Just because a client lives abroad doesn’t mean they can’t be in your book.

While the bulk of American advisors’ business is conducted in the US, some are seeking opportunities overseas. Out of the roughly 15,000 independent firms based in the US, 381 advisors are registered with foreign regulatory authorities and provide services to clients in other countries, according to new data from SmartAsset. While foreign-registered RIAs make up just 2.6% of the total population, some firms are finding potential beyond their home country’s borders.

“Taking business overseas may come with a lot of upfront regulatory investment, and so, requires an appropriate strategy to seek an appropriate return on investment,” said Jaclyn DeJohn, director of economic analysis at SmartAsset.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Over the past year, the number of US states registered with foreign regulators has remained relatively flat, with some slight redistributions out of some states and into others, the data found. Meanwhile, nearly 800 foreign-based RIAs are registered with the SEC.

Northeast states had the highest prevalence for foreign registration, likely due to the wealth concentration, population density and more manageable time zone considerations, DeJohn told Advisor Upside. She added that it’s important for advisors to do their diligence before trying to conduct business in multiple environments, otherwise firms may be “vulnerable to risks, including geopolitical tensions and exchange rates.” The research also found:

• New York leads the country in RIAs registered with foreign regulators, at 130 firms.
• Massachusetts and Connecticut have the largest shares of RIAs working with clients in other countries, at 5.74% and 5.64%, respectively.
• Though not mentioned in the study, DeJohn said Washington, D.C., had higher rates of foreign financial registration than any state, at nearly 10%.

World Tour. US-based RIAs oversee about $145 trillion in assets, so it’s no wonder that other countries want a piece of the American pie. The United Kingdom has 248 firms registered with the SEC, representing almost a third of all the foreign RIAs operating in the US, the data found. Canada has the second most RIAs doing business in the states at 138 firms. And Hong Kong accounts for just over 8% of foreign RIAs in the US with 66.

Crypto funds are about to become a whole lot more regulated — or deregulated, depending on who you ask.

After initial delays, the SEC has approved in-kind redemptions for spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. The decision is the first pro-crypto policy decision by Paul Atkins, the SEC chair confirmed earlier this year who is expected to help realize crypto evangelists’ digital currency dreams. The move also is the first major indication that the crypto industry — whose super PACs donated tens of millions to President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign — is getting what it expected.

The decision marked “the biggest day for crypto in the history of the space,” said financial consultant Tyrone Ross Jr. “This administration, whether it’s custody, whether it’s on-chain, whether it’s ETFs … they’re making sure that crypto thrives in America.”

Will That Be Cash or Crypto?

In-kind redemptions let investors create and redeem shares of spot crypto ETFs without having to use cash — meaning authorized participants, the people with the power to change the number of ETF shares on the market, can now add or remove assets from a fund using Bitcoin or Ethereum. In a statement on the approval, Atkins said the decision is only the first step toward building “a rational regulatory framework for crypto.” But how much of these changes can be attributed to the Trump administration? “One hundred percent,” said Ross. “They are hell-bent on America becoming the main hub for crypto in the world.”

Other measures approved by the agency were:

• Advancing a “merit-neutral” approach to crypto-based products, including applications for spot crypto ETFs.
• Allowing FLEX options on shares of certain Bitcoin ETFs that let investors customize things like expiration date and strike price.

The SEC’s likely next move is specifying which coins are and aren’t securities, Ross said. “That’s the big one that everyone is still waiting for,” he said. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission is also likely to eventually update its guidance on what it will oversee, he added.

Keeping Options Open. In-kind redemption approvals took place alongside another policy change to increase positions limits for options trading on BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, IBIT — the biggest crypto ETF on the market — from 25,000 to 250,000 contracts. BlackRock has been among the most prominent issuers pushing for deregulation, having filed for in-kind redemptions back in January. “It’s huge for the individual investor. It’s huge for BlackRock,” Ross said. “It’s huge for the entire space.”

“The labor market is actually still quite solid.” “The labor market’s solid, historically low unemployment.” “In the labor market, conditions have remained solid.”

Last Wednesday, at his press conference following the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates steady, the central bank’s chairman, Jerome Powell, used the word “solid” to describe the US job market at least a half-dozen times. For much of the year, the labor market’s perceived resilience amid inflation, still above the Fed’s desired target, and tariffs, which threaten more inflation, have bolstered the Fed’s position that it can hold off on lowering interest rates to continue waging its battle on higher prices.

Jumbo Redux

First, there’s what happened in July. The economy added just 73,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, well below the expectations of economists surveyed (a Bloomberg poll found experts anticipating 109,000). The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1% in June.

Second, and arguably more important, is what actually happened in May and June. The Labor Department issued a startling revision to previous job figures: Officials now estimate employment increased by just 33,000 jobs combined over the two months, 258,000 less than before. The department acknowledged the colossal downgrade was “larger than normal.” The data effectively calls into question the Fed’s contention, central to its wait-and-see approach, that the labor market has chugged along admirably.

The Fed’s balancing act is admittedly tricky. Its preferred inflation gauge, the core PCE price index, rose 2.8% year-over-year in June, well over its 2% target. And the two key data points the Fed is trying to influence act like magnetic opposites when it comes to monetary policy: higher rates can tame inflation, but they also make it more expensive for businesses to borrow money, leading to less hiring. The verdict rendered by investors Friday is that the Fed will have to drop its defensive posture against inflation:

• As of Friday, investors are betting on an 87.5% chance that the Fed’s main monetary policy committee cuts rates at its next meeting in mid-September, according to the CME Fedwatch. The day before the Labor Department’s massive job number revisions dropped, the likelihood of a rate cut was seen as just 37.7%.
• President Donald Trump’s tariff policies won’t make life any easier. The core PCE data released last week showed tariffs have already started to push up consumer prices. And that data was gathered before he announced a slew of new tariffs on countries ranging from 10% to 41% on Thursday (the S&P 500 fell 1.6% and the Nasdaq 2.2% on Friday as markets registered their immediate concern over the weak job numbers and new import taxes).

The Fed has been cautious about cutting rates too early, given that previous cuts in the aftermath of the pandemic led to sustained and persistent inflation, with their desired target still out of reach. And then there was last year, when Fed officials decided not to cut rates at their July policy meeting, only for a weak jobs report to drop days later; they proceeded to vote for a half-percentage point “jumbo” rate cut in September.

History Repeating: One of the two Fed officials who dissented from the decision to hold rates steady last week, Trump appointee Christopher Waller, warned his colleagues to avoid a repeat of last year: “We should not wait until the labor market deteriorates before we cut the policy rate.” Trump has pushed hard for a rate cut himself, but a weakening jobs market isn’t the impetus he wanted. After the revised jobs numbers were announced, he posted on Truth Social that that they were “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad” and fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.