Jul 19, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Profits and revenues fell at TD Ameritrade Holding Corp. (Ticker: TDMA)last quarter as trading waned at the discount brokerage, but Chief Executive Fred Tomczyk said TDA Institutional has brought on 260 breakaway brokers over the past three quarters, a 20-percent increase year over year. ...
Jul 19, 2011
By Diana Britton
Wells Fargo’s (NYSE: WFC) wealth, brokerage and retirement business posted slightly lower second-quarter earnings. Advisor headcount was also down compared to the first quarter, but, on a positive note, advisor cross-selling continued to improve. ...
Jul 19, 2011
By Kristen French
BofA's Global Wealth and Investment Management, which includes Merrill Lynch, reported $506 million in net income for the quarter. Merrill Lynch contributed the bulk of revenues, with $3.5 billion, up from $3.1 billion a year ago....
Jul 18, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Client assets at Advisor Services hit $697.8 billion, up 17 percent YOY, while net new assets reached $10.6 billion, up 4 percent. ...
Jul 18, 2011
By Alan Lavine
Might some of your single clients unknowingly need life insurance? “One typical reason young people (in their 20s and 30s) buy life insurance is to protect their insurability,” says Ronald Klein, assistant vice president at Sun Life, Wellesley, Mass. “It is also a good tax-free way to save for the long term.”...
Jul 15, 2011
By Kristen French
SIFMA sent a letter to the SEC Thursday that recommends a new fiduciary standard that would be more rules-based and that would depend on individual client contracts for its application. ...
Jul 14, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
VWG Wealth Management, with assets of $700 million, is the fifth wirehouse team this year to join HighTower Advisors, a Chicago-based hybrid RIA with national reach and $18 billion in AUM. HighTower signed up three Merrill Lynch teams in Palm Desert, Calif,, Naples, Fla. and Portland, Me., and another Morgan Stanley team in Palm Desert....
Jul 13, 2011
By Nate Wendler, RR stock analyst correspondent
Google has successfully developed an ecosystem which incentivizes both hardware and software developers to devote maximum resources to the Android platform. “The reason hardware vendors like Android is because Google shares revenues from applications and ad sales. That makes it very unlikely for any cell phone or tablet manufacturer to not adopt Android....
Jul 12, 2011
By Charles Paikert
For single-family offices, a recent Securities and Exchange Commission ruling marked the beginning of an identity crisis writ large–one that will reshape the family office business and may ultimately benefit wealth and asset managers....
Jul 12, 2011
By Kristen French
Under an SEC order issued today, it will require considerably more wealth or assets for an investor to qualify to pay an investment adviser performance fees. The higher thresholds, mandated by Dodd-Frank reform, are meant to take inflation into account and will go into effect September 19. ...
Jul 12, 2011
By Stan Luxenberg
At a time when the markets are plagued by sluggish economic growth and unnerving debt burdens, some prominent funds are avoiding major categories of stocks or bonds....
Jul 12, 2011
By Mark Miller
Jul 11, 2011
By Diana Britton
Given its size and growth, the registered investment advisor channel is a critical market for asset management firms who want to grow, according to a report released Monday by Boston Consulting Group. But the fragmentation of the RIA market also poses a challenge for asset managers, said Gary Shub, partner of BCG’s financial institutions practice and a co-author of the report titled “Building on Success: Global Asset Management 2011.” ...
Jul 11, 2011
By Susan Konig
Coaching is a pivotal part of any branch manager’s role as a leader—of course. Being truly effective at it can make all the difference in the morale and success of your branch office. ...
Jul 8, 2011
By Jodie Papike
When broker-dealers shut their doors, a lot of people suffer: home office staff, advisors, clients. The good news is, new technology and today’s 24-hour media cycle have put advisors in a much better position to sniff out trouble and to know when things are bad enough to leap. ...
Jul 8, 2011
By Lauren Barack
Advisor Group, a network of three independent broker/dealers which is a subsidiary of insurance firm AIG, launches an ambitious social media initiative Monday, allowing its more than 4,800 independent reps to, in many cases, post freely on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. The firm is expecting a good adoption rate....
Jul 8, 2011
By Diana Britton
With small independent broker/dealers blowing up left and right, it’s become that much more important to know what kind of compliance regime your firm has and who your colleagues are. ...
Jul 7, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
U.S. wealth management firms run the risk of losing business due to poor on-boarding—the transfer of an advisor’s clients and assets from his old firm to a new one, according to a new survey from Aite Group. ...
Jul 6, 2011
By Diana Britton
Independent broker/dealer American Beacon Partners was shut down in May by its parent holding company Beacon Acquisition Partners (BAP), which then conducted a mass transfer of the IBD’s 90 reps to another of its subsidiaries, Allied Beacon. ...
Jul 5, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Talent – or the lack thereof – has long been a top-of-mind issue for wealth management executives. But concern about the topic has become even more pressing as the industry finds itself facing mounting growth, demographic and regulatory challenges....
Jul 5, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Average profits surged 45 percent last year among registered investment advisors surveyed in Charles Schwab’s annual benchmarking study, but don’t look for a repeat of this year, says Bernie Clark, the head of Schwab Advisor Services. The revenue and asset growth that fueled last year’s performance isn’t likely to set the same pace in 2011. ...
Jul 5, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Research shows financial advisors are relucant to raise their prices for the services they offer, particularly after the 2008 crash damaged so many portfolios. But firms that review their pricing each year tend to have higher profitability per client. ...
Jul 1, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
In the world of RIAs, there's more to business than just selling performance. For asset managers who just manage client money, there are few places to hide when markets head south and their clients' portfolios tank...
Jun 30, 2011
By Anne Field
There are a few common obstacles to expanding an advisory practice, but often they represent blind spots. Once you identify them, you can do something about them...
Jun 29, 2011
By Kristen French
Raymond James on Thursday agreed to a multi-state settlement that will require the firm to buy back $300 million in auction rate securities (ARS) it sold to clients prior to the collapse of the ARS market in February of 2008...
