With full implementation scheduled for July 2019, figuring out how to deal with the fiduciary rule is the top priority for many firms and advisors. Here’s how you turn this regulatory bombshell to your advantage.
Despite over 92% of the 193,000 comment letters opposing delay, the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule has been officially delayed until June 9. No matter the legalities, investor awareness is higher.
We think investors’ expectation for the fiduciary standard is here to stay no matter what the official rules say -- and those investors will increasingly demand that their advisers apply to their non-retirement accounts too.
In the search for safe investments in today’s volatile markets, investors should focus on companies that have a history of creating shareholder value, the ability to earn quality returns on capital, and an undervalued stock. This week’s Long Idea, Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) not only fits the description of a safe investment, but its shares are also greatly undervalued.
As regulators dole out punishments that fit the crimes, they are finally closing many of the illegal trading loopholes that have driven so much of Wall Street profits over the past decade.
DTAs artificially raise reported assets and do not help generate operating profit while DTLs are like a source of interest-free financing. We remove the impact of DTAs and DTLs from our calculation of invested capital to ensure the more accurate measure of a firm’s return on invested capital (ROIC).
The Large-cap Value style ranks second out of the twelve fund styles as detailed in my Style Rankings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. It gets my Neutral rating, which is based on aggregation of ratings of 41 ETFs and 772 mutual funds in the Large-cap Value style as of May 1, 2013.
For the first time in many months, both Citigroup (C) and Bank Of America (BAC) are not on our Most Dangerous Stocks list as of the release of the August report.
My ratings on ETFs are unique because they are based on my stock ratings for each of a fund’s holdings.
Ergo, the “Most Dangerous” ETFs allocate the most capital to stocks on March’s Most Dangerous Stocks list, which is available for non-subscribers as of today. There are 40 stocks on the Most Dangerous list every month.
Always flattered when a journalist, especially one as famous and respected at Mr. Taibbi, references my work. His article "Bank of America In Trouble?" incorporated the meat of my "Raising Fees Is A Desperate Measure: Sell BAC" article.
Year to date, Bank Of America (BAC) stock is up nearly 45% compared to the S&P at +about 8%. BAC stock has bounced back nicely after dropping precipitously at the end of last year.
I would call the 45% bounce a “dead cat” bounce because I expect the stock to fall right back to $5/share, where it bottomed last Thanksgiving, or lower.
Recent news that Bank Of America (BAC) is considering jacking up its fees on basic checking accounts suggests the company is bad shape. As I wrote yesterday, I believe BAC stock is headed back to its lows and today’s news confirms my view that the expectations basked into the stock’s valuation are writing checks that the company cannot cash.
As one financial scandal follows another, it seems the good guys are having a tougher time catching the bad guys. Recent revelations about MF Global’s ponzi scheme are another reminder of how our regulatory and oversight systems seem to let whales pass through their net.