August 1, 2019

PERSONAL FINANCE, FINANCIAL WELLNESS, ANNUITIES, TAXES & FINANCIAL LITERACY

• SECURE Act Could Ruin Your 401(k)
• FEMA official: Americans need to start saving for a rainy day ; Summer special: Perform your own (financial) autopsy
• Takeaways On How NH Schools Can Help Improve Financial Literacy ; Can financial literacy in school curricula help address college debt?
• I don’t have a pension. Should I buy an annuity?
• Nonprofits nervous as giving declines with new tax law ; Budgeting for charity: A new way for the government to encourage giving
• Cryptocurrencies: An Estate Planning Conundrum
• An Underhanded, if Legal, Scheme to Get Financial Aid

HEALTHCARE & WELLNESS

• To Lower Healthcare Costs, Lower ED Visits
• How to Meet the Challenge of Evolving Senior Healthcare Needs
• HCA Healthcare weighs in on CMS’ price transparency proposal during earnings call

TECH, MEDIA & SOCIAL MEDIA

• Popular financial services apps accused of overcollecting user data
• Capital One Data Breach Impacts 106 Million Customers ; Capital One’s ‘pride’ hurt by data breach but not much else, analysts say
• Amazon Reigns Over Cloud Market
• Facebook’s currency plan makes fintech a tough sell in Congress
• Eight EU states miss artificial intelligence deadline

401k, 403b, 457b, NONQUALIFIED, STATE-RUN PLANS & LITIGATION

• Retirement Savings Shouldn’t Be a Political Piggy Bank 
• Why RIA Valuations Have Reached a Record High in M&A Deals
• DOL Puts Annuities in Association Retirement Plan Footnote ; Small Businesses (Really) Like 401k MEP Concept ; Maybe Insurers Could Start Multiple-Employer Retirement Plans: DOL
• Bay State’s Fiduciary Proposal Correctly Excludes ERISA Plans

PENSIONS

• Private equity strengthens public pensions
• Pension fund trustees who spent more than $1.3 million on trips to face audit
• The FedEx Pension Twist: Borrow at Low Rates to Boost an Underfunded Plan
• CalPERS loss triggers more debt payment reform
• Maryland Pension System’s Assumed Rate of Return Reduced Again
• 651 new Illinois public pensioners add $26 million in annual pension costs
• Central States pension fund continues to bleed as Congress debates aid
• The changing role of actuaries 

INTERNATIONAL

• UK Regulator Proposes Ban on Certain Pension Transfer Fees
• Pension risk transfers: How can we best manage employee anxiety?

MARKETS

• What the consumer spending report tells us is incomes and savings are up, inflation is down — and the Fed is cutting rates ; ‘Hidden’ debtors may be signaling trouble in the global economy 
• How retailers can survive the Amazon era
• Oil Surges as Traders Await Fed Cut, Iran Clash Squeezes Supply ; Why energy companies are still investing gasoline in the age of the electric vehicle
• Natural Gas Is Stuck in a Vicious Cycle
• Spotlight on New ED Financial Responsibility Reporting
• Smart Beta ETFs Receiving Healthy Inflows ; Smart beta funds don’t match the hype, research finds
• US activist investors’ aggressive strategies are starting to force change in Europe
• Japan’s Central Bank Promises Easing if Needed but Leaves Rates Unchanged
• Pound Pushed Toward Historic Low as Investors Worry Over Brexit

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENTS

• Hedge funds up 1.75 per cent in June ; Karmic reckoning? Investors in activist hedge funds agitate for change ; SEC Bans Former Hedge Fund Manager for Inflating Asset Prices
• Profit is not guaranteed for private equity funds ; Private-Equity Firm Abraaj Fined a Record $315 Million in Dubai
• Branson-backed cryptocurrency start-up launches a super-fast exchange to take on Coinbase ; Facebook’s Audacious Pitch for a Global Cryptocurrency; US Hedge Fund Adds Major Crypto Companies to Its Portfolio