May 24, 2012
By Kristen French
Considering investors have filed a class-action lawsuit against both Morgan Stanley and Facebook over the selective disclosure that occurred before the firm’s IPO, it is worth reading this great post by Josh Brown on his Reformed Broker blog...
May 24, 2012
By David A. Geracioti
The Facebook offering, as everyone in the world knows, including the checkout gal at my local Duane Reade, is a nightmare...
May 24, 2012
By Kristen French
Banks are hoping that managing wealth for the very rich will plump up their profit margins, but margins on high-end wealth management are getting squeezed, writes The Economist this week...
May 24, 2012
By Jerry Gleeson
Putnam Investments is releasing an upgraded calculator in October which it says accomplishes that goal, although one technology consultant says it’s a long way from replacing financial advisors....
May 23, 2012
By Diana Britton
Acquiring Morgan Keegan brought Raymond James Financial closer to being an “alternative to Wall Street,” CEO Paul Reilly told the firm’s independent advisors this morning. ...
May 23, 2012
By Diana Britton
The worst thing you can do when bringing on a junior partner is to immediately anoint them as heir apparent, said Daniel Boyce...
May 22, 2012
By Jonathan Moreland
It’s not always fun watching sausage get made, but the end result can be appetizing enough. That’s our takeaway after reviewing fresh quarterly results for aircraft leasing and logistical services firm, Air Transport Services (ATSG)....
May 21, 2012
By Lynn O'Shaughnessy
Look for borrower protection, consider credit unions and apply for multiple loans. ...
May 21, 2012
By David A. Geracioti, Editor-in-Chief
Our long-time mutual funds editor Stan Luxenberg has advice for financial advisors on which funds to use when clients get nervous....
May 21, 2012
By Jonathan Moreland
Below are lists of the top 10 mainly open-market insider purchases and sales filed at the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, May 18, 2012 as ranked by dollar value....
May 18, 2012
By Diana Britton
“Alternatives” have become the hot dot in the retail advisory industry. But FRA panelists caution that liquidity is key when evaluating the options. ...
May 18, 2012
By Jerry Gleeson
Ron Rhoades is not going to sugarcoat this: FINRA is a failed organization that has no business stepping into the role of regulating RIAs. ...
May 17, 2012
By Diana Britton
’m blogging live from Financial Research Associates’ The Advisor & Broker-Dealer’s Forum on Retail Alternative Investments, where Bob Rice, managing general partner of Tangent Capital Partners, told attendees that it really matters which alternatives you’re in....
May 17, 2012
By Kristen French
The firm told financial advisors they could offer clients anywhere from one to 500 shares, thanks to founder Mark Zuckerberg’s desire to get a wide pool of investors....
May 17, 2012
By Matt Oechsli
Las Vegas—“How do advisors find the time to do all that your research is telling them to do? There seems to be a lot required to meet the expectations of today’s affluent investor,” asked an advisor during the Q&A following my presentation. “Your research can be quite intimidating.”...
May 17, 2012
By Stan Luxenberg
In 1981, Rolf Banz published his finding that small stocks had outperformed large ones. The discovery caught the attention of Wall Street, which soon introduced a slew of small-cap funds. ...
May 16, 2012
By Diana Britton
We’ve all heard about how social media is gaining momentum with advisors. But Registered Rep.’s latest research shows the tools may be beginning to lose their luster in terms of winning business....
May 16, 2012
By Kristen French
Artnet has just launched a new art pricing index that it claims will demystify art investing. It covers more ground than the benchmark Mei Moses, but is that a good thing? Art world advisers say successful art investing will continue to resist formulas and equations....
May 16, 2012
By David Serchuk
The art market has been go-go for years, but it’s a minefield for the uninitiated....
May 15, 2012
By Diana Britton
So far this year, more “mom-and-pop” broker/dealers are dropping out of the business compared to this time last year, according to new data from the Compliance Department Inc....
May 15, 2012
By Diana Britton
How to get the most value for your practice when its time to sell? Put a plan in place to ensure clients will barely notice you are gone....
May 15, 2012
By Alan Lavine
A new program shorts futures contracts to hedge ETF holdings inside annuity contracts. It’s not cheap, but some say it’s worth it. ...
May 14, 2012
By Brad Zigler
In the aftermath of the 2008-2009 market meltdown, investors piled into gold mining issues, Treasury bonds and high-dividend stocks. ...
May 14, 2012
By Diana Britton
Over the last couple years, we’ve written time and again about the mainstreaming of alternative investments with the rise of alternative mutual funds and ETFs. ...
May 14, 2012
By Susan Konig
The branch office manager used to be the highly revered elder statesmen of the industry. No more. Many advisors say the position is increasingly part of a corporate bureaucracy with a mandate to push the agenda of the firm over the interests of the clients....
