The InvestmentNews Podcast

Jeff takes Knut Rostad of The Institute for the Fiduciary Standard deep into the weeds and back in a discussion designed to untangle the endless regulatory wrangling over whether brokers or advisers have the better standard of practice. Do consumers even understand or care about so much inside baseball? Or is this whole debate just an attempt to leverage a marketing advantage?

This episode kicks off with tax management guru Ed Slott giving advisers some solid year-end tax strategies to employ, regardless of where the Biden tax hikes end up. For his second guest, Jeff talks with David DeVoe about the pace of record-setting consolidation in the wealth management space. How long can it last, and how much is your advisory firm worth?

Bruce Kelly takes the reins of this week’s pod so Jeff can take care of his last-minute Christmas shopping and fruitcake baking. InvestmentNews’ Sean Allocca joins the podcast to chat with Bruce about some of the big acquisitions and hoped-for acquisitions in the wealth tech space. They go over Wealthfront as a possible buy target and Apollo’s purchase of Griffin.

Jeff gets the breakdown on anti-woke ETFs from Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas. Together they dive deep into what these funds entail and which companies they’re investing in, and ponder the question, is bringing politics into investing a good idea?

Jeff and Bruce speak with Jeffrey Sherman, deputy CIO at DoubleLine Capital, about inflation, bonds, ETFs and ESG. Then the dynamic duo debates the 2022 outlook with Mark Schoeff Jr.

Jeff and Bruce talk options for marketing, niche advisory and being authentic with the CEO and co-founder of FiComm Partners, Megan Carpenter.

As the InvestmentNews Podcast reaches its 80th episode, Bruce and Jeff tackle big industry issues with Brian Hart from KPMG, including when and how employees are expected to return to the office, and talk to Sonya Dreizler of hellochoir.com, which is a trailblazer in the effort to set new industry standards for diversity at big conferences.

Episode 81: Are our industry’s diversity programs working? by The InvestmentNews Podcast

The markets have been on a wild ride so far this, and investors are keeping a close eye on their portfolios. Blair deQuesnay of Ritholtz Wealth Management joins Jeff and Bruce to chat about how advisers can keep clients calm during the storm and her take on the current markets. They touch on crypto as well, and Jeff and Bruce discuss the Merrill adviser fired for a racist tirade in a smoothie shop...

Jim Paulsen, CIO at Leuthold, joins Bruce and Jeff to dissect the current market volatility. They discuss where the opening salvos of 2022 trading fit in compared to other recent big market moves and whether or not we’ll see a true correction. They get into the Fed’s role and how inflation worries tie into the swirling markets as well. Bruce and Jeff chat about UBS’s purchase of Wealthfront.

Jeff and Bruce pull back the curtain a bit this week on how private money finds its way into RIA businesses in the form of investments. Tim Bello from Merchant Investment Management joins to share his perspective as someone whose firm makes investments and forms partnerships mainly in the wealth management space. And no, this is not private equity.

Adam Gana, managing partner of Gana Weinstein, joins Bruce to discuss a recent Finra arbitration decision overturned by a court in Georgia. They discuss the case itself, how Finra abitration works, and what the case means for Finra and for advisers.

Nadia Papagiannis, senior vice president of multi-asset class solutions at Northern Trust Asset Management, joins Jeff to chat about the income portion of portfolios for clients on the cusp of retirement. Given inflation, low interest rates and general uncertainty, advisers have their work cut out for them. Nadia shares her perspective and advice on the matter.

Bruce and Jeff connect with Rob Isbitts of Sungarden Investment Publishing to get his opinion on how our current geopolitical unrest is affecting the markets. Later, Bruce and Jeff discuss Tyrone Ross’ departure from Onramp Invest and his cryptic tweet from the Omaha airport.

Bruce and Jeff speak to Tom Roseen, head of research services at Refinitiv Lipper Research, about the recently announced Lipper Awards. They clarify how the awards work and discuss some of the winners, including T. Rowe Price. They also address how the shift in the fund industry from actively managed funds to index and passively managed funds has impacted Lipper. Bruce and Jeff also talk about the...

Jeff Benjamin speaks to David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, about Modern Monetary Theory and why we shouldn’t be panicked about current inflation. Together they unravel the Fed’s plans to raise interest rates seven times this year, and the dangers the U.S. may or may not be facing as the Federal Reserve tightens and the economy slows.

Bruce and Jeff talk with Emile Hallez, US news editor at ESG Clarity, who has done the work of reading through the SEC’s 510-page climate disclosure proposal. Listen in for a breakdown of the proposal, which will affect how public companies and some private companies report about their impact on the environment. Hear Emile’s take on why this is necessary, what happens if the administration shifts...

Bruce and Jeff speak to Nick Frelinghuysen, managing director and portfolio manager at Chilton Trust, to unwrap the latest Biden tax proposal, known as the billionaire minimum income tax. They explore the big questions: Is this constitutional? Is this really just a billion-dollar campaign slogan? Without this distraction of a tax that will likely never pass, what can be accomplished while Democrat...

Bruce and Jeff connect with Ron Carson, founder and CEO of Carson Group, to talk about the big Burt White news, the details of onboarding him, and how Ron feels about having another big personality on the team. They also get into Ron’s mindset going into a relationship with a private equity investor.

Jeff and Bruce talk to Knut Rostad, president of the Institute for the Fiduciary Standard, about the SEC’s revisions to Form CRS and the complications that it’s added to defining the term ‘fiduciary.’ Knut explains the purpose of the form and its very limited coverage of the fiduciary experience. The guys debate the significance of the fiduciary label, asset-based pricing vs. fee-based pricing, an...

Bruce and Jeff talk with Tom Bradley, managing director at Charles Schwab, about the Schwab-TD Ameritrade merger. They break down the multiyear process of the acquisition and get an update on its current status, as well as unpacking the challenges faced throughout the process.

Jeff and Bruce dive deep into the world of cannabis investments with ETF Managers Group’s cannabis research and banking expert Jason Wilson. Jason addresses how the industry will continue to shift as a result of changing regulations, what the rules are currently and how they’re expected to change, and the difference between CBD and THC.

Episode Notes Bruce and Jeff reconnect with InvestmentNew’s very own technology editor, Ryan Neal, as he dives into the T3 conference in Texas. The guys discuss what Ryan’s been doing during his hiatus from InvestmentNews, his big plans now that he’s back, and the misleading bro culture of Silicon Valley. Guest Bio: Originally from Northern California, Ryan Neal received bachelor’s degrees in Engl...

Bruce Kelly sorts through the complicated pairing of crypto and 401(k)s with InvestmentNews’ very own Mark Schoeff Jr. and Jennifer Gibbs Swets, partner and retirement plan consultant at DWC – The 401(k) Experts. Together they address the big questions: -Why is Fidelity advocating to push crypto onto its 401(k) platform? -How should you explain this to option to your client? -Where does the DOL st...

Episode Notes Reporting from the Technology Tools for Today conference in Denton, Texas, InvestmentNews technology editor Ryan W. Neal sits down with Andrew Salesky, head of digital adviser solutions at Charles Schwab, to get an update on the ongoing TD Ameritrade integration and the latest digital developments for advisers using Schwab’s platform. They also discuss Schwab’s latest third-party tec...