Insurable Interest Canadian Insurance Blog

“We can confirm that the account @SECGov was compromised and we have completed a preliminary investigation. Based on our investigation, the compromise was not due to any breach of X’s systems. but rather due to an unidentified individual obtaining control over a phone number… .” — Safety (@Safety) January 10, 2024 The SEC didn’t immediately respond to an emailed message sent outside regular business hours seeking comment on X’s initial assessment. Meanwhile, Republican Senators JD Vance and Thom Tillis in a letter demanded an explanation for the SEC’s “errant” post. They are seeking a briefing by the SEC and answers to questions no later than Jan. 23. Decision Due About a dozen companies have applied to list ETFs backed by Bitcoin in the U.S. The SEC has until Jan. 10 to take action on at least one of those applications, and crypto insiders have speculated the regulator will use that date to announce a slew of decisions at once. There are two technical requirements that must be fulfilled before a spot-backed Bitcoin ETF can start trading. First, the SEC must sign off on so-called 19b-4 filings by the exchanges that would list the ETFs. Second, the regulator must approve the relevant S-1 forms,...

Economic data released last week suggests that the economy is progressing at a healthy pace, “I would even call it a ‘Goldilocks’ pace,” Siegel said. “The data is not too strong to encourage the Federal Reserve to tighten and certainly not too weak to start a slowdown in corporate profits.” The Middle East conflict and the danger to cargo ships in the Red Sea have pushed oil prices up and could lead to other supply chain delays, generating inflationary pressure, Siegel wrote. “But so far these tensions are only impacting oil,” he said, “and we see no signs in other commodities, which have been stable if not declining.” Siegel said he disagrees with those who think the Fed needs to make six rate cuts this year to have a good 2024. The key point from the recent Federal Open Market Committee meeting was Jerome Powell, the Fed chair, being more flexible and willing to cut rates on economic weakness, he said, adding, “If real economic growth stays strong, the Fed could keep rates exactly where they are, and we could have strong equity markets.” Powell’s flexibility lowers the probability for recession and raises chances for continued growth or a softer landing,...

What You Need to Know Putting plans in place takes time. Talking about passions works better than talking about death. Communication will make a plan work better. Over the course of the next 22 years, more than $84 trillion in wealth will be changing hands to the next generation, according to Cerulli Associates data. Yet, the Cerulli study shows, nearly half of investors with at least $1 million have no wealth transfer plan in place. On top of that, only 13% of investors will use the same financial professional as their parents. I get it. Having money conversations with family can be hard. But we know that hard conversations are often the most impactful. You can bring tremendous value to your clients, and build and sustain your business, by helping families navigate the great wealth transfer. Start the wealth transfer conversation. Be patient! It’s important to stress that there’s plenty of time to decide on specifics. This really hits home for me, since my parents are the type of people who feel like they’re never going to die. These types of conversations can be pretty nerve-wracking for them. After my grandmother passed, my mom struggled with closing the estate. These...

The issuers also need the SEC to sign-off on the final versions of their S-1 filings, which are the prospectus documents for the ETFs. SEC approval of the 19b-4 and S-1 forms may or may not happen concurrently, though typically the S-1s are approved after the 19b-4s. A representative for the SEC declined to comment. Should both approvals be obtained, the ETFs could start trading as soon as the next business day. Last week, multiple issuers, including BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity, submitted amended S-1 filings to name their authorized participants — broker-dealers responsible for handling the creation and redemption of baskets of shares for ETFs. While the step is typically taken for granted in traditional ETF creations, it drew attention in Bitcoin ETF applications because some industry watchers had expressed concerns that Bitcoin funds would have a harder time attracting broker-dealers. Credit: Shutterstock Copyright 2024 Bloomberg. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.