Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton testified before the House Financial Services Committee about the agency's proposed Regulation Best Interest. During the hearing, he addressed concerns about the proposal, as well as the timeline for the process, mentioning he would decide about extending the Aug. 7 comment deadline "in August."

Financial advisors may be able to take a cue from shoe stores, which have evolved their offerings to meet the demand of socially and environmentally conscious young shoppers, writes April Rudin of The Rudin Group. Young advisory-firm clients "want more socially responsible investing options, better technology and the ability to save time," she writes.

Financial planners should focus on annual estimates rather than lifetime projections when discussing retirement health care costs with their clients, Vanguard says. Lifetime projections are "distracting" and "demotivating," the investment-management company says.

It is as important for financial advisors to know how to get money out of an individual retirement account efficiently as it is for them to help their clients build their nest egg, writes Ed Slott. He looks at some of the key things that make IRAs different and offers tips for advisors and their clients.

The term "financial planner" has grown to encompass people and services that don't provide true financial planning, so it's important to find trained professionals who can help you plan for retirement, says FPA President Frank Paré. He offers five questions clients can ask prospective financial planners to find one who can truly manage their assets.

Advisers need to remain competitive in an increasingly automated world, and emphasizing their humanness is one way to deepen relationships with clients, writes Scott MacKillop of First Ascent Asset Management. MacKillop says client profiling, client education, the client experience, communication and websites are all areas where advisers can build on their humanness.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says interest rate hikes should continue, as the low unemployment and higher inflation numbers are supporting the case. Bond yields spiked after Powell's comments, as he stated the current tight labor market would not lead to a 1970s-like inflation surge.

The federal estate tax exemption has been doubled with recent tax law changes and is now over $11 million per person, which means older trusts and wills may need to be updated. Using old estate tax exemption formulas can have unintended consequence, Eleanor Laise writes.

Hedge fund openings in the first quarter totaled 158, surpassing 145 liquidations, according to Hedge Fund Research data. The number of openings represents a decline from about 190 in both the previous quarter and Q1 of 2017, and it is the lowest total since the last three months of 2016, HFR data show.

An HFM Insights survey of 113 hedge fund managers found 63% said they were charging clients for research priced separately from other services under the EU's revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. Many of those billing clients for the research costs said they do so because they are small businesses and had not budgeted for such expenses, Bill Muysken of Mercer noted.