Military families have never been more confident about their financial future
The military's middle class has never been more confident about its finances (Think Advisor)
The First Command Financial Behaviors Index jumped 17 points to a record high of 140 in the first quarter of 2015. Think Advisor's Danielle Andrus reports, "72% of middle-class military families believe their financial situation will improve in the next year, and 69% are more confident about their ability to retire." First Command Financial Services attributes the positive outlook to families cutting back on their discretionary spending and instead focusing on saving.
How China's slowdown impacts the world (Bloomberg)
The continued slowing of the Chinese economy is likely to begin impacting the other major economies of the world. Bloomberg highlighted a UBS Group AG report written by economists Donna Kwok, Wang Tao and Jennifer Zhong, which suggested, "Commodity, reprocessing, and developed country exporters alike should brace themselves for the impact of weakening China demand this year, irrespective of whether U.S. or EU imports pick up.'' While Beijing officially reports Chinese GDP of around 7%, others have suggested the economy is more likely growing at a 4% clip.
Rob Gronkowski hasn't spent a penny of his NFL earnings (Business Insider)
New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski has earned more than $16 million as a player in the NFL, but hasn't spent a single penny of his paycheck. Sports Illustrated's Peter King shared the following excerpt from Gronk's autobiography, "It's Good to be Gronk": "I live off my marketing money and haven't blown it on any big-money expensive cars, expensive jewelry or tattoos and still wear my favorite pair of jeans from high school." BodyArmor SuperDrink and Dunkin' Donuts are among Gronk's biggest endorsements.
Schwab launches its 'Institutional Intelligent Portfolios' product (Financial Advisor)
Charles Schwab announced the launch of its 'Institutional Intelligent Portfolios' product, which allows advisors to compete within the robo advisor industry. The platform allows advisors to choose from 450 ETFs in 28 different asset classes while constructing a client's portfolio based on their risk tolerance. According to Financial Advisor, "For advisors with less than $100 million in AUM with Schwab, there will be a 10 basis points platform fee. For firms with more than $100 million, there will be no platform fee." The platform requires portfolios hold at least 4% of their assets in cash.
How to improve your use of client data (Financial Planning)
Advisors have a ton of client data at their fingertips, but they struggle to take advantage of it. Michael Wilson of Financial Planning shares some tips on how advisors can take advantage of the information. Wilson says advisors should filter their client data based on objectives they have to meet. Also, use your data to set up a direct marketing campaign to alert clients when changes to their portfolio need to be made. Another idea is to use the information to provide clients with newsletter about the sectors they are interested in. Wilson also suggests to use a query to identify assets held by clients at other firms that generate more risk than their tolerance, and alert them how you can better suit their needs.