Friday Financial Five—May 3rd, 2013
Friday, May 03, 2013
Hedge funds do have regulation
Hedge funds continue to be a hot topic in Rhode Island, but there appears to be confusion about their oversight. The Dodd-Frank bill put a division of the SEC (Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations) in charge of overseeing hedge funds starting this year. Inspections have already begun and the hope is that 25% will be reviewed in the next year and a half. The SEC will focus on management, conflicts of interest, marketing, safety of assets and valuation.
1st Quarter single-family sales data
The first quarter single-family housing numbers are certainly encouraging, and there are some interesting trends. Median prices for the state were up as a whole close to 7 percent, while distressed property transactions were down over 20 percent from the first quarter in 2012. East Bay towns all saw positive increases in median pricing, with Barrington up 39 percent and Warren up 45 percent. The total number of transactions in East Greenwich was up a whopping 85 percent, by far the most in the state. Newport County still has properties on the market for much longer than the rest of the state, and the distressed market in Kent County (mainly driven by Coventry and West Warwick) was down roughly 40 percent.
The college debt bubble
At $870 billion, total outstanding student loan debt is now $140 billion more than the country’s auto debt and $170 billion more than credit card debt. The unemployment rate for college graduates is at its highest in 11 years, while the average student debt amount crept up to over $27,000 in 2012. The debt bubble continues to grow, and it’s imperative to consider the return on the investment as parents and children consider schools for the upcoming fall.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST“The Retirement Gamble”
PBS Frontline put together an informative documentary on the challenges facing workers in terms of accumulating and protecting their nest egg. “The Retirement Gamble” looks at the increased responsibility of the American worker to put money away, with traditional pension plans going away in large part. It also stresses the importance of minimizing fees and maximizing after-expense returns. Take a look at the program here.
Long Term Care carriers and the gender difference
The number of carriers offering Long Term Care coverage has consolidated in recent years, and now another trend has emerged. Policy holders, especially those with a high compounding inflation protection, are seeing huge increases in their yearly premiums. This is allowed as long as the rate increase is uniform and is meant to force clients into reducing coverage or dropping it altogether. Carriers are also starting to underwrite new policies according to gender. These new policies may charge females a larger premium, as women traditionally need care for a longer period of time than men.
Dan Forbes is a regular contributor on financial issues. He is a CFP Board Ambassador. He leads the firm Forbes Financial Planning, Inc in Providence, RI and can be reached at [email protected].
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