The best-kept secret in car buying

Here are this week's best pieces of financial news and advice:

New tools to fight elder fraud

Some states are giving financial professionals more power to guard older clients from fraud or financial abuse, said Matthias Rieker at The Wall Street Journal. Missouri recently joined Delaware and Washington by shielding brokerages from liability for delaying questionable transactions involving older investors. Advisers say they often feel "hamstrung by strict rules" requiring speedy execution of trades and withdrawals, even if they suspect an elderly client has dementia or is falling victim to a fraudster. In Missouri, firms can now stop a transaction for up to 10 days for clients 60 or older and contact family members with their concerns. The "thorny trade-off" is that legitimate deals might be delayed because of stereotypes about elderly clients. After all, "grandmothers can be savvy investors, too."

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Why stocks are so expensive

"The $100 Stock Club is getting less exclusive," said Jennifer Kaplan at Bloomberg​. The stock prices of nearly a quarter of the companies in the S&P 500 have surpassed triple digits, four times the number in 2010. One reason is that stock splits are increasingly rare. Splits peaked in the 1990s, when companies sought to make their shares more affordable for individual investors cashing in on "the biggest bull market since the 1920s." But the institutional investors and exchange-traded funds that dominate today’s market "don’t care about the absolute price of a share." Instead of splits, companies have been rewarding shareholders with buybacks and dividends. Nor does the $100 price tag matter as much to most ordinary investors, who have an array of investment options, from retirement plans to brokerage accounts.

The benefits of buying a rental car

Buying a rental car is so easy, "you may not mind getting a car that dozens have already had their mitts on," said David Muhlbaum at Kiplinger. Hertz, Avis/Budget, and Enterprise all sell retired vehicles from their fleets at no-haggle prices, some of which are significantly lower than the Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price. Despite the stigma of driving off in a rental car, fleets receive frequent inspections and regular service, meaning buyers are typically getting a pretty good car at a substantial discount. Hertz and Avis/Budget allow an extensive test drive from many of their locations, and Enterprise will even buy a car back within seven days if you don’t like it.