in Q2 U.S. GDP growth, after a strong first quarter. A slowdown in China, and the ongoing eurozone recession. 2. Uncertainty in Europe surrounding the Italian election, and Cyprus. 3. Earnings disappointment in Q1. 4. Uncertainty about when the Fed will wind down QE.

Brokers Often Lie To Retail Investors About Muni Bonds (FA Mag)

At an SEC forum, Ric Edelman, CEO of Edelman Financial Services LLC, said brokers often lie to retail investors about municipal bonds. The key thing they keep from retail investors is 1. Retail investors "can negotiate for yield and spreads on muni bonds." 2. Competitors may offer a better price. 3. "Sometimes brokers tell a retail investor that the value of the bond is guaranteed, leading the consumer to think he or she can sell the bond at any time for the original purchase price."

People Shouldn't Take Financial Advisor Credentials At Face Value (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is out with a new report that warns people to be cautious while trusting advisors with financial decisions. This they say is because many consumers "don’t understand basic differences between brokers, investment advisers, insurance agents, and financial planners—let alone the 50 plus senior designations that many of those financial advisers add to their titles."

Here are some senior designations and the coursework required for them:

Advisor Settles Charges That He Defrauded CalPERS (Thomson Reuters News & Insight)

Mesh Tandon, head of Simran Capital Management, has settled charges brought against him by the SEC. The regulator alleged that Tandon defrauded the California Public Employers' Retirement System (CalPERS). Tandon will pay "$121,698 in penalties, interest and disgorgement of ill-gotten gains," according to Thomson Reuters News & Insight. The agreement also sees Tandon barred from the securities industry.

The S&P Falls Beneath A Horizontal Line And A Diagonal Line (Business Insider)

Technical analysts are worried because the S&P 500 just fell below two important price levels. The S&P 500 fell below the 50-day moving average, which is at 1543, and below its resistance level of 1530.

Miller Tabak Chief Technical Market Analyst Jonathan Krinsky said, "If 1539 does prove to be support yet again, we could be in the process of forming the neckline of a head and shoulders top. That would suggest a bounce somewhere back to the 1560-1570 area. We view that as the least likely scenario given the breakdown in many marquee stocks, but as always want to keep an open mind."