Ever since stock options were listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange in 1973, the most popular and widely practiced option strategy has been selling covered calls against stock holdings. On the surface, it can be a very compelling strategy...
The Terry Schiavo case incited passionate debate about a number of different issues. While opponents squared off on emotionally charged topics like quality of life and the government's proper role in such an event, there was unanimous support for...
Price wars have hit a variety of industries recently, including airlines and wireless phone providers. Will mutual funds be next? A few signs of funds discounting have appeared. In April, American Funds slashed expense ratios 10 percent. Earlier...
FOR THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, the baby boomer generation holds the promise of huge riches. Some 76 million men and women born between 1946 and 1964 fall into this vaunted demographic. And millions of them are among the high net worth and...
You gotta have a gimmick, Stephen Sondheim advised in the 1959 musical In the song, it's about how to roll them in the aisles at Minsky's. But, mutual fund marketers have made the same calculation, constantly introducing offerings that are...
Morgan Stanley has directed key media outlets to contact its ad agency if they write stories about the company, and if they can't get through in time, to yank its ads for at least 48 hours, according to the May 16 issue of Advertising Age. Morgan...
For most retiring clients and their advisors, Social Security checks are an afterthought in the planning process. After all, the benefits only make up about 40 percent of income for all seniors, and can be as little as 20 percent for the wealthier...
When the NASD released follow-up guidance on Conduct Rule 3012 in April, it aimed to clarify how member firms must supervise the personal business of producing branch managers. Unfortunately many firms particularly independents remain confused...
Robert J. McCann is a vice chairman of Merrill Lynch's Wealth Management Group. He has responsibility for the firm's Global Private Client group, for Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) and for the firm's Global Securities Research and...
Just when you thought the brokerage community had exhausted every possible advertising medium, the industry is now trying something radical: advertising through the computer. Registered Representative magazine, June 1985
