, Columnist
5 Ominous Signs for the Securities Industry
It's looking bleak for actively managed funds, which are losing assets to low-cost passive investments like never before.
The deluge.
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Donald Trump’s election win created a sunny day in the financial industry. The promise of deregulation has sent financial stocks up about 10 percent -- almost double the gain in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index -- and related exchange-traded funds have attracted more than $11 billion in new money.
Enjoy the run, because it may not last. This past year provided evidence that there's a growing grassroots revolt brewing among the individual investors who have been so crucial to the securities industry for decades. This awakening is likely irreversible and threatens to hollow out parts of the industry. Here are five scary developments found in recent fund-flow data: