Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.3% before seasonal adjustment. More than offsetting a decline in gasoline, the index for shelter rose in May, up 0.4% for the fourth consecutive month. The index for food increased 0.1% in May. The food away from home index rose 0.4% over the month, while the food at home index was unchanged. The energy index fell 2% over the month, led by a 3.6% decrease in the gasoline index. The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2% in May, after rising 0.3% the preceding month. Indexes that increased in May include shelter, medical care, used cars and trucks, and education. The indexes for airline fares, new vehicles, communication, recreation and apparel were among those that decreased over the month. Credit: David Palmer/ALM

Charles Schwab customers swamped social media Tuesday morning with reports of login problems. Shortly after 11 a.m., Schwab announced the glitches had been resolved. Outage monitoring site Downdetector had received more than 5,800 problem reports for Schwab at 9:45 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, with 93% citing login trouble. Downdetector also showed 1,550 problem reports for Schwab-owned TD Ameritrade around the same time — apparently stemming from login troubles with the thinkorswim trading app. “We are aware that some clients may be experiencing issues logging in to some of our platforms. Schwab Advisor Center (SAC) is not impacted. Our teams are actively working to resolve the issue. We apologize for the inconvenience,” a Schwab spokesman told ThinkAdvisor by email at 9:40 a.m. At 10:16 a.m., Schwab posted a message on X, formerly Twitter, apologizing for the login problems and noting that brokers were available to review specific trades. Almost an hour later, the company told ThinkAdvisor through the spokesman, “An earlier issue where some clients may have had issues logging in to some Schwab platforms has been resolved. Clients can try logging in again. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”

‘Missing Out’ Against this backdrop, nearly everyone straying from U.S. equities is subject to a sense of missing out. Over the last 15 years, the PIMCO StocksPLUS Long Duration Fund (PSLDX) is the one and only among the 372 asset allocation portfolios tracked by Morningstar that’s ahead of the S&P 500. The data has emboldened those who say diversification — however sound in theory — is costing investors over the long run, by holding underperforming investments. The revolt got an airing last year when academics published a study saying retirees would be better off eschewing bonds completely. Proponents of modern-day allocations pushed back, saying assets like fixed income allow individual investors to better match financial gains with future obligations. Moreover, diversified portfolios won out from 2000 to 2008, a period when stocks saw their values cut in half on two separate occasions. “Diversification is your best friend on your worst day,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “The right asset allocation is a little bit like home insurance. You never know when you’re going to need it, but you should never feel comfortable not having it.” That logic is partly what’s behind the decision by many big-money...

More than a third of family office clients recently surveyed by UBS Group AG plan to increase their allocations to direct private equity opportunities, behind only developed-market equities as the most popular asset class. The participation of private wealth underscores the growing sophistication of how the people behind the world’s biggest fortunes are managing their money, as well as how many investment firms are increasingly tapping them as sources of capital. Blackstone Inc., KKR and Carlyle Group Inc. have already started dedicated platforms to serve the well-heeled, and the richest among them are able to become partners for some of those firms’ most high-profile — and possibly most lucrative — deals. “They have the potential to take on long-term opportunities,” Christina Wing, founder of advisory firm Wingspan Legacy Partners, said of the ultra-rich. “They are going to come in at the same terms as institutional investors.” Deal Shift The pace of dealmaking by wealthy families has been steadily increasing in recent years. When Brookfield Asset Management agreed to buy Network International Holdings Plc last year, Saudi Arabia’s billionaire Olayan family contributed nearly a tenth of the £2.2 billion ($2.8 billion) purchase price for the London-listed payments processor. In 2022, private equity firm EQT AB...