It's a fact that busy workers are happy workers. Or is it the other way around? Either way, it may help explain the apparent mirth at the SEC. The federal regulator fresh off William Donaldson's administration, the busiest enforcement period ever...
David Swensen is one of America's greatest investors. As chief investment officer of Yale University, he has produced what has been described as an unparalleled two-decade investment record, averaging 16.1 percent annual returns for the school...
Most harrowing moment in business? Doing live radio in Los Angeles. First thing you do when you get to the office? Review client account activity and transactions from the prior day. Netflix or video store? Video store I love the experience. Best...
Can the folks who market variable annuities and have gotten slammed by regulators for how they line their pockets in the process force the industry that the products to roll back prices and simplify mind-boggling fee schedules? Can they, in fact...
Separate accounts have been the product for the financial advisory business for several years. They are so alluring promising to align the interests of clients and reps by making the rep a fee-based asset manager rather than a commission seeker...
Can you name the Street's largest asset gatherer last year? Was it Merrill? Smith Barney? No, the title went to Charles Schwab. The pioneering discount broker, who was slammed by the tech wreck and suffered through protracted management struggles...
As the baby boomer generation slouches toward retirement age, advisors who serve them are in an increasingly precarious position. One problem is that the boomer clients are in the process of shifting from asset-accumulation to asset-withdrawal...
Those searching for evidence of the brokerage industry's progress towards true wealth management need look no further than registered reps' evolving attitudes towards life insurance. Reps historically have been reluctant to sell life insurance...
Citizens Financial Group is punishing its brokerage force for targeting elderly bank customers in the sale of its high-risk variable annuities. How? By taking away the things brokers love: Red Sox playoff tickets, limousine trips to Mohegan Sun...
