This week we take deep dives into three hot topics with the help of two special guests. Mary Beth Franklin explains why it might make sense to increase the Social Security tax threshold along with the payout. Hosts Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly discuss how the biggest banks are clamping down on giving and receiving perks. And InvestmentNews special projects editor Liz Skinner cuts through the noise of diversity and inclusion in financial services.

From Washington, D.C., special guest Mark Schoeff joins hosts Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly to look at the fallout for the wealth management industry in the wake of both the Democratic and Republican national conventions. Jeff raises the question of accredited investors, Bruce has an update on the ongoing GPB scandal and Mark takes issue with PR folks hampering interviews at times.

Financial advisers showing their political colors on social media should be prepared to suffer the consequences, which are rarely positive. Hosts Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly also discuss the drop-off in broker recruiting, whether bonds still make sense, a bad broker, and how New York might recover from the Covid-19 beat down.

This week’s episode kicks off with a look at Merrill Lynch’s headache trying to manage broker trainees who are learning to cold call from home. Hosts Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly also discuss how Morgan Stanley will absorb the ETrade custody business, the realities of buffered ETFs, the driving force behind RIA consolidation, and the incredible access to industry execs in the age of Covid.

Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly analyze LPL Financial’s latest effort to stay ahead of the recruiting curve by offering what Bruce describes as a “big, juicy pork chop” to employee advisers.. This episode also looks at the latest departure from TD Ameritrade, what will happen to Etrade’s custody business, and what’s up with all the “chiefs” populating corporate America?

Co-hosts Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly challenge InvestmentNews colleague Mark Schoeff on why ESG strategies often don’t find their way onto company sponsored retirement plan menus. This episode also looks at the sad regulatory record of Purshe Kaplan Sterling, why Vanguard shut down $1 billion mutual fund, what second-quarter earnings reports say about the future of wealth management, and how the lockdown is impacting industry gossip channels

Jeff and Bruce get the details on Dani Fava’s celebrated move to Envestnet and why it matters to advisers. After that, they dissect the brewing scandal at GPB Capital, explain the pros and cons of zero-fee ETFs, look at the headaches of fintech platform consolidations, and ask whether Covid-19 is becoming a standard excuse for bad customer service.

This week Jeff Benjamin and Bruce Kelly look at how certain taxes are ultimately paid by adviser clients, the slow start but new momentum of M&A activity in the RIA space, how Wells Fargo is cracking down on the use of the TikTok app, and what it’s like to start a new job in the middle of a pandemic.

This week’s episode takes a look at the use of PPP (Paycheck Protection Program) loans in financial services, the appeal of new semitransparent ETFs, Cetera’s recruiting efforts, the need for alternative investments, and what going back to the office looks like.

Why we think the introduction of Regulation Best Interest is not the end of the debate over how brokers and advisers are regulated. Our hosts also look at new data from TD Ameritrade about what is driving brokers toward the independent channel, what you can find in a company’s focus report, the true cost of free trading, and the love-hate relationship with public relations practitioners.