Nov 4, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
Despite the compliance hurdles, more than one third of financial advisors see direct handling of clients’ assets by FAs acting as their portfolio managers clearly outpacing other fee-based management styles in the next three years, according to a new survey by the Aite Group. ...
Aug 19, 2011
by Kevin Nichols, Director of Marketing at The Oechsli Institute
Ashley is a veteran advisor who has been invited to her company recognition trip with thirty of her fellow top performers. To the others who heard her question, she made a valid point. But they are missing the big picture. Social Media isn’t just a “hip” way to reach clients or prospects; it’s a tool that can be used in the midst of shaky markets for broadening your reach by positioning yourself as a calming presence. ...
Aug 10, 2011
By Diana Britton
LPL Financial (NASDAQ: LPLA) kicked off its annual conference in Chicago on Monday by ringing the opening bell of the NASDAQ stock exchange and announcing some new initiatives aimed at supporting advisors. In particular, the firm is slashing transaction charges for equities and ETFs from $15 to $9 a trade and footing the bill for all its 12,600 advisors to have a one-year membership to the Financial Services Institute, said Bill Dwyer, president of national sales and marketing at LPL, during the opening session Monday. ...
Jul 25, 2011
By Diana Britton
Many IBDs have been going under due to large liabilities they face related to alternative investments that have gone bust, including Medical Capital, Provident and DBSI. Meadowbrook is the latest to join the list of imploding firms. Other IBDs, such as Securities America, are being sold off, providing an opportunity for larger firms looking to acquire. ...
May 2, 2011
By Diana Britton
After months at the negotiating table with clients who filed arbitration and class action claims against the firm, Securities America is one step closer to getting the OK on a $150 million settlement. Friday, Judge W. Royal Furgeson Jr. of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas gave every indication that he was going to approve the class action settlement, according to Joseph Peiffer, a partner at New Orleans-based Fishman Haygood Phelps Walmsley Willis & Swanson, which is representing SAI clients in arbitrations...
May 20, 2010
By Kristen French
The Senate voted 60-40 Thursday to end weeks of debate on Christopher Dodd’s financial regulatory reform legislation. Hotly debated proposals to extend the fiduciary standard to brokers did not make it into the final version of the legislation....
Mar 15, 2010
By Kristen French
Senate banking committee chairman Christopher Dodd is set to introduce banking reform legislation Monday without Republican support, in part due to pressure from the Obama administration. The latest version of his legislation is said to adhere more closely to the White House’s initial proposal. He is scheduled to hold a press conference announcing the specifics of his bill at 2pm EST. ...
Mar 2, 2010
By John Aidan Byrne
Lax standards among financial advisers who manage 401(k)s and IRAs are in the crosshairs of the White House, which has proposed rules that require advisors to either use independent computer models that spit out advice, or else avoid steering workers into funds to which they are tied or that pay them a fee based on their recommendation. ...
Dec 3, 2009
By Kristen French
In her remarks before the Consumer Federation of America Thursday, SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro reiterated her commitment to creating a “strong fiduciary standard” for all securities professionals. She also called for clear point-of-sale disclosures, a re-assessment of 12b-1 fees, a closer look at target date funds and self-funding for the agency. ...
Aug 1, 2009
By Halah Touryalai
The Pitchman...
Aug 1, 2009
By Kristina Fausti
Congress is considering legislation that would require broker/dealer reps to adhere to the fiduciary standard. That could mean major changes in all areas of operation for firms and advisors...
Aug 1, 2009
By Halah Touryalai
The Outsider...
Aug 1, 2009
By Christina Mucciolo
The Advocate...
Jul 22, 2009
By John Churchill
The SEC yesterday charged Nashville-based broker/dealer Morgan Keegan for misleading thousands of investors about the risks of auction rate securities (ARS). Further, the SEC alleges that the firm pushed illiquid auction rate securities on thousands of clients long after it knew the market had frozen. The firm announced it had received a Wells Notice from the SEC last week....
Mar 1, 2009
By Karen Donovan
A new rule that took effect in January stipulates that there are three reasons—and three reasons only—to grant expungement of client complaints from your U4...
Mar 1, 2009
By John Churchill
A financial advisor accused of stealing more than $1 million from investors pleaded guilty in February to securities and wire fraud charges...
Mar 1, 2009
By Bill Singer
Foolish things to do with your cash...
Jul 20, 2007
By Christina Mucciolo
The securities industry is fighting tooth and nail to save 12b-1 fees. Exactly one month after the June 19 SEC roundtable convened to discuss the fate of 12b-1 fees, the securities industry’s lobby group, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), released its comment letter today. The letter says that 12b-1 fees are a necessary part of doing business, and that abolishing them will harm investors and stunt industry competition....
May 29, 2007
By Kristen French
In his new role as New York governor, Eliot Spitzer is joining forces with those he used to terrorize—Wall Street chief executives—to modernize financial services regulation in the state, the Financial Times reports. Spitzer is forming a panel with the executives, as well as with lawyers, consumer groups and regulators to streamline regulations and make New York more competitive with London, without sacrificing investor protection. The committee will be chaired by Eric Dinallo, the New York insurance superintendent, and will seek to simplify regulation of insurance companies state-chartered banks and securities dealers. ...
May 14, 2007
By John Churchill
The SEC isn’t going to fight the March 30 D.C. Court of Appeals ruling that vacated Rule 202, the broker/dealer exemption (a.k.a. the Merrill Lynch rule)—they’re just asking for a little mercy for firms that have to adjust. The securities industry still hopes that the SEC will somehow come up with a new plan to keep the fee-based brokerage account (or something like it) from coverage by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, which mandates that to offer financial advice, you have to be a fiduciary....
May 14, 2007
By Kevin Burke
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Speaking at the 49th annual Investment Company Institute general membership meeting, NASD Chairman Mary Shapiro told mutual fund executives she sees better regulation of investment products as a result of the expected merger of the NYSE and NASD regulatory bodies. While this potentially is better news for investors, purveyors of mutual funds may find themselves in the crosshairs when bringing more nuanced products to market....
May 2, 2007
By John Churchill
Add A.G. Edwards to the long list of firms that have been fined by the SEC for long-ago failures to supervise brokers who deceptively market timed mutual funds. ...
May 1, 2007
BY JOHN CHURCHILL
Oy. What a headache. That's what many Series 7-carrying advisors are saying about the prospect of the end of the Merrill Lynch rule. ...
May 1, 2007
Q: I always live by the rule of The Client Comes First. But, sometimes I feel that my bosses are pushing in the opposite direction. What do I do when I feel a product or solution that is not proprietary is a better fit for my client, but my bosses are pushing me to sell our company products for the benefit of the company?...
Apr 25, 2007
By Kevin Burke
Registered investment advisors, broker-dealers and hedge funds are spending more money on compliance software than ever before. This according to a report released on Tuesday by research firm Celent, which predicts that the U.S. wealth management compliance solutions market will reap $178 million in sales in 2007, growing to $318 million by 2011. The overall market is expected to grow steadily at a 15 percent compound annual growth rate, but the kinds of purchases made and the amount spent by different firms will vary by market segment. ...
