Arbitrations are designed to be the final word in disputes between investors and the firms and reps that serve them. Thus, it is not surprising that when an NASD arbitration panel hands down a ruling, it measures its words carefully. Very...
If there's one thing that irks reps about American Express Financial Advisors, it is the way the firm keeps changing its rules. Since launching its unique three-tier career-track system in 2000, the company has regularly tweaked payouts, fees...
The Generations column in the March 2005 issue (In Praise of Work, page 114) contained an error. It stated that an investor who earns $4,000 in a given year could transfer $4,000 from a taxable checking account to a Roth IRA for himself, plus...
Ask the average rep to free associate on the name H&R Block, and one word would appear in virtually all the responses: taxes. Block has been a fixture in the tax-preparation business for so long that its name is synonymous with tax season. But...
Most of the cash flowing into exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has focused on a few big funds, especially ones that track popular benchmarks, such as the S&P 500. Such funds are excellent choices for advisors seeking a core holding for clients. But...
Punk'd: The NYSE and the states of New Jersey and Connecticut fined Merrill Lynch a total of $13.5 million for failing to supervise a group of Fort Lee, N.J., brokers that market-timed mutual funds. During the first four months of 2002, the...
An NASD arbitration panel ordered Merrill Lynch to pay more than $1 million to investors Gary and Lisa Friedman last month for hiding conflicts of interest and issuing fraudulent research. According to the award, the panel found Merrill guilty of...
Rick Peterson, a Houston recruiter, places about 75 clients a year. But when firms come to him to scout out branch office managers (BOMs), those who'd make the best prospects are increasingly loath to step up. I'm asked by many firms to come up...
Martha Stewart's stay in a federal lockup apparently has not diminished her status as an arbiter of taste. The crocheted poncho Stewart wore on her way out of the Big House has inspired the Web site sew-beautiful.us to begin selling knockoffs of...
Small-business owners are typically a self-reliant lot, and this fact cuts two ways for financial advisors who would serve them. On the positive side, the advisor who gains access to a small-business owner has reached the decision maker, the...
