Russia Presents 'Extreme Risks And Plentiful Opportunities' For Gutsy Investors

Russia Presents "Extreme Risks And Plentiful Opportunities" For Investors (Advisor Perspective)

Russia has a lot of "extreme risks" - economic, political, and default - but also "plentiful opportunities," write Chris Brightman and Vitali Kalesnik. "Logically, this crisis should pass. Russia has ample internal reserves. Europe relies on Russian energy and it will take decades of infrastructure investment to lower this dependence."

"Those considering investing in Russia should recognize the risk of loss through default and/or nationalization. In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable. Investing in Russia now is definitely discomfiting, but it might pay off in the long run," they write.

The Stellar Muni Bond Returns Are Likely To Continue In 2015 (Charles Schwab)

"Although this year's muni market performance is unlikely to outpace 2014's stellar returns, we still believe munis make sense for tax-sensitive, income-oriented investors," write Cooper J. Howard and Rob Williams.

"We expect the yield curve to flatten and credit conditions to remain positive for munis this year, which supports our view that the average duration in a municipal portfolio should be between seven and 12 years," they write.

Financial Services Providers Almost Unanimously Agreed That The Industry Has A Trust Problem (Think Advisor) 

The CFA Institute's Global Market Sentiment Survey shows that 63% of professionals said "lacking an ethical culture was the factor contributing most to the public's lack of trust in the industry," reports Danielle Andrus.

Only 4% of respondents said there was no trust problem in financial services.

"Since the problem is within firms, the solution is as well, according to respondents. Over 30% said the best way to build trust with the public was to better align professionals' compensation with investors' objectives. The second most popular solution was for management to establish a zero-tolerance policy for ethical breaches," reports Andrus.

Financial Advisors Recommend That Divorcing Spouses Search For Hidden Assets (Financial Advisor Magazine)

"The first place to turn for information is the tax return; it could be personal or corporate," says Diane Pearson, the personal chief financial officer for Legend Financial Advisors, Inc. 
"Look back five years and check such things as capital gains and itemized deductions. You are looking for such things as real estate that you might not know about or gambling losses, because if there are losses, there are also winnings."

"Check the spouse's business expense reports and ask about uncollected bonuses, which can be used to hide income. Also, look for any expenses that have gone up dramatically, because that can be a way to hide assets," she said.

The Biggest Oil Traders Are Now Storing Crude In Rented Supertankers (Reuters) 

"Trading firms including Vitol, Trafigura and energy major Shell have all booked crude tankers for up to 12 months, freight brokers and shipping sources told Reuters."

They suggests traders could use supertankers to store excess crude at see until oil prices start to rebound, which was previously done in 2009 when oil prices last crashed.

On Friday, WTI broke below $47.50 and was down more than 3% at one point.