Dennis Davis AIF®, CFP®’s Post

If you are in the more than 30 percent of all small businesses that still ignore social media, you need to read Dave Carroll’s book United Breaks Guitars. It highlights the story of how United Airlines paid no attention to social media while Dave’s story of a crushed guitar and poor customer service went viral around the world. United Airlines spent a long time recovering from that debacle. As I work with many small and midsized businesses this post from Martin Zwilling, Founder of STARTUP PROFESSIONALS, INC. caught my eye. Especially his comment: "The “Tyranny of the OR” is a concept from the old classic business bestseller Built to Last by James C. Collins. Too many executives believe that things must be either A or B and can’t be both. The reality is that most businesses need to embrace the “Genius of the AND,” meaning they should use and monitor more than one of the available platforms, based on their objectives." Thus, your objectives for social media should at least include monitoring your online reputation on the top platforms and hopefully taking the minimum actions to turn any negatives into positives for the rest of us. Of course, the right approach is to be proactive along all the following fronts: https://lnkd.in/gzQWMDQA #socialmedia #smb #businessowners #smallbusiness #midsizedbusiness

Caleb Mutua and Josyana Joshua writing for Bloomberg state that companies and governments across the globe are flooding debt markets with bonds and loans, borrowing money as yields fall and the US presidential election nears. More than 1,226 debt issuers sold over $600 billion in September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That’s the most for that month in records going back more than two decades. Companies are looking to borrow before the US presidential election potentially roils debt markets and boosts inflation concerns, and prior to entering earnings blackouts. At the same time they’re taking advantage of robust demand as investors buy bonds before central banks cut interest rates further. Lower risk premiums are also encouraging issuers to act fast. Details here: https://lnkd.in/gPcg83Qy #debtmarkets #bonds #interestrates #borrowing #loans

Ali K., the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Labor for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), spoke Tuesday at the CFP Board’s 2024 Connections Conference in Washington, D.C. where he defended the rule. Khawar explained that the Retirement Security Rule is an important priority for the Department of Labor (DOL) and noted that the department will appeal the district court decisions that have paused implementation of the rule. He also acknowledged that this process could take years. Paul Mulholland writing for the National Association of Plan Advisors publication provides additional details here: https://lnkd.in/gbZ5esAH #fiduciary #fiduciaryrule #fiduciaryduty #401k #retirementplans

On August 22, 2024, the Central District of California found in favor of the defendants after a bench trial on breach of fiduciary duty claims related to the monitoring of recordkeeping expenses and selection of investments in In re: Prime Healthcare ERISA Litigation. This decision is another example of district courts across the country rejecting excessive recordkeeping fee and imprudent investment claims after trial. It also provides a notable rejection of the testimony from certain experts that the plaintiffs' bar has used in recent years to support these types of claims. William Delany and Richard Smith, Jr. attorneys at Groom Law Group, Chartered provide additional insights here: https://lnkd.in/gfSRe6Qj #fiduciary #fiduciaryduty #fees #excessivefees

As employers look toward open enrollment for their group health plans, now is a good time to review action items needed for those plans by year-end, as well as upcoming deadlines in the near future. While fully-insured health plans generally have their compliance obligations satisfied by the insurer, self-insured health plans usually rely on the employer or the plan's third-party administrator (TPA) to meet the compliance requirements. The attached article written by Andrea Powers, Elverine F. Felton, and William E. Robinson for BenefitsPRO provides a summary of items that employers should be aware of for their health plans and, as appropriate, they have delineated when such compliance is limited only to self-insured health plans. https://lnkd.in/g2NTrAuF #openenrollment #healthplans #grouphealthplans #employers

Retirement income appears to be at the center in a new study that evaluates viewpoints on key retirement and investment trends from 35 leading consultant and advisory firms. In 2021, consultants and advisors described nearly 6 in 10 (59%) of their DC plan sponsor clients as not having a stated opinion on retirement income, but in 2024, this same measure declined to 19%. While not all plan sponsors are prioritizing retirement income, they are significantly more likely today to have a view on retirement income compared to prior years, according to T. Rowe Price’s newly released 2024 Defined Contribution Consultant Study. Another key finding highlighted that personalization is perceived as particularly beneficial as participants approach retirement, and there is strong support for managed accounts as an opt-in option offered on the investment menu. The firm notes, however, that it seems unlikely that managed accounts will surpass target date solutions as the most common qualified default investment alternative (QDIA). There's more from the study in the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries article written by Ted Godbout here: https://lnkd.in/dGA_nt_d #retirement #income #retirementincome #401k #plansponsors

For many investors their home is their largest asset, but the current US housing market is softer than they would like right now. But as a new report reveals a second consecutive monthly decrease in the national median home price, should investors and other homeowners be concerned about a downward trend impacting potential sales value? The markets with the biggest year-over-year increase in median sales price were? Find out where Tulsa stands here: https://lnkd.in/gW__m6Pm #tulsa #homeprices #homeownership #homeownersghip

Are you a plan sponsor? If so, you may find the following IRS reminder of retirement plan amendment deadlines of interest and help. The IRS in a Sept. 12 edition of Employee Plans News focuses on plan amendment deadlines that were extended by the “Grab Bag” guidance the agency issued in Notice 2024-02 on Dec. 20, 2023, and Revenue Procedure 2022-40 on Nov. 21, 2022. In that notice, the IRS extended and consolidated the deadlines for a retirement plan in accordance with major legislation enacted in the last five years, including the SECURE Act of 2019, the CARES Act, the Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2021, and the SECURE 2.0 Act. John lekel, writing in @Ntional Association of Plan Advisors says the plan amendment deadlines the IRS highlights include the following: https://lnkd.in/gPppKEVv #irs #plansponsors #planamendments #401k #retirementplans

Hiring by America's employers picked up a bit in August from July's tepid pace, and the unemployment rate dipped for the first time since March in a sign that the job market may be cooling but remains sturdy. Employers added a modest 142,000 jobs, up from a scant 89,000 in July, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.2% from 4.3%, which had been the highest level in nearly three years. Hiring in June and July, though, was revised sharply down by a combined 86,000. July's job gain was the smallest since the pandemic. The cooling jobs figures underscore why the Federal Reserve is set to cut its key interest rate when it next meets Sept. 17-18, with inflation falling steadily back to its target of 2%. Still, Friday's mixed jobs data raises the question of how large a rate cut the Fed will announce. It could decide to reduce its benchmark rate by a typical quarter-point or by a larger-than-usual half-point. In the coming months, the policymakers will also decide how much and how fast to cut rates at their subsequent meetings. https://lnkd.in/gc9H3e7c #jobs #employment #inflatin #interestrates

Alexia Aston writing in The Oklahoman says that the fall season officially begins in Oklahoma in just a few weeks as temperatures have finally started to cool down. Following the nice, mild fall weather comes an unpredictable, sometimes unforgiving, winter season accompanied by sleet, snow and frost. Here's when the Sooner State might see its first frost: https://lnkd.in/gn9grEQV