The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a new Investment Management Division Director to replace William Birdthistle, who will be departing the agency March 8.
Upon Birdthistle’s departure, Natasha Vij Greiner, currently the Deputy Director of the Division of Examinations, will be named Director of the Division of Investment Management.
The Division oversees regulatory policy for investment advisers and investment companies, including mutual funds and other investment products and services relied upon by retail investors.
“I am grateful to William for his service to the SEC and to the investing public,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in a statement. “William has overseen our work to strengthen oversight of investment companies and investment advisers—from data reporting to fund names to money market reforms. These reforms will help American investors save for homes, college, and retirement.”
“I thank Natasha for taking on this new role as Division Director,” added Gensler. “Natasha brings deep and broad expertise to the Division, both having led the agency’s Investment Adviser/Investment Company examination program and having served in other key leadership roles over her more than two decades at the SEC.”
Since joining the SEC in December 2021, Birdthistle oversaw the adoption of rulemakings related to private fund advisers and their reporting on Form PF, as well as to public funds, including money market fund reforms, tailored shareholder reports, and revisions to the fund Names Rule. He also inaugurated the SEC’s annual Conference on Emerging Trends in Asset Management.
Prior to joining the SEC, Birdthistle was on the faculty at Chicago-Kent College of Law. He also has served as a visiting professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School and practiced law at Ropes & Gray in Boston for five years as a corporate associate in the firm’s investment management practice. Following his departure from the SEC, he will rejoin academia.
In addition to serving as Deputy Director of the Division of Examinations, Greiner is the National Associate Director of the Investment Adviser/Investment Company (IA/IC) examination program, which includes the Private Funds Unit, and is the Associate Director of the Home Office IA/IC examination program.
She began her SEC career in the Division of Examinations (formerly OCIE) as a broker-dealer examiner and has served in a variety of roles across the agency for more than 22 years, including Acting Chief Counsel and Assistant Chief Counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets, where she provided legal and policy advice to the Commission on rules affecting market participants and the operation of the securities markets.
Before that, Greiner worked in the Division of Enforcement, including in its Asset Management Unit, where she investigated possible violations of the federal securities laws and litigated matters in federal district court and administrative proceedings.
Greiner received her J.D. from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and graduated cum laude with a B.S. degree from James Madison University.
A new platform allowing recently retired consultants who still hold a license to return to the NHS in a more flexible capacity has been launched by NHS England as part of a range of measures to bring down the elective care backlog.
The NHS Emeritus pilot scheme will run for a year across England and it is expected Emeritus consultants will be able to start carrying out appointments from February 2023.
This will follow a full registration process, which includes pre-employment checks and face-to-face interviews with NHS Professionals.
Once registered, a cloud-based platform will link Emeritus consultants with secondary care providers who upload the activity they would like supported. This could range from outpatient appointments, specialist advice requests and education and training support.
The Emeritus consultants can then express their interest in undertaking the specific work listed, and providers will choose the consultant whose skillset and availability best matches the appointments they need covered.
Appointments would be scheduled and arranged with patients in the normal way and carried out in-person or remotely, if clinically appropriate.
This means Emeritus consultants could be based anywhere in England and support hospitals in areas with workforces shortages in a particular specialty or a higher demand for services, or more remote areas where travel is difficult for patients.
The platform aims to provide trusts with an alternative to using agency staff, while allowing experienced specialists who are nearing retirement but want to keep working in the NHS longer, or recently-retired consultants who want to re-join, with an easy route back in with more flexibility.
Stella Vig, NHS national clinical director for elective care, said: ‘The NHS prides itself on its hard-working and committed staff, and it is often the most experienced and knowledgeable clinicians who are lost to the NHS once they retire, even though they still have a lot more they can give to benefit patients.
‘Many have said they want to be able to keep giving back to the health service once they have retired, but in a more flexible way – through the NHS Emeritus initiative, we can provide an opportunity for consultants to continue to work in the NHS in a way that fits in with their life and schedule, and ensures the NHS can still benefit from their skills and knowledge, whether that be through providing training and education, or continuing to see patients and help add much-needed capacity as we work toward our aims of bringing down the longest waits for elective care.’
Consultant urologist Simon Williams is currently employed by University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, and going through the final stages of the registration process for the Emeritus scheme ahead of retiring soon.
He said: ‘Having spent 32 years working in the NHS I have built up a wealth of experience and skills. NHS Emeritus is a great way to continue to share that and still see patients, but in a more flexible way.
‘The programme will enable me to help trusts across the country using remote consultations, not just those in my local area, which could really help free up capacity for their consultants to see more patients in-person and help bring down some of the longer waits for routine appointments.’
Dr Sarah Clarke, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: ‘At a time when the NHS is facing unprecedented demands, paving a way for our recently retired experienced doctors to be able to contribute their skills again as emeritus consultants is a very welcome step forward.
‘As outlined in RCP’s Later Careers Guidance, we know that more than a third of physicians who are not yet retired say they want to retire early, but almost 60% of physicians would delay retirement if they could work flexibly or reduce their hours, highlighting that integrated flexible working would greatly improve retention.
‘We will closely follow the Emeritus pilot and very much hope that it offers a flexible opportunity for experienced physicians to once again provide vital care for their patients while importantly reducing waiting lists.’
If the pilot is successful, the scheme has the potential to be expended to cover other work areas, the NHS said.
Ms Vig added: ‘It’s a simple concept, but one that we hope will benefit everyone taking part – and we envisage that this is just the beginning, with the potential to broaden NHS Emeritus out to a wider cohort and to include different types of work in the future, which could benefit thousands of patients across the country.’
The new tool is one initiative being rolled out to help deliver the NHS Elective Recovery Plan and to cut the longest waits for routine care.
Recent research has suggested that the NHS must treat 10% more non-urgent hospital cases a month to reverse the increasing waiting list for elective care.
Most homeowners planning to relocate for retirement sell their houses, downsize, and then put the profit toward their investments and lifestyle dreams. However, some seek to convert the property they already own into a new income source by turning it into a rental.
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There are arguments to be made for both, and neither scenario will suit everyone. Here’s what you need to consider.
First Things First — Can You Afford To Move Without the Lump Sum?
As with so many other things regarding retirement, money will make many of the big decisions for you. Will you have enough money to pull off the move if you don’t sell, and even if you can, will doing so leave you strapped and stressed?
“If you need the cash from the sale of your home to fund your retirement or to buy a new home in your new location, then selling may be the best option,” said Cam Dowski, an interior designer, Realtor and founder of WeBuyHousesChicago. “On the other hand, if you have the financial means to maintain and rent out your home, then renting may provide you with a steady stream of income during retirement.”
Is the Income Stream Worth the Headaches?
Rental properties generate income, but they also generate stress and a never-ending to-do list summarized in the dreaded “three Ts“: taxes, tenants and toilets.
“As someone who has spent most of his adult life as a landlord, I can tell you that the average person dramatically underestimates the headaches and overestimates the profits of being a small-time landlord,” said Brian Davis, real estate investor and founder of SparkRental.
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“Most retirees, especially those living long-distance, don’t want to hassle with chasing down delinquent tenants for rent, filing eviction and arranging for someone to show up in court on their behalf or cleaning out all the junk abandoned when they finally leave. For that matter, most retirees don’t want to hassle with the more mundane tasks of filling vacant units, screening renters, signing leases with all the necessary addenda and disclosures, documenting move-in and move-out walkthroughs, storing security deposits in accordance with state and local laws, repair complaint phone calls from tenants, and so forth.”
The Property Management Compromise
If you like the idea of steady rental income but recognize that being a landlord can be hard, frustrating and all-consuming work, there’s a way to make the income stream much more passive — for a fee.
“Renting out your home and having a property manager take care of everything is a great option,” said Kelly Sollinger, owner of the real estate investment firm Georgia Fair Offer.
According to All Property Management, management companies typically charge 8%-12%, so you’ll have to factor that expense into your budget. But, as Sollinger points out, the compromise “gives the retiree some mailbox money every month.”
If You Rent It, Keep Your Income Expectations in Line With Reality
The rule of 1% says that you have to charge 1% of the home’s value in monthly rent to generate positive cash flow. If your house is worth $500,000, that’s a cool $5,000 per month, right? Don’t bet on it.
According to Kiplinger, that formula doesn’t account for appreciation and mostly works for properties purchased specifically as investments.
If you’re near retirement and you’ve owned the home for a long time, your house has probably increased in value over the years. That would make most lived-in homes worth $500,000 terrible investment properties even if they’d be great homes to buy as primary residences.
The 50% Rule
If you wouldn’t buy your home as an investment property, don’t assume you’ll get 1% by renting it out. Even if you do, plan to kiss half of that monthly check goodbye.
“When it comes to cash flow on rental properties, there’s a rule of thumb in the industry called the 50% Rule,” said Davis. “You can expect around 50% of the rent to go to non-mortgage expenses. These include vacancy rates, repairs, maintenance, property taxes, property insurance, property management, accounting, and so on. So retirees should ask themselves a question: What kind of cash flow am I looking at if I cut the rent in half and then subtract the mortgage payment?”
How Far, Exactly, Are You Relocating?
Life as a landlord can be challenging, but life as an absentee landlord is often beyond the bounds of possibility for the average person — particularly one who’s getting on in age.
“If you are relocating at some distance from your property, I feel strongly that it is a much better idea to sell your house instead of renting it,” said Bridget Blonde, a Realtor with Nest Realty. “I have experience in these situations and several have not turned out well for elderly landlords. If your health changes and you can no longer make the trip to check on your property or deal with your tenants, you will need a trusted and effective property manager to do this for you. If you do not have a good property manager, over time you will lose touch with what is going on with and at your property and this can lead to numerous problems.”
A Sale Is Guaranteed Cash — Steady Rental Income Is Not
Once you sell your home, you’ll have a lump sum in the bank to spread out among any number of investments. But if you tie up all or most of your nest egg in a rental, your financial security becomes much more precarious — especially if you’re not an experienced veteran.
“It’s risky to fiddle in the investment property business as it requires expertise to make significant profits, mainly due to leveraging,” said Alyson Peck of Bridge The Gap Home Buyers. “Engaging in this field without proper knowledge can result in financial loss. Therefore, I advise against renting your home.”
On top of all that, owning a rental comes with a bevy of tax considerations that don’t apply to home sales, including the loss of the highly favorable 121 exclusion, which lets you write off up to $250,000 from the sale of your primary residence.
“Your home was never designed to be an investment,” said Davis. “Sell it, and then consider reinvesting the proceeds in passive real estate investments such as real estate crowdfunding or real estate syndications. In many cases, you get all the benefits of real estate ownership but none of the headaches.”
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Should I Sell or Rent My House When I Relocate for Retirement?
With housing market prices at peak levels, retirees may wonder whether it is a good idea to sell their home, become renters and use the cash to generate investment income in the stock market.
There are several reasons why it makes sense for some retirees to do this, says Matthew J. Ure, vice president of Anthony Capital in Garden Ridge, Texas.
Investing primary home proceeds in a “prudent” portfolio leaves retirees wealthier because it can return more than the home would, says James Di Virgilio, co-founder of Chacon Diaz & Di Virgilio Wealth Management in Gainesville, Florida. “Residential homes are a terrible investment when all factors are considered,” he says.
But whether it is wise to take this approach depends heavily on your personal circumstances, so before you decide to become a tenant and invest your primary-home proceeds, consider the following.
Is the house worth enough? It may make sense to sell if your primary residence is valued particularly high compared to the past few decades, adjusted for inflation, says Steve Jon Kaplan, CEO of True Contrarian Investments in Kearny, New Jersey. Selling “high” will allow you to generate the most income possible, and the proceeds could sustain you for many years with the “rule” that retirees should draw down about 4 percent of their nest egg annually in retirement.
If the retirees are elderly and proceeds from the home’s sale could pay for an assisted living or retirement community that better suits their needs, this could be a good move, says Chris Cooper, a certified financial planner in San Diego.
“If [retirees] own a house and prices are considerably higher than average, as they are today in many cities in the United States, then they should be more likely to favor selling their house and renting instead,” says Kaplan. “If prices at some point become undervalued several years later and they are no longer eager to keep renting, then they can take advantage of the bargains to purchase a house later on.”
But if you live in a home where the value is not high enough to generate investment income from a sale for life, it makes sense to stay put, says Bill DeShurko, chief investment officer of Fund Trader Pro in Centerville, Ohio.
Do you have enough retirement income? If there is not enough retirement income from other sources such as pensions, Social Security or an existing portfolio of investments, then selling the house and investing the proceeds to generate additional income may make sense, says Fred Leamnson, founder and president of Leamnson Capital Advisory in Reston, Virginia.
However, if the sale proceeds are not invested in another residence, retirees could owe capital gains taxes, which reduces the amount of capital available to reinvest. And with the recent tax law changes, many retirees won’t itemize deductions such as mortgage interest and will use the standard deduction instead.
“So, if there is a mortgage on the house, it likely won’t provide any tax benefit,” Leamnson says.
Can you change your lifestyle? Besides the financial considerations, the decision to sell a primary residence also is a lifestyle choice. Ure gives the following example: A 62-year-old single woman living in White Plains, New York, owns a 2,800-square-foot house. Her annual property taxes are more than $17,000 a year! Add maintenance costs that can reasonably be estimated at an average of $6,000 a year and the cost to stay in her home is $23,000 a year.
If she sells her house for about $900,000, she can free up capital for retirement goals and rent an apartment. With bond funds and annuities yielding 4 to 6 percent annually, on average, the money could generate $36,000 to $54,000 a year in interest income that could be used to pay for housing costs.
If a retiree doesn’t want to move, or lives in a home that has been in the family for generations and has sentimental value, then selling may not be a desirable option, Ure says.
“Even for those who prefer to stay put, there are some potentially attractive options, such as reverse mortgages, that still allow for access to home equity for retirement but do not require you to move,” he says.
How will you invest the proceeds? If you decide to invest the proceeds of your home, do so wisely and conservatively, since you will likely begin taking withdrawals almost immediately, says Nate Condon, co-owner of Walkner Condon Financial Advisors in Madison, Wisconsin.
“A large loss of principal due to too much volatility, coupled with constant withdrawals, is a recipe for disaster,” he says.
So is trying to beat the market, since that is impossible to predict, Condon says.
How much does it cost to rent? While paying for a rental with investment income may appeal because of the low-maintenance lifestyle, you will be subject to rental increases, which could double your cost of renting over time. More often than not, the cost of renting exceeds the cost of principal, interest, taxes and insurance on a retiree’s current home, says Edward G. Siddell, CEO and chief investment officer for EGSI Financial in Dublin, Ohio.