TD Ameritrade now has a mobile app for long-term investors with managed accounts. Called Portfolios, the app supports clients using either Essential Portfolios, TD’s retail robo advisor, or Selective Portfolios, its existing managed account offering. Clients can use the app to view goals and their progress towards reaching them, gains and losses, and customized charts of historical performance and hypothetical future projections. According to Lule Demmissie, the company’s managing director of investment products and guidance, TD has the most mobile users and trades per day over mobile devices, so the company plans to continue investing in more mobile experiences for customers. The beta version of the app is available for iPhones, with the full version and Android support planned for the first half of 2017. KENDALL, FL - MARCH 07: Ileana Garcia looks in her wallet for credit cards she wants to melt over a hot plate as she tries to dig herself out of credit card debt during a sermon by Kevin Cross about faith-based financial management at the Miami Vineyard Community Church on March 7, 2009 in Kendall, Florida. Cross preaches to people about the biblical principles of money management with his idea of steps that should be taken for handling finances to glorify and honor God. With the economic hard times that have fallen upon many people, churches around the country are trying new programs such as Cross's Margin and Meaning events, to guide people out of their debt and get back on their feet financially. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Big Debt Rising
Americans are projected to have more debt by the end of 2016 than they did just before the Great Recession, according to a NerdWallet report by Erin El Issa. Delving into the causes of rising debt and possible solutions for those who owe money, the report, which culled data from the Fed, U.S. Census Bureau and other sources, highlighted some key areas of concern for American investors. For one, increases in the cost of living have outpaced income growth each year for the past 13 years. Since 2003, household income has grown 28 percent, while medical costs soared 57 percent and food and beverage prices increased 36 percent. Not to mention, student loan debt has increased 186 percent in the last decade. But what's most staggering is the amount of credit card debt taken on by investors to potentially bridge the widening gap between cost of living and income. The report indicated that the average household with credit card debt has balances totaling $16,061.
Texas Wealth Manager Arrested on Fraud Charges
Bobby Eugene Guess
A money manager from a suburb of Dallas has been arrested and charged with committing more than $6 million worth of fraud, money laundering, theft and engaging in organized criminal activity. Bobby Eugene Guess, 65, is alleged to be selling investments without being a registered securities dealer, according to court documents, DallasNews.com is reporting. The Texas State Securities Board is claiming that Guess, who advertised on multiple Dallas-area radio stations and hosted a "Dollars and Sense" radio show, lured retirees and others to his firm's investment forums with fraudulent promises of 9 percent annualized returns. Instead, that money was used to fund an "extravagant lifestyle for Guess" and his coworkers and relatives. They money was alleged used on travel to Cabo San Lucas; Vail, Colo.; Walt Disney World, a Montana hunting lodge and multiple luxury vehicles. Guess also used new investments in one company to pay off investors in another in "the very definition of a Ponzi scheme."