James Cook/Business Insider
Business Insider UK's tech guru, James Cook, checks the markets on his Apple Watch.
Now you can watch stocks on your Apple Watch (Think Advisor)
TD Ameritrade has launched an app that lets you monitor your portfolio on your Apple Watch. "It made sense for us with the Apple Watch to do something to dip our toe in the water and see what our clients need," said Michael McGrath, managing director of web & mobile strategy for eCommerce at TD Ameritrade. According to Think Advisor, TD Ameritrade is planning to launch its Mobile Trader app for the Apple Watch this fall.
Past performance does not mean future success (Business Insider)
S&P's Aye Soe looked into the three and five-year performance of hundreds of mutual funds to see how long they remain in the top 25th and 50th percentile. The results were startling. According to Soe, "Out of the 682 domestic equity funds that were in the top quartile as of March 2013, come the end of March 2015, only 5.28% had managed to stay in that top quartile." Interestingly no fund remained in the top quartile after five years.
Evaluating fund managers (Financial Planning)
Financial Planning observed a Morningstar conference consisting of Jeff Mitchell, Fidelity Investment's head of research in global asset allocation, and two other experts discussing ways to evaluate fund managers. The group concluded investors should look for managers with skin in the game. Also, pay attention for funds that have a low manager turnover and low fees.
Commonwealth Financial poaches team from LPL (Financial Advisor)
RIA Commonwealth Financial Network has reeled in a $350 million team from LPL Financial. The team of Raymond "Rocky" Daigle Jr., Robert Comeaux Jr. and Walter Bond is based in Metairie, La and specializes in retirement planning for families throughout the Gulf Coast. "I am confident our affiliation with Commonwealth will give us the support we need to continue to evolve and expand our team while granting us the freedom and independence to stay true to our core," Daigle said.
What the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage ruling means for financial plans (Investor News)
Financial advisors need to be aware of some changes to retirement and family planning now that same-sex marriage has been legalized. Investment News says, "Gay married couples nationwide won't need to file different state and federal tax returns or use complicated estate planning techniques to protect families if a spouse dies." The ruling also means same-sex couples are eligible to receive spousal and survivor benefits from the Social Security Administration throughout the country.