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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds.
However, bitcoin can be volatile and it’s important to consider your risk tolerance and goals before adding to your portfolio, experts say.

Recep-bg | E+ | Getty Images

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved the first U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. But experts urge caution before piling into the long-awaited ETFs.
The agency signed off on 11 bitcoin ETF applications, including funds from BlackRock, Fidelity, Ark Invest, WisdomTree and Grayscale. The new investment provides more access to everyday investors.

“It’s a big step forward for bitcoin,” said Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar, who has analyzed the new assets. But there are things to consider before rushing to purchase bitcoin ETFs.
“Fear of missing out is a poor investment strategy,” he added.
The SEC decision was highly anticipated, and the price of bitcoin briefly topped $49,000, the highest level since December 2021, as the first bitcoin ETFs began trading Thursday.

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Bitcoin remains ‘highly volatile’

While the bitcoin ETF approval is a landmark event, it’s important to consider your goals and risk tolerance before purchasing, experts say.
“Bitcoin carries unique risks, and it’s highly volatile,” Armour said, noting its variability of returns has been significantly higher than the stock market over the past five years.

“When I started building a position, I bought at 1% [allocation] at a time and I’m maxing out at 3%,” said certified financial planner Ivory Johnson, founder of Delancey Wealth Management in Washington, D.C. He is also a member of CNBC’s Financial Advisor Council.
With a small bitcoin allocation in your portfolio, there’s room for significant upside potential while minimizing downside risk, he said.
“While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP [exchange-traded product] shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement Wednesday. “Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”

‘Better than anything else on the market’

While bitcoin carries risk, if you want to add exposure, experts say the new bitcoin ETFs could be worth considering compared to owning bitcoin directly or bitcoin futures ETFs.
“These spot bitcoin ETFs are better than anything else on the market,” said Armour, referring to other bitcoin investing options. Of course, you should also consider where to buy assets and any custodian risks.
The new ETFs may be cheaper than previous fund options, such as the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) — the first bitcoin futures ETF, with an expense ratio of 0.95%. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) charged 2.0% before converting to a spot bitcoin ETF, and now has fees of 1.5%.
If you’re unsure about purchasing bitcoin ETFs on the first day of trading, you can wait and see what happens, Armour said. The funds “gathering assets” are “more likely to stick around and have the cheapest trading costs,” he said.

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The five major GOP presidential candidates still in the race — Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, Nikki Haley and Asa Hutchinson — all oppose student loan forgiveness.
“Why should a truck driver have to pay for somebody that got a degree in zombie studies?” DeSantis said at an Iowa event in early August. “It doesn’t make sense.”

Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former biotech executive Vivek Ramaswamy pose together onstage at the third Republican candidates’ U.S. presidential debate of the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign hosted by NBC News at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts in Miami, Florida, U.S., November 8, 2023. 
Mike Segar | Reuters

Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. exceeds $1.6 trillion, and burdens Americans more than credit card or auto loan debt. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the 1990s to $30,000 from $10,000. Additionally, about 7% of student loan borrowers are now more than $100,000 in debt.
Voters support forgiving at least some student loan debt by a 2-to-1 margin, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll. Less than a third oppose the policy.
Here’s what the GOP presidential contenders say about student debt forgiveness.

Donald Trump

Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump campaigns in Mason City, Iowa, U.S. January 5, 2024. 
Rachel Mummey | Reuters

Former President Donald Trump has a long record of opposing debt cancelation. Trump also sided with the Supreme Court in its ruling striking down Biden’s plan.
“Today, the Supreme Court also ruled that President Biden cannot wipe out hundreds of billions, perhaps trillions of dollars, in student loan debt, which would have been very unfair to the millions and millions of people who paid their debt through hard work and diligence; very unfair,” Trump said at a campaign event in June 2023.

Ron DeSantis

Vivek Ramaswamy

In a written statement to CNBC last summer, the tech entrepreneur said America had a bad habit “of paying people to do the exact opposite of what we want them to do: More [dollars] to stay at home than to work, more [dollars] to be a single mother than married, more [dollars] for those who fail to repay loans than those who do.”
Ramaswamy added that the Supreme Court’s ruling to block forgiveness “helps reverse that trend.”

Nikki Haley

The former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations under Trump tweeted last June that “a president cannot just wave his hand and eliminate loans for students he favors, while leaving out all those who worked hard to pay back their loans or made other career choices.”
“The Supreme Court was right to throw out Joe Biden’s power grab,” Haley wrote.

Asa Hutchinson

A former governor of Arkansas, Asa Hutchinson, called Biden’s broad forgiveness plan “a misuse of executive authority,” in a 2022 statement.
“Shifting the burden from those who willingly took out a loan to all taxpayers is inconsistent with the American ideal of personal responsibility,” Hutchinson said.
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A new provision allows employers to match workers’ student loan payments with contributions to their retirement plans.
Here’s what to know.

Abraham Gonzalez Fernandez | Moment | Getty Images

Student debt often makes it harder for people to save for retirement. But that may soon change.
A provision in the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022, which had a delayed effective date of Jan. 1, 2024, allows employers to match workers’ student loan payments with contributions to their retirement plans.

“Many employees paying off their student loans are having trouble saving for the future,” said Mary Moreland, executive vice president of human resources at Abbott, a medical device and health-care company whose 401(k) matching program for student borrowers led the way to the new policy. “Now employers can help.”
Outstanding student loan debt in the U.S. exceeds $1.6 trillion, and burdens Americans more than credit card or auto loan debt. The average loan balance at graduation has tripled since the 1990s to $30,000 from $10,000. Additionally, about 7% of student loan borrowers are now more than $100,000 in debt.
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Nearly half of student loan borrowers said their debt affected how much they were able to salt away in their retirement plans, according to a recent Morning Consult survey of about 500 borrowers between the ages of 18 and 39.
Here’s what borrowers should know about the new benefit.

It may take time before your employer offers it

When in 2016 Abbott began to develop its 401(k) match to student loan payments, which it dubbed “Freedom 2 Save,” “there was no other program like it,” Moreland said. The company requested and received a private ruling from the IRS to allow it to launch the benefit in 2018.
“Other companies expressed interest in developing similar programs, but they weren’t able to because only Abbott had the private letter ruling,” she added. “Secure 2.0 now makes it possible for other employers to implement this type of program with no special dispensation required.”
Still, since the broader law just went into effect, it may take some time before the matching program takes off across employers, said higher education expert Mark Kantrowitz.

Workers interested in the nascent benefit should ask their company’s human resources department about it, he said: “If several people ask for it, they will start thinking about it.”
Moreland recommends employees who hope to see the benefit adopted at their company also share Abbott’s “Freedom 2 Save” blueprint, available on its website, when they make the case.
“In the blueprint you’ll find details on how our program works and a guide for how to develop and implement a program of your own,” Moreland said.

How the student debt 401(k) match works

At Abbott, eligible employees who put at least 2% of their pay toward their student loan debt will get a 5% company contribution into their 401(k) each year.
But companies can decide on their own numbers, Kantrowitz said.

In most cases, employers will likely decide whether to match either your student loan payments or your retirement contributions, but not both, Kantrowitz said. If your employer currently has a 401(k) match in effect, it is unlikely to raise that rate, even if it establishes the benefit.
“Employees do not actually need to prove that they are making payments on their student loan,” Kantrowitz added. “They simply need to sign a document attesting that they are making the payments.”
The law allows employers to match workers’ payments on both federal and private loans.
One thing to keep in mind is your contributions to your 401(k) are pretax and reduce your taxable income, and so pausing these payments to focus on paying down your debt may leave you with a slightly larger tax obligation.
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Nearly one-third, or 31%, of Gen Z are living with their parents because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own space, according to a recent report.
The year 2023 was the least affordable homebuying year in more than a decade.
For parents, supporting grown children can be a substantial drain when their own financial security is at risk. However, there are also economic benefits to living in multigenerational households.

These days, housing affordability is a struggle for nearly everyone.
But for young adults just starting out, soaring home prices and sky-high rents have become one of the greatest obstacles to making it on their own.

Nearly one-third, or 31%, of Generation Z adults live at home with parents because they can’t afford to buy or rent their own space, according to a recent report by Intuit Credit Karma that polled 1,249 people age 18 and older. Gen Z is generally defined as those born between 1996 and 2012, including a cohort of teens and tweens.
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“The current housing market has many Americans making adjustments to their living situations, including relocating to less-expensive cities and even moving back in with their families,” said Courtney Alev, Intuit Credit Karma’s consumer financial advocate.
Overall, the number of households with two or more adult generations has been on the rise for years, according to a Pew Research Center report. Now, 25% of young adults live in a multigenerational household, up from just 9% five decades ago.  
Finances are the No. 1 reason families are doubling up, Pew also found, due in part to ballooning student debt and housing costs.

It’s the least affordable housing market in years

Between home prices and mortgage rates, 2023 was the least affordable homebuying year in at least 11 years, according to a separate report from real estate company Redfin.
Now, the average rate for a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage is hovering near 6.6%, down from recent highs but still twice what it was three years ago.
“Given the expectation of rate cuts this year from the Federal Reserve, as well as receding inflationary pressures, we expect mortgage rates will continue to drift downward as the year unfolds,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.
“While lower mortgage rates are welcome news, potential homebuyers are still dealing with the dual challenges of low inventory and high home prices that continue to rise.”

Of course, housing isn’t the only issue. Millennials and Gen Z face financial challenges their parents did not as young adults. On top of carrying larger student loan balances, their wages are lower than their parents’ earnings when they were in their 20s and 30s.
“At the end of all that, you are not left with a whole lot of money to spend on a down payment,” said Laurence Kotlikoff, economics professor at Boston University and president of MaxiFi, which offers financial planning software.

For parents, supporting grown children can be a drain

Even if they don’t live at home, more than half of Gen Z adults and millennials are financially dependent on their parents, according to a separate survey by Experian.
For parents, however, supporting grown children can be a substantial drain at a time when their own financial security is in jeopardy. 
Not surprisingly, parents are more likely to pay for most of the expenses when two or more generations share a home. The typical 25- to 34-year-old in a multigenerational household contributes 22% of the total household income, Pew found. 
From buying groceries to paying for cellphone plans or covering health and auto insurance, parents are spending more than $1,400 a month, on average, helping their adult children make ends meet, another report by Savings.com found.
“It has to go both ways,” Kotlikoff said.
Overall, there can be an economic benefit to these living arrangements, Pew found, and Americans living in multigenerational households are less likely to be financially vulnerable. “If you are in financial union, make the best of it,” Kotlikoff said.
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The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) has the lowest expense ratio of all the funds poised to launch Thursday, at 0.20%.
Bitwise and other funds have waivers that forego all or part of the fees for a period of time.
Crypto-focused asset managers like Grayscale have the highest fees.

CFOTO | Future Publishing | Getty Images

The bitcoin exchange-traded funds launching Thursday after the SEC’s long-awaited approval come at a wide variety of price points, with signs that a fee war is already underway.
The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) has the lowest expense ratio of all the new bitcoin funds, at 0.20%. Several other funds are close behind, including the Ark21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) at 0.21% and the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at 0.25%.

The Bitwise fund also has a temporary waiver that will eliminate the fee entirely for six months on the first $1 billion of assets. Other proposed funds have similar waivers, meaning early adopters of the bitcoin ETFs will have little or zero management cost for a brief time.

Bitcoin ETF fee comparison

Fund
Ticker
Fee

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF
BITB
0.20%*

Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
ARKB
0.21%*

Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund
FBTC
0.25%*

iShares Bitcoin Trust
IBIT
0.25%*

VanEck Bitcoin Trust
HODL
0.25%

Franklin Bitcoin ETF
EZBC
0.29%

WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund
BTCW
0.30%*

Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF
BTCO
0.39%*

Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund
BRRR
0.49%*

Hashdex Bitcoin ETF
DEFI
0.94%

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust
GBTC
1.5%

Source: SEC filings; * indicates temporary waiver for part or all of the management fee

The fees for bitcoin funds are higher than many broad stock index funds, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) charging less than 0.10%. But the pricing is in-line with or even below the biggest commodity funds, as SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) and the United States Oil Fund (USO) charge 0.40% and 0.60%, respectively.
Fund managers make money by charging fees on the assets under management. ETF fees have been trending lower over time, and some asset managers have shown a willingness to run a new fund at a loss in order to attract more assets and maximize revenue long-term. The fees are taken out of a fund’s asset pool, and investors are not billed individually.
The low prices before the launch show that the battle to lower fees is already in effect for crypto funds. For example, Ark 21Shares, Valkyrie and Invesco Galaxy and others had shown higher fees initially but lowered them in subsequent filings. Even Bitwise dropped its proposed fee to 0.20% from 0.24%, which was already the lowest of the initial batch.
“I think the level of competition was maybe higher than expected. I think there were a couple of issuers like Ark for example that signaled potentially higher fees, and once the rubber sort of met the road, they all came in pretty low,” said Bryan Armour, director of passive strategies research for North America at Morningstar.

Much cheaper than options before

The fees will be a big change from the other bitcoin fund options already on the market. For example, BITO has an expense ratio of 0.95%, while the previously over-the-counter Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) charged 2%.
“I think it’s great for investors, especially in the vein of what’s currently available in the market,” Armour added.
Grayscale is cutting its fee on GBTC as part of the conversion of that product to an ETF, but only to 1.5%. That is the highest of any fund slated to launch by a wide margin.
The fund’s 10-year track record and existing size of about $29 billion could give it an advantage over new entrants. The high fee could also be a bet that current GBTC shareholders are not willing to sell their shares and move to a cheaper fund because that could create a tax bill that could offset the benefits of the lower fees.
“We believe the product’s management fee reflects its value, as investors and the broader capital markets will benefit from GBTC’s large asset base, strong liquidity, and ten-year track record,” Edward McGee, Grayscale CFO, said in a statement.
Other crypto-focused asset managers are also charging a relative premium. The second-highest published fee is from the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI), which is a strategy change of an existing bitcoin futures fund, at 0.94%. Valkyrie is charging 0.49% for its fund BRRR, though it is offering a temporary waiver.
Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said Thursday on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that his firm’s experience in dealing with crypto helped to justify the higher price point.
“We’re a crypto specialist. We’ve weathered all different types of speed bumps and advancements within the crypto ecosystem. For a lot of these asset managers and issuers, this is the first time they’re going to be dealing with the complexities that go into running these types of products,” Sonnenshein said. More

Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), during an interview in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, July 27, 2023. 
Andrew Harrer | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler’s statement on why the agency has approved the listing and trading of a group of spot bitcoin ETFs indicates that he is still hostile to the cryptocurrency in general.
Gensler was faced with the difficult task of explaining why the SEC has reversed its position on bitcoin ETFs. He said that circumstances “have changed.”

They changed because the SEC lost a key court case last August: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit held that the commission failed to adequately explain its reasoning when it turned down Grayscale’s proposed bitcoin ETF.
Gensler was forced to give in, but not on all fronts.
For starters, he is engaged in several ongoing legal battles with the crypto community. In large part, the conflicts are based on his claim that most crypto assets are securities that come under the purview of the SEC. 
In his statement, Gensler gave no indication he was changing his approach on this topic:
“Nor does the approval signal anything about the Commission’s views as to the status of other crypto assets under the federal securities laws or about the current state of non-compliance of certain crypto asset market participants with the federal securities laws. As I’ve said in the past, and without prejudging any one crypto asset, the vast majority of crypto assets are investment contracts and thus subject to the federal securities laws.” 

Will bitcoin ETFs make Wall Street — wirehouses and financial advisors — more willing to recommend the cryptocurrency to clients and allow it to trade on their platforms? 
Possibly, but Gensler made it clear that broker-dealers will have to adhere to existing rules: 
“Further, existing rules and standards of conduct will apply to the purchase and sale of the approved [exchange traded products]. This includes, for example, Regulation Best Interest when broker-dealers recommend ETPs to retail investors, as well as a fiduciary duty under the Investment Advisers Act for investment advisers.”
Regulation Best Interest requires broker-dealers to act in the best interest of their retail customers when making investment recommendations. These recommendations must be “suitable” for the client. 
That is a potential investment minefield for investment advisors, and it’s likely to keep many advisors away from recommending bitcoin for some time. 
Finally, Gensler couldn’t help taking a parting shot at bitcoin in general: 
“Though we’re merit neutral, I’d note that the underlying assets in the metals ETPs have consumer and industrial uses, while in contrast bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing. While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin.” More

The approval could prove to be a landmark event in the adoption of cryptocurrency by mainstream finance.
The decision will likely lead to the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which holds about $29 billion of the cryptocurrency, into an ETF.
Traditional asset managers including BlackRock and Fidelity are also poised to launch bitcoin funds.

Chesnot | Getty Images

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved rule changes to allow the creation of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S., a long-awaited move that will give regular investors access to the controversial and volatile cryptocurrency.
The decision will likely lead to the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which holds about $29 billion of the cryptocurrency, into an ETF, as well as the launch of competing funds from mainstream issuers such as BlackRock’s iShares and Fidelity. The first funds are poised to begin trading Thursday.

The approval may prove to be a landmark event in the adoption of cryptocurrency by mainstream finance, as the ETF structure gives institutions and financial advisors a familiar and regulated way to buy exposure to bitcoin.
“We think that the SEC approval, should we and others get it, is a green light for institutions. We’ve been talking to quite a few of them, and they’re much more interested now that the SEC effectively is paving the way,” Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Monday. Ark Invest has partnered with 21Shares on a proposed bitcoin fund.
The decision comes after an official SEC social media account on Tuesday falsely said that bitcoin ETFs had been approved. The SEC said the account had been compromised.
The regulator has for years opposed a so-called spot bitcoin fund, with several firms filing and then withdrawing applications for ETFs in the past. SEC Chair Gary Gensler has been an outspoken critic of crypto during his tenure.
However, the regulator appeared to change course on the ETF question in 2023, possibly due in part to an August loss to Grayscale in a court decision that criticized the SEC for blocking bitcoin ETFs while allowing funds that track bitcoin futures.

“Importantly, today’s Commission action is cabined to ETPs holding one non-security commodity, bitcoin. It should in no way signal the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities. Nor does the approval signal anything about the Commission’s views as to the status of other crypto assets under the federal securities laws or about the current state of non-compliance of certain crypto asset market participants with the federal securities laws,” Gensler said in a statement Wednesday.
Optimism around approval first reemerged this year after asset management giant BlackRock filed an application in June, leading to a flood of applications from its rivals. The partnership of Ark Invest and 21Shares has the longest active filing, and a deadline for the SEC on the fund in January led many industry experts to expect that the first bitcoin ETFs would be approved shortly after the start of 2024.
More than 10 different firms are now in the formal process toward a launch, with the competition to become one of the market leaders expected to include differing expense ratios and a heavy marketing blitz. Several firms have already cut their original proposed fee.
It is not guaranteed that all applications will lead to a fund entering the market. The Cboe website on Wednesday afternoon indicated that several of the bitcoin ETFs would begin trading on its BZX exchange on Thursday.
The anticipation of the ETF also appears to have boosted the price of bitcoin in recent months. Some crypto advocates believe the arrival of bitcoin ETFs will unleash new demand for asset class from types of investors who were previously scared off by concerns about custody and the safety of crypto-specific exchanges.
The approval of the ETFs comes after a year that saw major law enforcement action against crypto firms and industry leaders, including the conviction of FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and multiple actions against Binance and its founder Changpeng Zhao.Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More

Reaching retirement with enough money to live on is a big-ticket goal.
Yet, many people have not consulted with a professional to make sure they’re on track.
For some pre-retirees who are members of Gen X, the oldest of whom turn 59 this year, low retirement savings levels may pose a challenge.

Mihtiander | Getty Images

People age 50 and older are nearing the final stretch when it comes to planning for retirement.
Yet, 62% of those in that age cohort have not consulted a professional to help plan for their golden years, according to a recent survey from AARP.

The top answer for why, with 41%, is they prefer to handle the financial planning themselves or to leave it to their spouse.
That was followed by 35% who said they don’t have much retirement savings and 30% who say they cannot afford a financial professional, the December survey of 1,002 adults found.
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The median age workers 50 and older expect to retire is 67, according to the Transamerica Center for Retirement Studies, while some individuals in that age cohort are already transitioning into retirement.
Transamerica’s research also found retirement often does not happen on time, with 56% of retirees hanging up their hats sooner than planned. Meanwhile, 37% retired when they expected, while 7% retired later.

Many Gen Xers are struggling to save for retirement

For some pre-retirees who are members of Gen X, the oldest of whom turn 59 this year, low retirement savings levels may pose a challenge.
The typical Gen X household has just $40,000 in retirement savings, according to research from the National Institute on Retirement Security.
The bottom half of Gen X earners only have a few thousand dollars saved toward retirement, the research found.

Those who fall in the bottom half typically do not have access to a workplace retirement plan, noted Dan Doonan, executive director at the NIRS. Encouraging financial literacy may help to improve those balances, he said.
“If you have so much savings at retirement, how much income does that produce?” Doonan said. “I think knowledge around that area is probably not very strong.”
For example, based on a 4% withdrawal rule, $100,000 in retirement savings means you would expect about $4,000 in annual income.
“I don’t think it’s widely understood that it’s that low,” Doonan said.

‘Everybody should have a financial plan’

Another obstacle is the way the financial industry is structured, which may lead prospective retirees to be reluctant to pay for advice from their already-low retirement balances, he noted. Meanwhile, financial professionals are typically better rewarded for serving more affluent clients.
However, people who have lower assets or income should not necessarily be discouraged from seeking professional advice.
“Everybody should have a financial plan because it helps you map out the terrain for the rest of your life,” said Daphne Jordan, a certified financial planner and board chair at the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors, or NAPFA.

Some financial planners are compensated based on hourly rates or flat rates, and that information should be readily available on their website, noted Jordan, who is also a senior wealth advisor at Pioneer Wealth Management Group in Austin, Texas.
It is important to check whether a professional has the certified financial planner designation, Jordan said, as they are trained to look at your entire financial picture, including areas such as your cash flow, insurance coverage and Social Security claiming strategy. Advisors who are affiliated with NAPFA operate on a fee-only basis, which means they are not paid via commissions, nor do they sell financial products.
Search tools provided by NAPFA, the CFP Board or the XY Planning Network may help identify potential financial professional matches. Importantly, prospective clients should also cross check the professional’s names with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and FINRA websites to see if they have any complaints against them.
Before selecting one professional, talk to a few prospects to see who you vibe with the most, Jordan advised.
“For the amount that you pay for cable in a year, you can pay a financial planner, a professional certified financial planner, and then you’ll get that peace of mind when it comes to your hard-earned money,” Jordan said.
While certified financial planners are required to put the interests of their clients first, that is not true for all financial professionals. Yet the AARP survey found most individuals — 89% — who either work with a financial professional or plan to expect they will be acting in their best interests.
Whether protections should be expanded is currently being debated in Washington, with a Wednesday Capitol Hill hearing on a proposed fiduciary rule that would increase protections for retirement advice. The SEC already has a best interest rule, while the Department of Labor’s proposal would expand those protections to other areas not regulated by the SEC, particularly with the sale of products.
“It’s basically just saying that look, whether you want to recommend somebody invest in a stock or a bond, or a mutual fund or an insurance product, that’s fine,” said David Certner, legislative policy director at AARP, which supports the proposal. “But the advisor needs to be doing it in the best interest of their clients.”Don’t miss these stories from CNBC PRO: More