May 12, 2011
By Mindy Diamond
As retention agreements begin to wind down, some advisors are becoming more willing to consider options for switching firms...
May 12, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
The increasing importance that the advisor-assistant relationship plays in the loyalty of today's affluent client prompted the Oechsli Institute to conduct a study on advisors and assistants. Among numerous findings, we were able to uncover seven key attributes advisors want to see in their assistants...
May 11, 2011
By Diana Britton
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission are stepping up their scrutiny of the accounting and audit process of broker/dealers, reviewing financials more closely and requesting data on a more frequent basis, according to panelists at Wednesday’s New York State Society of CPAs Broker/Dealer Conference...
May 11, 2011
By Diana Britton
Regulators and industry participants continue to battle over what kinds of reforms should be made to money market funds. Tuesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission held a roundtable on money market funds and systemic risk in which several panelists talked about the merits of various proposals aimed at preventing money market funds from breaking the buck in the future, as they did in late 2008...
May 11, 2011
By Charles Paikert
A whole lot of money should change hands in the next few years, as inheritances get passed down to the next generation, according to the Institute For Preparing Heirs. The industry buzz word for this: intergenerational wealth transfer...
May 10, 2011
By Stan Luxenberg
Advisors don’t appreciate how cautious clients have become, said speakers at the Investment Company Institute’s recent general membership meeting in Washington yesterday. Despite two years of rising markets, clients continue to hold big amounts of cash...
May 10, 2011
By Diana Britton
Portfolio manager at Motley Fool Asset Management, a division of The Motley Fool in Alexandria, Va...
May 10, 2011
By Susan Konig
Wells Fargo Advisors’ is looking for recruits in out of the way places. In April, Kent Christian, president of Wells Fargo Advisors’ financial services group, told a Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association conference that the aging FA population is creating a shortage that will seriously impact the industry and investors, and which he believes “cannot” be solved by recruiting from rival firms...
May 9, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
The economic threat from unsustainable U.S. national debt—over $14 trillion and counting—is the No.1 concern today for many of the nation's wealthiest families and individuals, according to a new report slated to be released later today by UBS Wealth Management Americas...
May 9, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson and Diana Britton
New SEC rules that require federally-registered advisors to disclose their disciplinary histories in brochures and provide them to clients will get under way in earnest by the end of the summer. The initiative, aimed at improving transparency for investors, is likely to result in some difficult conversations for advisors with material marks on their records...
May 5, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Broker/dealer executives who speak at their national conventions often aim for a tone that rallies the troops, and the Raymond James Financial Services conference in Las Vegas this week followed the pattern—with one surprising exception during Chief Executive Dick Averitt’s address...
May 5, 2011
By Lauren Barack
Upgrades? Sure. But savvy spending on technology is the tactic reps are employing today...
May 5, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
Dallas: “What does your research say is the #1 reason for an affluent prospect to select one financial advisor over another?” asked Tony during the Q & A session following my keynote. This is a question that every advisor wants answered with real-time data. The answer: A strong recommendation from someone they trust...
May 4, 2011
By Kristen French
Edward Jones is changing tack a little bit. Long known as a firm that trains greenhorns and career changers from the ground up and then holds onto them (mostly) for life, the firm is getting serious about recruiting experienced financial advisors. ...
May 4, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Affluent households with philanthropic inclinations are giving more than just cash these days. Officials at the two top donor advised funds in the United States, at Fidelity Investments and Schwab Charitable, say that complex assets are making their way into their coffers. ...
May 4, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Elderly clients sometimes need more than a Monte Carlo simulation...
May 4, 2011
By Charles Paikert
After launching with a big splash in December, Dynasty Financial Partners is now trying to make good on its initial promise to emerge as the preferred service provider for independent wealth managers catering to clients with over $5 million in investable assets...
May 3, 2011
By Diana Britton
How Putnam Investments rebranded itself as a niche fund provider and gained back the confidence of advisors...
May 2, 2011
By Diana Britton
Registered Rep.’s top-rated 2010 independent broker/dealer advisor Ron Carson has announced plans to leave LPL Financial (Nasdaq: LPLA) to become an independent registered investment advisor in July and start his own broker/dealer later this year...
May 2, 2011
By Kristen French
In a revolutionary step forward, Raymond James Financial and Commonwealth Financial are putting the “social” back into social media—they will begin allowing their advisors to interact with and engage in conversations with others on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs. ...
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 2, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
What's wrong with investing in racehorses? The slow ones eat as much as the fast ones, and even the fast ones only rarely earn their keep. And then there are the crooked characters who lurk around the business...
Apr 29, 2011
By R. Hugh Magill
Estate planners and trustees should consider the distinctive social and demographic phenomena that shape their clients' needs...
Apr 28, 2011
By Diana Britton
Ameriprise needs to find a buyer for Securities America in a hurry. Many advisors, including large producers, are likely to leave now that Ameriprise's intention to sell has been made known, sources told Registered Rep. The IBD will probably be sold at a discounted price because of the risks involved, they said. ...
Apr 28, 2011
By Diana Britton
With interest rates and inflation expected to rise in the months ahead, investors and advisors are focusing their attention on managing the risks in their fixed income portfolios, according to panelists at Wednesday’s Closed-End Funds and Global ETFs Capital Link Forum...
