CFPs unhappy with latest CFP Board ads; Stifel dinged for $14M over broker’s structured note recs; prepping for the coming TCJA changes
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INDUSTRY NEWS: A series of CFP Board ads promoting the financial advisor profession to students received swift backlash from those in the industry who say it gives false expectations to those considering the career while sullying the reputations of those already in it.
"Becoming a financial advisor gives you the flexibility to manage your own time," read one such ad that appeared on Facebook. The ads show young people alternately sleeping on a couch, enjoying a bubble bath, closing their eyes on a massage table and reading on a hammock and couch, among other leisurely poses.
Matt McKay, CFP? , portfolio manager and partner at Briaud Financial Advisors in College Station, Texas, called the campaign "so disappointing."
REGULATION AND COMPLIANCE: Stifel is planning to ask a court to vacate a "windfall" FINRA arbitration award that took the rare step of ordering millions in punitive damages.
A three-person Financial Industry Regulatory Authority panel hit Stifel Financial Corp. with a $14.3 million award over a complaint regarding a troubled broker's recommendations of complicated investment vehicles known as structured notes. These notes are a type of debt security often offering high returns but also often coming with substantial risks and fees. The bulk of the order against Stifel consists of $9 million in punitive damages — an amount one industry expert called proportionally one of the largest such awards he's ever seen.?
TAX PLANNING: With next month's election looming as a referendum on so many issues, the recent history of Congress offers a few hints on what may happen to taxes, according to legislative experts.
Financial advisors, tax professionals and their clients trying to prepare for changes to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ahead of the sunset date for many provisions in the law at the end of next year may want to read up on the Senate procedure known as "budget reconciliation" — a complicated means of passing a bill that doesn't require a 60-vote supermajority in the chamber. Veteran Washington insiders speaking in a virtual panel held by law firm K&L Gates ' Public Policy and Law practice described the possible tax policy implications of that process.?
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