SEC’s Roye Out as Mutual Fund Head 

Feb 22, 2005,

By Will Leitch

In a move that casts doubt on the future of mutual fund regulation, the SEC has announced that its chief mutual funds legislator, Paul Roye, will step down, effective immediately....

From Brokerage House to the Big House 

Feb 17, 2005,

By John Churchill

Dennis Herula, the 59-year-old former Raymond James Financial Services broker who lavished himself with homes and other gifts using millions of dollars stolen from clients, was sentenced to 16 years in federal prison on Friday....

NASD Charges American Funds with Directed Brokerage Violation 

Feb 17, 2005,

By John Churchill

Saying it’s just as impermissible to make directed-brokerage payments as it is to receive them, the NASD charged American Funds—one of the country’s most reputable asset managers—with paying kickbacks to brokerages for selling its funds. The NASD says the popular fund firm violated securities rules by directing $100 million in commissions to the top 50 retailers of its 29 different funds. American Funds denies the charges. ...

American Express to Exit the Financial Advisory Business 

Feb 1, 2005,

By David A. Geracioti

American Express announced today that it is spinning off its Financial Advisors unit (AEFA) from its credit card and travel operations. American Express shareholders rejoiced, sending shares up 6.4 percent. AEFA will be spun off to shareholders and not sold, Amex executives said, because of adverse tax consequences that shareholders would have faced in a sale....

MetLife Buys Citigroup’s Insurance Arm 

Feb 1, 2005,

By Will Leitch

Citigroup’s decision to sell its Travelers Life & Annuity arm to MetLife for an estimated $11.5 billion could be a sign of things to come in the financial advisory business....

Financial Consultant and Therapist 

Jan 28, 2005,

By John Churchill

The role of therapist—and even amateur neurologist—is creeping into the financial advisory business. For some FAs, it may be time to put a couch in the office and to consult a map of the human brain....

Time Running Out to Apply for College Financial Aid 

Jan 21, 2005,

By Anne Field

It’s that time of year again. With February just around the corner, many parents of college-age children are scrambling to complete their financial aid applications. While technically there is no official deadline for the federal form, called the Free Application for Federal Student Aid Form (FAFSA), most schools need to receive the application by March 1....

A.G. Edwards Offering Courses for College Credit 

Jan 21, 2005,

By Will Leitch

A.G. Edwards is not the first brokerage firm to encourage its brokers to continue their education, but the firm has come up with a novel twist: Its education program now serves as college credit....

Americans’ Views on Retirement Differ From Rest of World 

Jan 19, 2005,

By Will Leitch

A new study by AXA Financial says Americans are more confident about their retirement—and better prepared for it financially—than the citizens of other developed nations....

Bob Doll Predicts ‘Muddle-Through’ 2005 

Jan 12, 2005,

By Will Leitch

In his annual economic predictions last year, Bob Doll, president and chief investment officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Management hit .700. If he is anywhere near as accurate for 2005, we’re in for a rocky year....

Brokerages Respond to Tsunami Tragedy 

Jan 4, 2005,

By Will Leitch

As Americans donate to tsunami disaster-relief efforts, the brokerage industry is chipping in as well. According to the SIA, there is no organized, industrywide effort to raise relief funds, but individual firms are doing their part....

Ed Jones Agrees to Pay
$75 Million in Revenue-Sharing Case 

Dec 21, 2004,

By Will Leitch

When Edward Jones was accused last year of steering clients to certain mutual fund families without disclosing that the firm received multimillion-dollar payments from those funds, it denied the charges....

Smith Barney’s Matthews Retires; Johnston Steps In 

Dec 16, 2004,

By David A. Gaffen

Tom Matthews, president of Smith Barney’s global private client group, is retiring from Smith Barney, firm officials announced today. Matthews, who had been with the firm for nearly three decades, started as a financial consultant and eventually served as second-in-command of the group....

Friendly Fire 

Dec 15, 2004,

By John Churchill

The NASD did its part for the U.S. troops today, fining Texas broker/dealer First Command $12 million for misleading its mostly military clientele about the costs of the 50 percent upfront sales charge attached to its systematic investment plan....

Buying Up the Rich—and Their Advisors 

Dec 7, 2004,

By John Churchill

Gaining access to high-net-worth clients is priority No. 1 for many brokerage firms these days, but it takes years of hard work to grow an organization of qualified wealth managers. So firms—such as Wachovia (Tanager), Schwab (U.S. Trust), Lehman Bros. (Neuberger Berman)—are buying them instead....

SEC Overburdening Itself? 

Dec 2, 2004,

By John Churchill

The SEC narrowly succeeded in passing a final rule requiring hedge fund advisors to register under the Investment Adviser Act of 1940. The commission says the measure will benefit all involved parties, including investors, but many observers say the SEC is biting off more than it can chew....

From Safe to Stagnant 

Dec 1, 2004,

By Mike Ruff

If there’s one thing to be learned from “all weather” investment strategies such as muni laddering, it’s this: there is such a thing as too conservative....

You Forgot the Prospectus 

Nov 16, 2004,

By John Churchill

The New York Stock Exchange’s regulatory arm is flexing its muscle, hoping to squeeze confessions out of Wall Street firms that failed to deliver prospectuses to customers....

Schwab to Cut Costs 

Nov 12, 2004,

By John Churchill

The nation’s largest discount brokerage firm, Charles Schwab & Co., is cutting 19 retail branches in favor of smaller, one- or two-broker boutiques, a move the company says will cut costs and more effectively serve clients. Analysts think it will help the firm, which has been hurt by a slow year in retail-investor trading....

Mulholland Leaves as Co-Head of Merrill’s U.S. Group 

Nov 9, 2004,

By David A. Gaffen

Bob Mulholland, a 25-year vet of the firm, is no longer co-head of the Americas division of global private client....

Serenity Reigns in Boca Raton 

Nov 4, 2004,

By David A. Gaffen

Perhaps it was the recent victory of President Bush that heartened this business friendly crowd, or the tranquil Boca Raton setting, but the annual SIA conference exudes an oddly serene tone....

Broker or Advisor—Who Knows the Difference? 

Nov 3, 2004,

By John Churchill

It may come as no surprise to many brokers, but more than half of American investors look to them for more than just transactional assistance, according to new research....

Citi Fined by NASD for Hedge Fund Marketing 

Oct 26, 2004,

By David A. Gaffen

Citigroup has been hit with another fine, this time for improper marketing of hedge funds. The NASD fined Citigroup Global Markets $250,000 for sending out more than 100 pieces of sales literature between July 2002 and June 2003, which, among other things, improperly used hypothetical returns in charts, failed to include adequate risk disclosure and cited potential rates of return without underlying evidence for it....

Regulatory, Compliance Issues Hover Over MMI Conference 

Oct 22, 2004,

By John Churchill

Separately managed accounts (SMA) have been touted as the next big thing, the Holy Grail even, for the financial services industry for a few years now, but myriad inefficiencies still hamper the effective delivery of the best of these products to more than just the wealthy investor—and, even, broker/dealer. ...

Merrill’s O’Neal Speaks: Some Regulatory Action Politically Motivated 

Oct 21, 2004,

By Will Leitch

In a rare public appearance Thursday, Stan O’Neal, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch, took indirect aim at regulators and perhaps even New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in particular....