Cold Calling Is Back 

Feb 1, 2010,

By Anne Field

If you visit William Mundy at his Blue Bell, Pa. office, chances are good you’ll find him with his ear pressed to the phone, pitching his services to people he’s never met: That’s right, cold calling. ...

PNC May Shed Custody Unit 

Jan 29, 2010,

By Jerry Gleeson

Eager to raise cash and get out from under taxpayer loans, PNC Financial Services Group is looking to sell its custody and clearing division, PNC Global Investment Servicing to Bank of New York Mellon. ...

UBS Morale Lifts 

Jan 29, 2010,

By Kristen French

The dismal morale among UBS brokers seems to be improving of late. A number of top financial advisors at the firm say that they are so far very pleased with the leadership of UBS Wealth Management CEO Bob McCann, and the team of people he has brought on board. ...

SEC Money Market Fund Reforms Miss Target  

Jan 27, 2010,

By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com

Thanks to Chairwoman Mary Schapiro, if your clients' money market funds are threatening to break the buck, the board of the fund may elect to suspend redemptions....

Two Key Execs Depart Fidelity 

Jan 27, 2010,

By Jerry Gleeson

Charles Goldman, the president who oversaw Fidelity Investments’ services for financial advisors, will leave at the end of March, the second top manager in a week to depart from the mutual fund giant. Also exiting Fidelity is the company’s President Rodger Lawson, the number two executive under Chairman and CEO Edward “Ned,” Johnson. Lawson leaves at the end of March as well....

The Price Is NOT (Always) Right 

Jan 26, 2010,

By Brad Zigler

Fundamental index ETFs have been around for nearly five years now. Have they lived up to their claims that they avoid overpriced stocks? ...

LPL’s New RIA Platform Rakes in Assets  

Jan 25, 2010,

By Halah Touryalai

LPL’s hybrid RIA platform got a strong start in its first full year in operation, and LPL says 2010 will be an even bigger year. ...

Lost Decade? Not For Fundamental Indexing  

Jan 22, 2010,

David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com

A recent study says says it paid to use fundamental indexing in the decade of The Aughts. Rather than losing money, you would have earned a small return. ...

Fidelity Cedes Top “Distributor” Spot to Schwab In Client Survey 

Jan 21, 2010,

By Christina Mucciolo

Affluent investors rated Charles Schwab the number one “distributor” or brokerage firm, bumping Fidelity into second place, according to Cogent Research’s recently released 2010 Investor Brandscape report. ...

Calling All Outstanding Advisors 

Jan 21, 2010,

By Jerry Gleeson

We present our annual Outstanding Advisor Awards each May, but we’re always on the lookout for charitably inclined financial advisors....

Wealth Management Has Strong Fourth Quarter At Morgan, BofA 

Jan 20, 2010,

By Halah Touryalai

Neither Morgan Stanley Smith Barney nor Bank of America ended 2009 with a bang in the earnings department. But their wealth management units were pockets of strength....

Obama’s Bank Tax Is Onerous, but "Banks Are Creative"  

Jan 15, 2010,

By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com

I don’t get it. I thought Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said the government would earn -— as in profit —- from its TARP loans about $20 billion. So why all this nonsense about punitively taxing bankers’ bonuses and massive new taxes on big financial institutions to recoup taxpayer bailouts? For more, please go to VonAldo.com, the blog of Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti...

Wells Fargo FAs Grumble About New Tax Withholding Rate  

Jan 14, 2010,

By Kristen French

Wells Fargo financial advisors received their first paychecks last Friday under the firm’s new tax withholding system, which applies a flat rate of 25 percent to all. Many of the firm’s 12,000 financial advisors have grumbled to management about the switch, which will be in place until 2011 as the firm works to integrate legacy payroll systems from Wells Fargo and Wachovia. ...

Citi Files Motion To Dismiss In Bonus Pay Class Action 

Jan 13, 2010,

By Halah Touryalai

On Monday, Citigroup filed a motion to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed against the firm over the terms of its financial advisor bonus pay agreements. The firm filed the motion with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. ...

Take Q4 Earnings Growth Headlines with a Big Grain of Salt  

Jan 13, 2010,

David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com

It’s earnings season, and consensus analysts’ estimates are predicting a 184.2 percent jump in earnings for the S&P 500 companyies in Q4 over a year ago. Obviously, Q4 earnings have an easy bogey, since Q4 2008 earnings were pathetic. The rebound in Q4 earnings will be driven by financial, analysts say. For more, go to VonAldo.com, the blog of Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti...

Dr. Doom Predicts Second Half Slowdown 

Jan 12, 2010,

By Jerry Gleeson

Nouriel Roubini told investment professionals at a New York conference that the United States can expect an “anemic” recovery in 2010....

BoA and TD Ameritrade on Raymond James’ Analysts’ Best Picks for 2010  

Jan 11, 2010,

By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com

Each December analysts at Raymond James pick a list of stocks its will likely “produce above-average price appreciation over the next 55 weeks.” This year’s list contains 14 stocks that Raymond James analysts say should somehow outperform despite “expected relative slow recovery of the U.S. economy” in 2010. For more, go to VonAldo.com, the blog of Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti...

Cop or Coach  

Jan 11, 2010,

By Anne Field

The compliance burden borne by branch managers has intensified. Here's how to make the best of it....

Consensus EPS Growth for 2010 Is 30.5%. To Happen, GDP Must Grow by 10%. Impossible  

Jan 9, 2010,

By David A. Geracioti, VonAldo.com

Talk about optimism. Consensus analysts’ earnings estimates for S&P 500 companies for 2010 are now at $77.61 per share—that’s a 30.5 percent jump over 2009 estimated earnings, ThomsonReuters said Friday in its weekly “This Week in Earnings” report. For more, please go to Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti's blog, VonAldo.com...

Wells FA Team Bolts for RIA Moneta  

Jan 8, 2010,

By Jerry Gleeson

More proof of the breakaway broker phenomenon, albeit anecdotal? Moneta Group has hired two veterans legacy A.G. Edwards advisors, the company said today, amid a nascent national trend of advisors leaving wirehouses for smaller independents....

A Hedge Fund Resurgence 

Jan 8, 2010,

By Halah Touryalai

After a painful year in 2008, some advisors and investors are falling back in love with hedge funds, but the terms of the relationship are changing. ...

Dow Dogs in Doghouse 

Jan 7, 2010,

Christina Mucciolo

The Dogs of the Dow strategy has only outperformed the index once in the past five years....

Wirehouse FAs Switching B/Ds Slows 

Jan 6, 2010,

By Halah Touryalai

The number of wirehouse advisors switching broker/dealers has been in steep decline since June. ...

Fund Manager Leuthold Says Outlook Good for Stocks—at Least in the First Half of 2010  

Jan 5, 2010,

By David A. Geracioti VonAldo.com

First the good news: The S&P 500 should climb by about 19 percent or so from yesterday’s close, says mutual fund manager Steve Leuthold in his firm’s “Green Book” monthly research report, released this morning. Now the bad news: “Then [it] will give up those gains in the second half of the year.” In short, the bull is getting old. VonAldo.com, the blog of Registered Rep. Editor-in-Chief David A. Geracioti...

Is There a New Normal in Your Future? 

Jan 4, 2010,

By Brad Zigler

Welcome to the New Normal, a ghoulish economic scenario. But there are some tweaks investors can make to their portfolios to protect against the apocalypse....