Did Your Adviser Take a Payroll Relief Loan?

Special Podcast: Dan Wiener and Jim Lowell—Why Are Markets Rising in a Recession?

The COVID-19-related economic decline is undeniable. We’ve seen unprecedented unemployment, record drops in consumer spending and rampant speculation that many businesses and jobs aren’t going to survive the pandemic’s economic shock. Yet stockA financial instrument giving the holder a proportion of the ownership and earnings of a company. market prices have gone higher and higher: What gives?

In this special episode of The Adviser You Can Talk To Podcast, Chairman Dan Wiener and Chief Investment Officer Jim Lowell dig into the disconnect between economic data and recent stock market gains. Are traders and stock-pickers buying on expectations of improved earnings in 2021? 2022? How far ahead should investors be looking when it comes to stock prices?

In this informative and insightful discussion, Dan and Jim cover:

• The stock market as a discounting mechanism that reflects expectations for the future
• Hopeful signs in the economic and medical data
• Sector rebounds to believe in and how long others may lag
• What does recovery look like?

While we’d never turn down stock market gains, Dan and Jim talk about why they remain cautious amid this rapid recovery from March’s lows. For their instructive outlook on today’s markets, click here to listen now!

As events continue to unfold, we’ll be updating our podcast and blog page regularly to keep you informed on the latest developments and our response.

A Word From Chairman Dan Wiener on Advisers and Payroll Relief Loans

The federal government is attempting to help small businesses impacted by the pandemic by offering forgivable loans to help them cover employees’ paychecks. But there have been some well-documented problems with this program, some of which have not received the kinds of media coverage we think they deserve. In our view, some registered investment advisers are taking undue advantage of the program.

At Adviser Investments we decided we couldn’t, in good conscience, be among them. Though offered more than $2 million under the program, we declined the forgivable loan, preferring that the government’s dollars go to small businesses struggling to get through the crisis intact, not us.

Our founder and chairman, Dan Wiener, wrote a piece for Citywire earlier this month discussing our reasoning—and calling upon the rest of the advisory industry to demonstrate the same ethics and integrity with regard to their own businesses that should always guide those who claim to act as fiduciariesA person or organization who manages assets for a third party, and is legally bound to act in the best interests of that third party, putting the third party’s interest before their own.. Please click here to read Dan’s op-ed.

If you’re considering hiring an adviser or currently working with one, we suggest asking if they took a payroll relief loan, and if so, why? Is the answer aligned with their philosophy and their advice to you?

For other questions to ask when vetting a money manager, please read our free special report: The 15 Questions You Need to Ask Your Financial Adviser.

529 Plans: A Smarter Way to Save for College?

May 29, or 5/29, has become informally “celebrated” as College Savings Day. What’s the catch? While there are a number of choices available to investors and students, 529 plans are a very attractive option for a wide range of people given their high contribution limits, the built-in federal tax benefits, potential home-state tax incentives, flexibility in choosing and changing beneficiaries, and how easy they are to set up and automatically contribute to.

For anyone wondering how they are going to cover four (or more) years of tuition for their children, or who has questions about 529 plans, consider this report required reading.

Topics include:

• The two types of 529 plans
• Tax implications and benefits
• The impact on financial aid
• Special rules for grandparents

It’s never too soon to become a more-informed investor. Please click here to receive this free, no-obligation report today!

Adviser Investments’ Market Takeaways

Calm and clarity have been sorely lacking when it comes to market news recently—that’s why we’re providing Today’s Market Takeaways, short videos in which a member of our investment team analyzes what the market’s telling us.

Recently, EquityThe amount of money that would be returned to shareholders if a company’s assets were sold off and all its debt repaid. Research Analyst Kate Austin has provided a wrap on first-quarter earnings,  covered the likelihood of further virus relief from Congress and talked about the implications of an emerging wave of COVID-19-spurred bankruptcies.

Vice President Steve Johnson discussed how to keep a broader perspective on your portfolio in these tumultuous times, and shared his notes on a recent call with one of the fund managers we invest with.

About Adviser Investments

Adviser Investments is a full service wealth management firm, offering investment management, financial and tax planning, managed individual bond portfolios, and 401(k) advisory services. We’ve been helping individuals, trustsA legal document that functions as an instruction manual to how you want your money managed and spent in your later years as well as how your assets should be distributed after your death. Assets placed in a trust are generally safe from creditors and can be sold by the trustee in short order, avoiding the lengthy and costly probate process., institutions and foundations since 1994, and have more than 3,500 clients across the country and over $6 billion in assets under management. Our portfolios encompass actively managed funds, ETFsA type of security which allows investors to indirectly invest in an underlying basket of financial instruments (these may include stocks, bonds, commodities or other types of instruments). Shares in an ETF are publicly traded on an exchange, and the price of an ETF’s shares will fluctuate throughout the trading day (traditional mutual funds trade only once a day). For example, one popular ETF tracks the companies in the S&P 500, so buying a share of the ETF gets an investor exposure to all 500 companies in the index., socially responsible investments and tactical asset allocation strategies, with particular expertise in Fidelity and Vanguard mutual funds. We take pride in being The Adviser You Can Talk To.

Our minimum account size is $350,000.  To see a full list of our awards and recognitions, click here, and for more information, please visit www.adviserinvestments.com or call 800-492-6868.