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Wealthy LGBT Investors Tend To Be More Conservative Investors According To New Study (Spectrem Group)
A new Spectrem Group study has found that wealthy LGBT investors tend to be more conservative and less diversified in their investing preferences than their non-LGBT counterparts.
LGBT investors said their legal and advising needs were not well understood, with "only 34% saying their primary financial advisor understands the unique situations of the LGBT community". The study also found 67% of wealthy LGBT investors use social media, compared with 57% of non-LGBT investors.
America's Self-Employed Are Creating A Retirement Time Bomb (Reuters)
America faces a "retirement time bomb", according to Chris Taylor at Reuters. This is because a rising number of Americans are self-employed, lack benefits that come with "regular jobs", and are not saving for retirement. A survey from TD Ameritrade Holding Corp found that the number of freelancers, contractors and temp workers was expected to rise to 40% of the workforce by 2020. The study also found that 28% of self-employed weren't saving at all, while another 40% saved occasionally.
4 Reasons You Can't Say The Stock Market Is In A Bubble (Goldman Sachs)
Stocks had a great run up in 2013, with the S&P 500 returning 30% to investors even as earning growth was modest. Yet stock market valuations may be getting pricey and investors are more concerned about a stock market bubble. But Goldman Sachs' Sharmin Mossavar-Rahmani and Brett Nelson point out four key reasons that they're not. 1. Credit growth isn't excessive. 2. Investor flows into stocks have not been excessive. 3. U.S. sentiment could still improve. 4. Valuations are not in bubble territory.
Here's A Compelling Sign That We're Not In A Stock Market Bubble (Richard Bernstein Advisors)
Richard Bernstein of Richard Bernstein Advisors thinks we're not in a stock market bubble. "It seems to us that a necessary condition for an equity bubble is the overvaluation of the stocks most sensitive to the overall stock market’s movement," said Bernstein. "It seems very unrealistic that high beta stocks could be selling at historically conservative valuations if there really was an equity bubble underway."
"Chart 1 shows the relative valuation of the stocks in the S&P 500® with the highest betas (i.e., those stocks with the highest sensitivity to overall market movements) versus that of the stocks with the lowest betas (i.e., those with the lowest sensitivity). Despite claims that the equity market is in a bubble, it is low beta stocks and not high beta stocks that are selling at rich valuations. High beta stocks are actually close to record conservative relative valuations."
Wells Fargo's Wealth, Brokerage And Retirement Units Get A Boost From Asset-Based Fees (Wells Fargo)
Wells Fargo's wealth, brokerage and retirement units saw Q4 profits jump 40% on the year and 9% on the quarter to $491 million. Revenue was up 11% on the year and 4% on the quarter to $3.4 billion "driven by higher asset-based fees, as well as increases in net interest income and brokerage transaction revenue." Client assets in the retail brokerage division were up 12% on the year to $1.4 trillion. In the wealth management division, client assets were up 7% on the year to $218 billion. Finally, IRA assets of $341 billion were up 15% on the year.