According to Bespoke Investment Group's Swimsuit Issue Indicator, the S&P 500 performs best in years when an American appears on the cover of Sports Illustrated's Swimsuit Issue. (That has happened 15 times over the past 30 years.) When an...
Wall Street's got balls or does it? Kidding aside, the major wirehouse firms all offer special benefits to employees who want to undergo sex-change surgery. Goldman and Wachovia offer coverage for counseling, hormone therapy, medical visits...
Registered Rep: Describe your ideal client in three words or less. Tom Ruggie: Wealthy, decisive and appreciative. RR: Piece of sports memorabilia you most cherish? TR: Two: an autographed photo of Babe Ruth, and a large Team of the Century photo...
When your clients complain to you about paying their taxes this April 15, don't roll your eyes when they claim, It's not about the money. Because their irritation really may stem less from the idea of their hard-earned dollars going to the state...
With markets soaring last year in places such as India and Turkey, investors poured cash into international funds. Of the $6.6 trillion invested in equity funds, about one quarter is in overseas portfolios, according to the Investment Company...
When markets turn down, the hated short sellers appear. The volume of short sales bets that stocks will drop spiked after technology shares began collapsing in 2000. Not surprisingly, short volume has climbed again in recent months. But in the...
Sometimes the weight of world comes crashing down around your shoulders. I suspect that's how registered representative Jason N. Slezak, his assistant branch office manager (X), and his compliance manager (Y) felt when the New York Stock Exchange...
Strippers, Guns N' Money: The SEC filed a civil action recently against five unregistered Florida brokers who were operating a pump-and-dump scheme out of the offices of SCL Ventures. The complaint alleges that from January 2004 to May 2004, the...
Top advisors know that there is an uneasy balance between helping their clients and protecting themselves. The reality is that providing a high level of personal service and advice to other people is very difficult and demanding. My father, a...
The tax court in Estate of Helen Christiansen v. Commissioner, 130 T.C. No. 1 (Jan. 24, 2008) has given planners a road map of what to do, and what not to do, in establishing an estate plan containing a charitable lid effectuated by a disclaimer...
