Dec 1, 2009
By Stan Luxenberg
One actively managed fund group has not disappointed: Morningstar’s “fund managers of the year.” ...
Nov 25, 2009
By Philip Palaveev, President/Owner, Fusion Advisor Network
You don't expect your doctor to smoke, and you shouldn't see your advisor maxing out his credit card....
Nov 24, 2009
By Christina Mucciolo
The “F” word is a problem in more than just the North America. ...
Nov 20, 2009
By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com
Research analyst Dick Bove says BofA management would prefer that outgoing CEO Ken Lewis be reinstated. ...
Nov 20, 2009
By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com
A Schwab survey, released this morning, shows 59 percent of financial advisors at major full-service firms like the idea of going independent. ...
Nov 19, 2009
By Christina Mucciolo
John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch, who commandeered the brokerage firm’s sale to Bank of America and then was axed by BofA CEO Ken Lewis in January, resurfaced to redeem his reputation. According to today’s NY Post, in Thain’s recent media appearances, the executive has shared that he’s ready to run another public company, “something many observers say is a not-so-subtle hint that he's available to be BofA's next CEO,” after Lewis retires at the end of the year....
Nov 17, 2009
By John Aidan Byrne
Bob McCann, chief executive of UBS’ Wealth Management Americas, set out some ambitious targets today for the brokerage’s unit—including turning around client asset flows and boosting capital. He also reiterated his profitability target of 15 to 20 percent for the division, and set a goal of CHF1 billion for annualized pre-tax profit. ...
Nov 12, 2009
By Stan Luxenberg
Asian stocks have soared this year. Now the average Asian fund sells for a price-earnings multiple of 13, compared to a figure of 10 for European funds, according to Morningstar. Are the highflyers due to crash? Perhaps. But the booming markets of China and other Asian emerging countries have not yet reached bubble territory, said Robert Horrocks, chief investment officer of Matthews Funds. ...
Nov 12, 2009
Please join me, David Geracioti, editor of Registered Rep. magazine, for a webinar with Barry Ritholtz, the well-known market commentator and editor of The Big Picture. We will discuss his thoughts on the economy and markets and what he thinks lies ahead for investors. ...
Nov 10, 2009
By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com
Yesterday, The New York Post reported that Merrill Lynch advisors are annoyed by Bank of America’s efforts to get them to offer their clients BoA checking accounts, mortgages and other retail-banking products. Today, the Wall Street Journal reports that Ken Lewis says everything is fine, that the integration of Merrill into BoA is “ahead of schedule.” ...
Nov 9, 2009
By Kristen French
It was inevitable. Some of Merrill Lynch’s 15,000 financial advisors are feeling pressure to sell parent company Bank of America’s checking and savings account products—and they’re not happy about it, say sources. ...
Nov 6, 2009
By Stan Luxenberg, Registered Rep. mutual funds columnist
While the markets may be buoyant, this is a time for caution. Some funds now seem richly valued as suggested by dividend yields and price-earnings ratios. Investors should be wary, underweighting the pricey funds described below—or staying away altogether. Here are five funds (and sectors) to avoid....
Nov 4, 2009
By Bill Singer
By now, we are all used to some of the backdoor deals and unprincipled compromises that too often masquerade as politics—so, to that extent, we have become a bit numb to the nonsense. However, I think that Capitol Hill took its legislative legerdemain to new depths, when Representative Spence Bachus (R. Ala) inserted an amendment to the draft Act that gave the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) the power to oversee any adviser associated with a registered broker-dealer, including about 500 dually registered FINRA members....
Nov 3, 2009
By Halah Touryalai
The anticipated sale of the ING broker/dealer network was made official early this morning as the struggling Dutch parent company shed the three independent firms to a private equity firm for an undisclosed amount....
Oct 29, 2009
By Kristen French
Raymond James is raising minimums for new RIAs who want to custody assets on its RJFS-IAD platform from $30 million to $50 million. The firm said the move will both help it cut the cost of serving RIAs and also act as a draw for bigger RIAs, who tend to want to work with other RIAs of similar size. Advisors who do not meet the new asset minimums will be referred to existing Raymond James RIAs and encouraged to partner with them....
Oct 28, 2009
By Christina Mucciolo
The National Association of Independent Broker/Dealers (NAIBD) is working to prevent proposed legislation in Congress from increasing the auditing costs of small independent broker/dealers. These could rise to $100,000, the group says, and might even drive many of these firms out of business. ...
Oct 27, 2009
By John Aidan Byrne
In an interview with Registered Rep., McCann said the wealth management division would not be put on the block, despite rumors that UBS is dressing it up for sale to boost its capital position. He also vowed to cut costs for the unit, and raise pre-tax profit margins to 15 percent over the course of “the economic cycle.”...
Oct 27, 2009
By Halah Touryalai
If anyone was hoping to catch a break on the regulatory front now that the market environment has eased, they’re in for a surprise. Speaking at this morning in New York at SIFMA’s annual meeting, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro layed out a number of regulatory issue the SEC will be paying close attention to in the coming months....
Oct 27, 2009
By Kristen French
UBS announced Tuesday that it has hired Bob McCann as the CEO of its UBS Wealth Management Americas unit. Speculation about his appointment to the position had been mounting. As recently as two weeks ago, McCann declined to comment on specific job appointments in an exclusive interview with Registered Rep. despite the growing rumors....
Oct 23, 2009
By Christina Mucciolo
Edward Jones today announced the sale of its U.K. business operations to Towry Law, an independent wealth management firm based in the U.K., for an undisclosed sum. The operation was simply too expensive to operate, and only accounted for about 1 percent of the firm’s global business. ...
Oct 22, 2009
By Christina Mucciolo
Today Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced the integration of Smith Barney’s Citi Family Office into its own ultra-high-net-worth division, which will now be called Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management. Unlike the old family office, the newly combined unit will exclusively serve clients with a minimum of $20 million in assets. Morgan said it plans to add more advisors to PWM through a combination of “organic growth and selective acquisitions.” ...
Oct 22, 2009
By John Churchill
Fidelity announced a new and improved online trading platform today, significantly expanding its international and foreign currency investment capabilities for financial advisors, broker-dealers and retail investors. With U.S. long-term growth forecasts looking slim compared to other developed markets and some emerging economies, the timing of the release is certainly no coincidence....
Oct 21, 2009
By Halah Touryalai
In its effort to raise capital and shed some of its non-core business units, Bank of America is selling First Republic Bank just two years after Merrill Lynch purchased the San Francisco-based private banking and wealth-management firm. ...
Oct 21, 2009
By Kristen French
Morgan Stanley reported its first profit in a year on Wednesday, with third-quarter earnings of $757 million, or $0.38 per diluted share, beating analyst estimates for earnings per share of $0.30. The company’ results were boosted by higher underwriting fees and trading revenue, as well as the firm’s acquisition of Smith Barney. Morgan Stanley ranked #1 in both global M&A and IPOs....
Oct 20, 2009
By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com
We’ve always been impressed by David Einhorn, the young manager of Greenlight Capital. Einhorn made our Ten To Watch list this past August for his prescient shorting and outspokenness about the shenanigans going on at Lehman. (His fund had been up by more than 20 percent in the first half of this year, fueled by his bearish bets; he had almost no long positions. Wonder how he is faring these days.)...
