Social Security phone scams are becoming more numerous and more sophisticated, with the administration's inspector general warning that telephone scammers are now also sending people official-looking documents via email. If there is a legitimate problem with your Social Security account, officials will almost always contact you via mail, Mary Beth Franklin writes.

With more annuity options likely to be included in 401(k) plans following the passage of the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act, it is important for plan participants to do their due diligence, write retirement income experts William Byrnes and Robert Bloink. Among the things to consider before selecting an annuity option are fees and surrender charges.

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill last week that requires qualified individuals to report suspected financial abuse of an elderly person. A qualified individual is defined as an advisor, agent or other person who is serving in a "supervisory, compliance, or legal capacity" for an advisor.

The price-earnings to growth ratio, which gauges whether a stock is properly valued, is at the highest reading since Bank of America tracking began in 1986. Anything above 1 indicates overvaluation, and the ratio is at 1.8.

The Treasury Department will start selling a 20-year bond during the first half of this year. The product is being introduced to help with the budget deficit, which is expected to exceed $1 trillion this fiscal year and might continue at that level during the next 10 years.

Investors are responding favorably to BlackRock's emphasis on green investing. The company's iShares ESG MSCI USA exchange-traded fund, which focuses on environmental, social and governance criteria, received $1.15 billion Wednesday, a record one-day inflow.

BlackRock's iShares has brought to Cboe Global Markets exchange-traded funds that apply value and growth strategies to the Russell 1000 index through factor screens. The iShares Factors US Value Style ETF is linked to an index derived from the value version of the Russell 1000, while the iShares Factors US Growth Style ETF tracks the growth version of the index.

An annual survey of CEOs by PwC finds 53% of respondents expect global economic growth to slow this year, up from 29% in the previous year's survey.

Business email compromise is the latest cyberrisk that financial-services companies need to guard against, FBI Special Agent Michael Driscoll said during the 2020 FINRA Cybersecurity Conference. "Every business is getting targeted, from the smallest to the largest," he told attendees.

Financial planners need to accept their clients and their life choices and serve them to the best of their ability, says Lauren Wolven of Levenfeld Pearlstein. This includes not making assumptions and using the right terminology when it comes to gender issues and nontraditional families, she says.