The Creole state has the dubious distinction of being the last state in the Union to still require designated beneficiaries to submit to probate proceedings in order to gain ownership of securities accounts upon the death of the accounts' original...
If your pipeline is full of affluent prospects, you can skip this month's column. If, however, you could use more affluent prospects and new affluent clients on a more consistent basis, you are going to want to read this carefully and take notes...
Q: Is there any way my employer can find out if I receive W-2 income from other sources, which, by the way, are not from other brokerage firms? When I called the IRS, I was told there is no way it would disclose that confidential information to a...
It's a serious conundrum for financial advisors: Their success hinges on their ability to cultivate loyalty in their most affluent clients, but many are having a tough time building that loyalty. This, at least, is the finding of our recent...
Merrill Lynch has proffered retention packages to newly acquired Advest Group's financial advisors, and according to industry observers, the packages are having their desired effect. I think it will do largely what it intends, which is to keep as...
Cooked Books: Philip Bennett, former CEO of Refco Inc., the largest independent commodities and futures exchange, was arrested on securities fraud charges in October. It is alleged that a firm Bennett controlled owed Refco as much as $545 million...
The biggest brokerage houses on Wall Street are giving themselves a makeover. Their reinventions, in some ways, are part of the usual ebb and flow between centralized structures to decentralized and back again. But even in the context of such...
If you need more proof that competition for top financial advisors is growing more intense, look no further than First Allied Securities. The San Diego-based independent broker/dealer recently announced plans to offer forgivable loans to any of...
On the face of it, the combination seems counterintuitive. On one hand, you have professional financial advisors looking for a way to add value and justify fees that can range as high as 2 percent of assets. On the other, you have an emerging...
Your clients probably know how hard it is to pick outperforming stocks. What they may not fully grasp is how hard it is to choose a winning mutual fund or separate account manager. Even the pros can get it wrong. For example, when the venerable...
