COVID-19 brings less revenue, more headaches

When Kasey Collins Litt heard on the news in April that the Small Business Administration (SBA) had awarded all the loans in its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), she was devastated.

The owner of Kritter Keepers Club, a doggie daycare and boarding service in Marietta, Georgia, Litt had been trying for weeks to access federal money to help her keep the 11-employee business afloat during the coronavirus pandemic. She tried to apply for PPP at her multistate bank, but ended up on a waiting list because they were not ready. From an industry webinar, she learned an online portal was taking applications.

The coronavirus pandemic that abruptly closed offices and forced millions of employees to begin working remotely from home has also exposed these workers and their employers to new security threats from increased global cyberattacks.

“Unfortunately, COVID-19 has highlighted a lot of existing cybersecurity vulnerabilities for private business and government,” cybersecurity and privacy expert Leeza Garber said in an interview with Advisors Magazine. “Many companies were not ready to send their employees to work from their home environment,” added Garber, a lawyer, keynote speaker, and frequent on-air analyst for Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network.

Specialized Approach for Settlements

More and more, financial planning is valued as a means to reach equitable settlements for couples who are divorcing. Enter the niche professional designation: the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA®). Since 1993, the Durham, North Carolina-based Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts’ (IDFA) website notes that it has certified more than 5,000 CDFAs in the United States and Canada.

Capital gains tax breaks draw interest

With just days remaining in 2017, Congress passed the largest overhaul of the tax code in three decades through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The bill made waves in the media and garnered lots of debate because it slashed the corporate tax rate from 35 to 21 percent, and also lowered income taxes for individuals and families.

But backed into the bill was a lesser-known provision that created lots of potential upside for investors through mechanisms called qualified opportunity zones, which at their core are economically-distressed communities located around the United States.

New questions during a pandemic

Turbulent economic times created by COVID-19 – the 2020 global pandemic that is pushing long-running bull markets into bear territory – puts client communication at the top of the “must do” list for financial advisors.

During a sudden downturn in the economy – especially when investors were sucker punched after enjoying record-breaking stock market gains – advisors must now be available to answer an onslaught of clients’ questions about current conditions, the economic outlook, and what – if anything—needs to be done right now to manage their investments. Advisors who neglect such communication risk losing their clients once the economy stabilizes.