Financial Planning

A new study finds that investors are not only skeptical of upbeat financial forecasts from the management at public companies, but they often believe downbeat forecasts are overly optimistic and less credible than positive news about the company’s outlook.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has hired a group of agencies to lead a branding and public awareness campaign to raise the profile of the board.

Americans continued to show concern about the state of the economy and their personal finances in August, according to a new survey that found feelings of financial security once again on the decline.

Bankruptcy filings rose 20 percent in the 12-month period ending June 30, 2010, the highest number of bankruptcy filings for any period since many of the provisions of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 took effect.

The past two years have not been overly kind to the life settlement market.

CFP OFFERS NEW DESIGNATION

Affluent families are not feeling so affluent these days. The financial crisis has left its mark and eroded a tremendous amount of confidence, as well as wealth.

Under new regulations proposed by the Treasury Department, Americans who receive federal benefits like monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security income would no longer be able to receive these funds by check, and groups including Consumers Union are asking the Treasury to reconsider.

Congressman Richard Neal, D-Mass., has introduced legislation that would allow companies to set up automatic payroll deposit Individual Retirement Accounts, or Auto IRAs, for workers who do not have access to employer-provided qualified pension plans.

Sixty percent of the private equity executives surveyed by accounting firm Eisner LLP have seen an increase in debt financing availability in the first and second quarters of this year, compared to a year ago.