The New York Fed thinks student aid is boosting tuition costs
Student aid might be fueling higher tuition costs (Think Advisor)
The New York Fed thinks higher caps on student loans are responsible for rising tuition. Think Advisor cites data obtained from the New York Fed, which showed "the increased availability of subsidized student loans and Pell Grants accounted for 55% to 65% of the increase in tuition costs, as measured by their sticker price." However, the New York Fed suggests the increased costs might be worth it, because a college degree brings in higher wages. Not everyone agrees with the New York Fed's findings. Mark Kantrowitz, an expert on financial aid and college planning, told Think Advisor, "Nobody in their right mind believes that a $5,775 federal Pell Grant causes a college to charge $50,000 to $60,000 a year."
Goldman Sachs' ETFs debut (Investment News)
Goldman Sachs is the latest company to enter the exchange traded fund space. On Monday, the firm launched its ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF, the first in a series of active funds. Investment News notes the ETF carries a fee of 0.09% of assets annually, well below the 0.49% average of funds tracked by Morningstar.
Rent affordability looks like its going to get worse (Bloomberg)
There are already 11.8 million households in the US that spend at least half their income on rent. According to Bloomberg's Patrick Clark, that number is likely to climb to 13.1 million over the next decade if wages and rents grow at 2% annually. Typically, renters are told not to spend more than 30% of the their income on rent.
Wells Fargo lands an advisor team (Financial Planning)
A team of five advisors has left Triad Advisors for Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network. The team, led by principal Thomas Gray, brings $120 million AUM to Wells Fargo with the hopes of growing that number to $250 million over the next five years. "Just going down the line, [they've got] voluminous assets that a wealth management firm like ours can tap into, so the support is tremendous," Gray told Financial Planning.
AdvisorHUB's founder gets 18 months for tax evasion (Reuters)
Andrew Parish, the founder of broker gossip site AdvisorHUB, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for failing to pay federal employment taxes for workers his separate business, Axiom Consulting Group, Reuters reports. In addition to his prison sentence, Parish must pay a $10,000 fine and the $341,336.46 he owes in back taxes.