Ryan Beck 

Dec 28, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

Ryan Beck & Co. of Florham Park, N.J., may be acquired by St. Louis-based regional brokerage Stifel Nicolaus....

Retirement: Too Sudden, Too Early 

Dec 22, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

The possibility of an early retirement is a dream for any client. Indeed, the words “early retirement” conjure pretty images from magazine advertisements (golfing, traveling, grandkids). But what happens when early retirement occurs without a choice? When your client who owns a successful small business is 55 years old and suffers a stroke, what kind of financial changes are in store for his family? Will the business have to be sold? Or how about when your client, an executive of a mid-sized company, goes to work on a Monday morning to find a pink slip waiting for him after some downsizing? ...

Spitzer Wants More Settlement Dollars for New York UBS Reps 

Dec 22, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

New York Attorney General and Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer, is asking a Northern California court to disapprove the settlement terms of an overtime suit against UBS....

In a Competitive Recruiting Climate, Merrill Sweetens FA Benefits 

Dec 21, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

Merrill Lynch has launched a new benefit program for its army of 15,700 brokers that will provide financial assistance to their families in the event of their death. The added death benefits include a lump-sum payment based on a flat 36 percent of the broker’s trailing 12-months production. The program, effective Jan. 1, 2007, is in addition to the standard accidental-death insurance package that links benefits to an employee’s salary....

Private Equity for the Little(r) Guy 

Dec 20, 2006,

By John Churchill

Getting your clients a piece of global M&A action—2006 has seen a near-record $3.6 trillion in deal activity—doesn’t have to involve ponying up massive minimums (and fees) for shares of a private equity fund or fund of funds. There are a handful of merger-arbitrage mutual funds out there that may fit the bill....

Jumpstart Growth in the New Year: Quit Emailing 

Dec 13, 2006,

By Kristen French

With 2006 drawing to a close, it’s time to look under the hood of your practice to analyze what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong. The goal is to figure out how to run your firm more efficiently and profitably. And, sometimes, the best remedies are the simplest and most common sense....

Spitzer: Thousands of UBS Clients Raped by Wraps 

Dec 12, 2006,

By John Churchill

The New York Attorney General’s Office announced today that it is suing UBS Financial Services for allegedly defrauding thousands of customers through its InsightOne fee-based brokerage program....

Smith Barney Pay Package: Perks Balance Cuts? 

Dec 12, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

This week, Smith Barney will become the first firm to make a change to its payout grid as a result of the securities industry’s recent battle over broker overtime pay and so-called chargebacks (when the firm charges the reps for things like trading errors and sales assistant salaries). Smith Barney is one of many Wall Street firms to have settled lawsuits over pay practices, paying $98 million on a nationwide basis in May....

FIA Calls for Schapiro to Resign 

Dec 6, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

Two groups of small broker/dealer firms are calling for Mary Schapiro to step down....

Beyond Private Annuities 

Dec 5, 2006,

By John Churchill

The private annuity was just stripped of it's most alluring benefit—capital-gains tax deferral. Long favored by the wealthy because it allowed them to avoid huge capital-gains taxes on appreciated real estate (or any other appreciated asset, for that matter), the private annuity will no longer enjoy the tax-deferral benefit, the IRS recently announced. Private annuities can still be used for other purposes, but beware: The IRS is watching, and may decide to audit. ...

FIA Urges NASD Committees to Revise Merger 

Dec 4, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

Small broker/dealer firms are trying to slow the proposed merger between the NASD and NYSE Regulation, saying that it’s being pursued too hastily and the consequences are not clear. In a letter to NASD committee members, the Financial Industry Association (FIA), which represents small firms, urged them to sign a petition to slow the merger process. The petition also requests that the NASD provide member firms with more detailed information about the proposed merger and more time to consider its merits....

Department of Labor to Brokers: No Overtime Pay for You 

Dec 1, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

Here is a new twist in the broker overtime pay lawsuits: The Department of Labor (DOL) says brokers are not entitled to overtime pay after all. Well, that is, unless the DOL is wrong, which it allowed could be the case. (No kidding.)...

Merrill Lynch to Pay National Overtime Settlement 

Nov 29, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

Merrill Lynch has decided to consolidate the numerous overtime lawsuits that have been filed against the firm and settle nationally with its brokers. It is the third securities firm to do so—earlier this year, both UBS and Smith Barney settled nationally with brokers in similar overtime lawsuits....

It’s AMT Time 

Nov 29, 2006,

By Halah Touryalai

Along with holiday festivities, December offers you and your clients a couple of weeks to sort out tax-preparation plans. And for the average American that increasingly means planning for the alternative minimum tax (AMT)....

Small Firms Move to Block NYSE/NASD SRO Merger 

Nov 29, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

Not everybody is cheering the formation of a single self-regulatory organization. An insurgency of small brokerage firms is urging their peers to strike down yesterday's announced merger between the regulatory arms of NYSE and NASD. The Financial Industry Association, an upstart advocacy group of an estimated 1,000 small independent broker/dealers that seeks sweeping industry reforms, sent a letter to all NASD member firms asking them to vote “no” on the merger citing disingenuous motives and a lack of time to consider its terms. ...

The Route to Profitability: Manage Your Staff 

Nov 22, 2006,

By Kristen French

Financial-advisory businesses have been growing at a breakneck pace for the past five years. But suddenly, they’re having a much harder time managing that growth, according to a recent study released by Moss Adams. In 2005, the annual median revenue of firms surveyed by the Seattle-based research firm totaled $1.4 million, almost double median revenue of $780,000 in 2001. Meanwhile, the median number of clients has grown to 164 from 145 in that time, and median assets have jumped to $90 million from $60 million....

M&A Hot Stove: Putnam to Consider Three Major Bids 

Nov 21, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

Three foreign firms plan to make their final bids for Putnam Investments ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the bidding process. The trio includes U.K. asset manager Amvescap, parent of AIM Investments; Canadian financial holding company Power Corp.; and Italy’s UniCredito Italiano, The Journal says....

Schwab Unloads U.S. Trust: Cash for Another Deal? 

Nov 21, 2006,

By Kristen French

In a move that has long been speculated about, Charles Schwab announced Monday that it had agreed to sell its private banking arm, U.S. Trust, to Bank of America for $3.3 billion. In a research report, Wachovia analysts said the deal will give Schwab a mountain of much-needed cash to play with: around $3.1 billion (excluding free cash flow from earnings) to be exact. Wachovia and other analysts speculated that the firm will put that dough towards share repurchases, investments in the institutional and investor-services business and, potentially, a small-sized acquisition....

NYSE to Members: Don’t Fleece Your “Rollover” Clients 

Nov 20, 2006,

By John Churchill

The “risk-assessment unit” of New York Stock Exchange Regulation issued a memo today to remind member organizations of their duty not to screw clients out of hard-earned 401(k) money....

401(k) Plan Fixes Key to Retirement Conundrum 

Nov 15, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

If individual investors could manage money like Bill Miller, they could all sleep better knowing that their twilight years would be spent in hammocks beneath palm trees in tropical locales. Unfortunately, the famed fund skipper’s genius hasn’t rubbed off on the average Joe just yet. So, as the 25th anniversary of the 401(k) came and went last Friday with little fanfare, it’s worth repeating that saving for retirement hasn’t gotten any easier since its inception....

401(k) Default: Calls for Help 

Nov 13, 2006,

By Kristen French

Businesses are going to need help from financial advisors as they choose default investments for their 401(k) or other defined-contribution plans, according to recent research from Putnam Investments. Under Pension Protection Act legislation passed in August, all 401(k) plan sponsors can now include an auto-enrollment feature for employees. More recently, the Department of Labor issued guidance indicating what kinds of investments are appropriate default options: age-based lifecycle funds, risk-based lifecycle funds or professionally managed accounts. Still, employers seem to be confused about how to choose the best default investment for their own employees, says Putnam’s head of retirement research Chris Thompson. “Plan sponsors may not have enough information to compare and contrast between those two,” he says....

Retirement Planning and the Election 

Nov 13, 2006,

By David A. Geracioti

Now that Democrats have swept into Congress, what does this mean for your high-net-worth clients? It’s hard to say, but if the party’s six-point agenda is any indication (which called for everything from “better American jobs and better pay” to “affordable health care and life-saving science”), you had better brush up on your trust-creating skills. ...

Mother Merrill Mulls a New Roost…Seven Years From Now 

Nov 13, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

Merrill Lynch confirmed on Monday that it is considering relocating from its headquarters in New York’s World Financial Center when its lease runs out in 2013. The world’s largest brokerage firm is mulling the move because its current offices may not be sufficient to accommodate its expanding operations, according to a source familiar with the matter....

SIFMA Launch: Group Seeks Greater Clout in Washington, Single Regulatory Framework 

Nov 9, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

BOCA RATON, FLA. – Purveyors of stocks and bonds officially joined forces this week to form one of the most powerful lobbying groups on Capitol Hill. The former Securities Industry Association (SIA) kicked off its newly consummated marriage to the Bond Market Association (BMA) today in Boca Raton, Fla. under the new moniker Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). ...

Fat Bonuses on Wall Street Don’t Extend to FAs 

Nov 8, 2006,

By Kevin Burke

If you work on Wall Street, chances are you stand to make a killing in bonus pay this year….unless, that is, you’re a broker or a financial advisor. If you fall into the latter group, you might be justified in going green with envy: Annual bonuses are expected to climb 10 percent to 15 percent in 2006 for money managers, senior managers and other top executives at financial-services firms, while rewards for investment bankers are likely to jump 20 percent, according to a study released by Johnson Associates, a New York compensation consultancy....