This Thanksgiving Week 2022 Thoughts
Fed Fund Watch: the 10- Year Note was 3.89% last week and is now 3.74%
I continue working on portfolios for tax loss selling to help your 2021 taxes.
RMD Countdown we can still take charitable contributions from your IRA.
The SEC penalized 16 firms including Morgan Stanley, UBS, and Goldman Sachs and ordered them to pay $1.1 billion in fines for what it called “pervasive off-channel communications.”
I have capitalized the lead-in for today’s Thoughts as I share the increasing guidance from the SEC. Compliance officers like me (Chief Compliance Officer at SAA! ☹) must communicate that the greatest regulatory risk facing our firms is text messaging. The SEC sent a not-so-subtle signal in September when it announced more than $1 billion in fines against 16 large brokers and banks for communications that weren’t captured by the firms’ systems. Right now, SAA archives all emails, Facebook posts, LinkedIn posts and website content…but we do not archive text messages.
Texting has become second nature to all of us, but the reality is, as Registered Investment Advisors we are Fiduciaries, and we are subject to stringent regulatory obligations. Why it matters to you: the SEC audit we underwent last summer was our first exposure to being under the magnifying glass of the SEC. It was disruptive, time consuming and quite scary: no matter how much you get right, they are looking for what you got wrong.
I am vetting software so we can text in a compliant way. But until I do implement a SEC compliant solution, please only use a text message to me to let me know you have sent me an email you need me to read, ASAP!Telephone calls are always, “legal.” 😊
Sustainable Impact Investors can do well, while they do good.
Rising inflation, global supply chain challenges, food waste, and climate change have had a negative impact on how to get food from the farm to table. With more than three billion people not able to meet their food needs, investors can benefit by:
· diversifying agriculture systems to increase healthy food options for distribution
· using analytics to match food distribution and supply food-insecure populations
· exploring plant-based “meat” and “poultry” as healthier, sustainable food options
· mitigating food loss from the farm to the table
· expanding food-delivery systems and optimize food transport to poor areas
Why does it matter to you? I have written extensively about Veg Tech, the ETF in my Skye Satellite Portfolio that will let you capitalize on this major mega-trend. Our investments are part of the solution and let us do well, while we do good for the world.
Clean Energy = Opportunity: Another Megatrend for Investors
In this new article, Clean Hydrocarbon is the Silver Bullet senior partners Tarek El Sayed and Rachid Majiti, partner Arnout de Pee, and their coauthors explore the opportunity, and break down four areas where hydrocarbon-rich countries should focus to realize the potential. Why does it matter to you? In between holiday movies and football games, scan at least a bit of this article. I certainly do not understand everything here, and while it can put me to sleep in a few paragraphs, I know that the global movement for clean energy is full steam ahead. It is very comforting to investors to know that we can do well with our portfolio returns, while we solve the greatest problems of our time. This is the best gift, and everyone can get it in their stocking this year.
Required Disclosures: Always read the fine print! This content reflects the opinions of Julie Skye and is subject to change without notice. This content is for informational and entertainment purposes, and it is not a recommendation regarding the purchase or sale of any security. There is no guarantee that any statements, opinions, or forecasts provided herein will prove to be correct. Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Securities investing involves risk, including the potential for loss of principal. There is no assurance any investment plan or strategy will be successful.
Julie is an Investment Advisor Representative of Sustainable Advisors Alliance, LLC (SAA, LLC): Advisory services are provided by SAA, LLC.
Registration with the SEC does not imply a certain level of skill or training.