Merrill Lynch has opened a new Retirement Services Office to help its financial consultants and other employees ease into retirement.A firm spokesperson tells RR the Retirement Services Office was recently added to the human resources department...
A new player is emerging in the financial services industry. Several "consolidator" firms are buying up independent financial advisers and promising to deliver some of the efficiencies and camaraderie of a traditional firm-as well as facilitate an...
In August, the SEC and the New York County District Attorney's Office fined Bear Stearns 35 million dollars over the firm's role in clearing for defunct penny stock firm A.R. Baron. Bear Stearns settled without admitting guilt in the allegations...
And the winner is ... Salomon Smith Barney. SSB captured the race to become the first full-service brokerage firm to offer clients extended trading hours. The firm launched the new service this past month. It allows clients to invest in about 200...
The NASD has proposed rules that would require a broker to tell clients about special payouts the rep may be receiving, as well as prohibit single-product sales contests.The NASD is taking comments on the rules until Oct. 29. (See Notice to...
If you talk to John Elwood directly you'll get an earful about what's behind stock-price moves. And if you get his voice mail, you won't miss out: Elwood greets callers with his thoughts on the market that day.Elwood, a Dain Rauscher broker in...
Imagine taking an upfront recruitment bonus and moving to a new office at a new firm. But before the note is completely forgiven, the office is closed with no nearby alternative. You assume you owe no money if you leave, right?Wrong.Just ask Bill...
Most people fantasize about winning the lottery or a Publisher's Clearinghouse sweepstakes. But most are more likely to be struck by lightning than to win a large sum of money.Depressing as it may be, odds are better that people will come into...
Merrill Lynch has released some interesting data on the number of minority brokers at the firm.Fewer than 300 (about 2 percent) of the firm's 14,700 U.S. retail producers are African-American, 3.5 percent are Hispanic and 3 percent are Asian...
The perplexed look on a female client's face gave Ashley Dando an enlightened idea.During a portfolio review, Dando was talking about mutual funds when she noticed her client's confusion. "Then she said, 'You know, I'm really not sure what a...
