Schwab Moving To Subscription Fees Could Be Watershed Moment For Advice Industry @MikeM's observation that absent the $300 entry fee, people were likely paying fees for just a month or two to get the more costly initial financial planning and then dropping the service makes sense.
ISTM the comments
@Derf alluded to on the original site, that question the ability of Schwab staff to deliver services with this reduced pricing are missing the point. These services, whether robo or hybrid represent the industry's attempt to bring "advice" down to the "mass affluent" ($
100K+) investors, largely through automation.
https://www.wealthmanagement.com/blog/serving-mass-affluent-market-technologyThese services are focused primarily on asset allocation (and selecting securities to match), with only a touch of human involvement thrown in. Easy for Schwab (or anyone) to provide. They draw in customers, and as first mover on flat rate pricing, Schwab can expect to draw in many more customers. In the future some of them will move up to higher level, higher cost services. Regardless, there will be more assets in the managed accounts invested in Schwab ETFs.
Here's the full Schwab disclosure:
https://www.schwab.com/public/file/CMS-BDL100049The Premium program (the one with a fee) is the robo program plus.
The SIP Premium Program combines the discretionary portfolio management of the SIP Program, as described above, with the additional features of financial planning and ongoing access to guidance from Schwab Planning Consultants, as well as to online financial planning tools. SIP Premium Accounts are invested in SIP portfolios and managed on a discretionary basis through the SIP Program. Unless other-wise indicated, descriptions of portfolio management through SIP apply to SIP Premium as well.
A little human interaction and DIY tools.
One Of The Most Important Recession Indicators Is Beginning To Flash. Is It Time to Worry Yet? @newgirl: The commodity strategy fund that I own is PCLAX. I have linked it's Morningstar report below. It had a great
1st Quarter with a total return of
15.83%. During the past
12 months it has paid out about $0.87 per share resulting in a TTM yield of better than
11%. I limit my exposure to this fund to about 3% to 5% of its sleeve value. Based upon current valuations this amounts to about 3.5%.
https://www.morningstar.com/funds/XNAS/PCLAX/quote.html
Q&A With American Pie’ Singer Don McLean: How He Made $150 Million And Invested It
I applaud his approach (and the debt-free thing) but can't help noting he was doing bonds during a MAJOR bond bull market. Heck if I could get 10, 15, or 20% in quality gov bonds now like they were back in the 70s and 80s I'd sell everything and move into them, too.
But I give him great credit for knowing that it's not how much you make, it's how much you keep. That might be from the finance background. Once you have a good sum of money, the objective is to keep it.
What a great voice he had/has...though "American Pie" was not my favorite song of his. That choice has to go to his cover of Roy Orbison's "Crying".
BULLETIN: Bloomberg Buys MFO @MFO Members: Just got an E-Mail from David that he had sold MFO to Bloomberg effective immediately. The MFO Website will be shut down at
12:00 AM 4/2/
19. I don't have any detail at this point, but David said he would inform MFO Members via the Discussion Board sometime tonight or early tomorrow of the details. Between his duties to his family and teaching MFO got to be to much. He did note that sale would make him financially secure so he could retire from teaching at Augustana College, spend more time with his son Will, and travel extensively.
Regards,
Ted
