By Kenneth Corbin

The Fed's interest-rate cuts haven't been helping investors' cash returns, but that isn't the only culprit. Many large brokerages have cut or are planning to lower the interest rates they pay on uninvested cash held in so-called sweep accounts, and some, such as Morgan Stanley and Schwab, are facing lawsuits from disgruntled investors over the issue. Other firms appear to see an opportunity, however, with operations like Robinhood and Interactive Brokers advertising higher-than-market rates, and some offering more attractive options for cash than basic money-market accounts.

Among other most-read wealth management articles this week:

An advisor's early AI use cases . The buzz around AI on Wall Street, as elsewhere, is hard to escape. Out guest columnist, a New York advisor who says he is happy not to be an early adopter, nonetheless has found some compelling use cases for the technology. They might not live up to futurists' wildest predictions, but they can improve a practice's service model in a meaningful way, he writes. One example: using AI as a companion to the videoconferencing applications that have become ubiquitous since the pandemic.

CFP Board moving toward new standards . The CFP Board has proposed a raft of changes to its competency standards for aspiring and practicing Certified Financial Planners. The board, which oversees the coveted CFP credential, is asking for comments on the changes by Feb. 28, 2025. Some of the proposed revisions are stricter, such as expanding the continuing education requirements for CFP holders, while others, such as allowing pro bono work to count toward the experience obligation, make it easier to fulfill the competency requirements.

Will the rally continue? Will 2025 usher in a "golden age of investing"? That could seem like an improbably bullish view given the sharp run-up in stock prices and Bitcoin's surging valuation this year, but it is the view of Mary Ann Bartels, chief investment strategist with Sanctuary Wealth. Bartels recently shared her thoughts with Barron's The Way Forward podcast, predicting a 20% increase for the S&P 500 next year and near-term targets for Bitcoin of $113,000, and then $150,000. Bartels' advice for individual investors, especially young ones? "Stay invested."

Time to rethink estate plans? After Donald Trump won the presidential election and Republicans carried both the House and the Senate, it seems highly likely that Trump's signature tax cuts will be extended, expanded, or made permanent. That is by no means a certainty, our guest columnist writes, but it might be a good time to check in with clients about their estate plans, since it now seems probable that the doubled estate-tax exemptions will extend past 2025, when they are set to expire. The uncertainty raises a number of questions that advisors can help their clients navigate, including their giving plans and whether a revocable or irrevocable trust makes more sense.

E*Trade's new crop of index funds . Next year, E*Trade customers may be able to purchase five no-cost, proprietary index mutual funds, the Morgan Stanley unit unveiled in a regulatory filing. The funds will join a crowded lineup of more than 6,000 mutual funds available to E*Trade customers, but there is a catch: Shares will only be available for purchase through self-directed E*Trade accounts and will be able to be transferred to a Morgan Stanley Wealth Management account, but not to outside financial institutions. The funds will have no minimums and will cover broad equity and bond categories: large-cap, total market, and international; and municipal and U.S. bonds.

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December 20, 2024 08:09 ET (13:09 GMT)

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