Online Brokerages BickeringMay 26, 2005,By John Churchill TD Waterhouse avoided a lawsuit from Charles Schwab yesterday by issuing a public apology for a negative portrayal of the firm in its ads. The underlying truth: These are trying times for the online brokerage industry.... Under ERISA, No Padding Profits with Revenue SharingMay 26, 2005,By Kristen French Under a recent Department of Labor (DOL) directive, revenue-sharing arrangements between mutual funds and advisors to employee benefit plans are likely to remain in place. However, they will no longer be used to pad profits... Millions to Choose FromMay 25, 2005,By John Churchill Advisors gunning for millionaire clients now have 1.3 million more prospects to choose from—and a blueprint for what they’re looking for, according to a new survey.... Morgan Stanley To Media: Don't Run Our Ads When Going NegativeMay 17, 2005,By Kristen French Morgan Stanley has inserted language into its advertising contracts with key media organizations: If you write “objectionable” stories, don’t run our ads for a minimum of 48 hours, according to the May 16 issue of Advertising Age... Shareholders Speak Out at the ICI’s ‘Shareholder First’ ConferenceMay 12, 2005,By Dian Vujovich, special correspondent at the ICI Conference in Washington The opening session of the Investment Company Institute’s General Membership meeting in Washington, D.C., yesterday felt a lot like a reality TV show. The ICI broadcast video interviews of actual fund shareholders discussing their take on the industry, which has ballooned to $8 trillion in assets from 92 million shareholders.... GM and Ford Junk?May 11, 2005,By John Churchill Bonds aren’t meant to be risky investments, especially not those issued by blue-chip companies. So when GM and Ford, two industrial stalwarts, had their bonds downgraded to junk last week, people took notice.... Purcell Takes Stage, Tries to Rally SupportMay 10, 2005,By Kristen French Morgan Stanley’s embattled CEO Philip Purcell tried to shore up shareholder support and squelch the almost daily flood of media speculation over the firm’s future Tuesday with his first public address since the controversy over his leadership broke.... FPA Sues to Stop Broker-Dealer ExemptionApr 29, 2005
FPA Sues to Stop Broker-Dealer ExemptionApr 29, 2005,John Churchill The Financial Planning Association announced yesterday that it has filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, seeking review of the SEC’s decision earlier this month to extend the “Merrill Lynch” exemption, which allows registered reps to call themselves financial advisors. The FPA hopes to have the rule withdrawn.... Raymond James Fined, Drops Fee-Based Brokerage—Will Others Follow?Apr 29, 2005,By Kristen French In the first settlement of its kind, the NASD hit Raymond James with a $750,000 fine Wednesday for pushing fee-based brokerage accounts on the wrong kinds of clients. The NASD said Raymond James Financial is in the process of dissolving its fee-based brokerage business, a pricing plan that gave clients the option of paying a flat annual fee for a year’s worth of trades, rather than paying commissions on each transaction. The problem with the Raymond James fee-based Passport Brokerage and Ambassador programs, which together held $5.5 billion in assets at year-end 2004, according to the NASD, was that it was sold to clients who did not trade enough to justify the annual fees, which tend to range from 1.1% to 1.5%. The ruling was the result of an ongoing NASD investigation into fee-based brokerage accounts. ... NASD Sends Older Reps Back to the ClassroomApr 28, 2005,By John Churchill It used to be that the NASD’s continuing education requirements covering regulatory issues were for reps that had recently gotten their Series 7 licenses. But, effective this month, the NASD is sending everyone back to the classroom for training, no matter how long you’ve been doing business.... Raymond James Fined, Plans to Drop Fee-Based BrokerageApr 28, 2005,By Kristen French In the first settlement of its kind, the NASD hit Raymond James with a $750,000 fine Wednesday for improperly putting certain clients in fee-based brokerage accounts. The NASD said Raymond James Financial will terminate its fee-based brokerage business, which currently represents $5.5 billion in assets, by July 1, 2005.... A Pawn Takes the QueenApr 26, 2005,By Kristen French Sometimes it pays to take on securities regulators, despite their financial and legal heft. Consider the case of Charles Elliott. In a rare victory for a broker in a settlement dispute with the SEC, Elliott last week won recovery of over $100,000 in legal fees after an SEC lawsuit against him was dismissed.... ‘Merrill Rule’ Debate Not OverApr 8, 2005,By John Churchill On Wednesday, the SEC unanimously voted to allow Series 7 holders—registered reps—to position themselves as financial advisors—with certain caveats. But, once again with the “broker/dealer rule issue,” the SEC seemed to hedge its bet.... Morgan Stanley Combatants Step Up Their Fight as Purcell Claims VictoryApr 8, 2005,By Will Leitch Even though Morgan Stanley’s board has said that it stands behind Philip Purcell as CEO, the group of dissidents calling for Purcell’s ouster is digging in for a long, protracted fight for control of the company.... NASD Advocates More Disclosure, Less PaperApr 7, 2005,By Kristen French Broker/dealers and their reps may get a big break on point-of-sale disclosure if the Securities and Exchange Commission heeds recent NASD advice. In a report issued Monday, an NASD task force recommended that b/ds and mutual funds make certain cost and sales practice disclosures on the Web, rather than on paper.... SEC Adopts Broker-Dealer ExemptionApr 6, 2005,By John Churchill Over the vociferous objections of fee-only financial planners, the SEC voted unanimously today to adopt the broker/dealer exemption rule.... In Brouhaha, Board Backs Purcell at Morgan StanleyApr 6, 2005,By Will Leitch The palace intrigue at Morgan Stanley continues—to the delight of the New York City-based financial journalism core. For days now, Morgan CEO Philip Purcell’s struggle to keep the helm of Morgan has been splashed across front pages of the major dailies. ... House Urges SEC to Adopt Broker-Dealer Exemption RuleMar 30, 2005,By John Churchill The House Committee on Financial Services has urged SEC Chairman William Donaldson to continue to allow Series 7 holders to call themselves financial advisors as defined by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Coincidentally, the House’s recommendation on the so-called Merrill Lynch Rule was sent on March 29, the same day the SEC released its own survey that shows the investing public is confused over what a broker (registered rep) is and what a financial advisor is. [To read the House Financial Services Committee’s letter, go to http://financialservices.house.gov/media/pdf/031705obsec.pdf.]... More Turmoil at Morgan StanleyMar 30, 2005,By Will Leitch Philip Purcell, CEO of Morgan Stanley, is under fire again. In a shake-up that shocked even observers who said they had seen such an explosion coming, the beleaguered Purcell watched two of his top executives resign in protest of his leadership on Tuesday.... Mutual Fund Enforcement Picks Up SteamMar 24, 2005,By Kristen French The recent flurry of mutual fund-related punishments from the SEC is likely just the beginning of a coming avalanche of similar regulatory actions, legal experts say.... Wachovia: On the Recruiting WarpathMar 18, 2005,By Will Leitch Wachovia Securities, with its purchase of Prudential in early 2003, suddenly became the third-largest brokerage in the country. Now, just over a year later, the firm has announced the creation of the Individual Investor Group, a unit entirely devoted to recruitment and retention of individual brokers.... Peter Meyer Training
Mar 8, 2005,
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Current Issue Humbled But (Somehow) TriumphantBy Kristen French With reporting from John Churchill and Halah Touryalai Rescued by Bank of America from its near-death experience, Merrill Lynch is still managing to set the industry standard. advertisement
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