AP Images/Mike Harrington
Millennials don't want to give up luxuries (Reuters)
A new survey from Citizens Bank found that less than half of millennial college graduates (47%) would be willing to decrease their online food deliveries in exchange for reducing their student loans, reports Bobbi Rebell.
"They are very committed to living their life the way they want to live their life, and as frustrated as they are by student loans, they are not willing to make those lifestyle tradeoffs," Brendan Coughlin, president of consumer lending at Citizens Bank, told Reuters.
Advisors need to focus on small financial planning goals, too (Nerd's Eye View)
"There's a famous saying in the world of goal setting: 'How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,'" writes Nerd's Eye View's Michael Kitces.
Kitces cites a recent Morningstar article that notes that although people often create "bite-sized goals" when it comes to exercise and weight loss, they rarely do so when it comes to financial planning. For example, people focus on saving up large amounts like $100,000 for a child's college education.
And even though advisors will break down these goals into smaller sizes, that "itself is actually still an insufficient breakdown of the goal to really be feasible for implementation, because the household may not have an available $300/month or $220/month to save in the first place," writes Kitces.
CORY BOOKER: I think the DOL's fiduciary rule will be "good for business" (Financial Planning)
In an interview with Financial Planning's Ann Marsh, Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey argued that the DOL's final fiduciary rule "gives a whole new aura of trust to [the] industry."
"I think it is actually going to be very good for business because the more people trust, the more likely [they will be] to engage [advisors'] services," he hold Financial Planning. "People are going to find out that this is something that really benefits them. It's like the auto industry fighting seat belts and then, all of a sudden, the auto industry is advertising their safety."
Rising US debt shouldn't affect the Fed's policy (Charles Schwab)
"A rising debt load is a risk factor for the economy, but we don't see it affecting the path of Fed policy. Nor is it necessarily the case that a rising debt load will cause bond yields to move up over the next few years," argues Kathy A. Jones.
"Longer term, rising government debt issuance could raise the cost of borrowing for non-government borrowers by absorbing more demand. A high debt can limit the government's ability to spend on discretionary items such as productivity-enhancing infrastructure or invest in scientific and medical research. With elections approaching, now would be a good time in our view to have a thoughtful national conversation about budget priorities. Let's hope that happens," she added.
Wirehouses scored a big win with the DOL's final rule (InvestmentNews)
"Brokers who comply with the fiduciary rule by informing clients in an email that they're choosing to be paid commissions may continue to benefit from higher-cost proprietary products, particularly if the investors don't bother to read the notification, according to John Anderson, head of practice management solutions at SEI Advisor Network," reports Christine Idzelis.
That's a win for the wirehouses, he said, according to Idzelis, as it "allows them to sell their internal products in a much easier way than in the original way the rule was written."