For the second time in a year, Bank of America's brokerage unit, BA Investment Services, is experimenting with a new compensation plan for its 500-plus brokers in the Western United States. Called a "structured program" by company officials at the...
Ric Edelman's friend was 50 years old and eager to see if his retirement goals held water. But he didn't ask Edelman, a financial planner who runs The Edelman Financial Center in Fairfax, Va., for help."He used a retirement planning software...
SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. has asked the NASD to look into disclosing--or even banning--recruiting incentives for brokers.In an April 20 speech before a group of industry compliance people, Levitt said he has asked the NASD to examine whether ...
The SEC, NASDR and Comptroller of the Currency jointly settled an action in early May against NationsBank's former NationsSecurities unit for improperly marketing two target term trusts to bank customers.The regulators fined the bank and its...
A federal judge has turned down an appeal of a high-profile arbitration case filed by former Merrill Lynch branch manager Alex Lambros Jr.Federal Judge Susan Bucklew of the U.S. District Court in Tampa, Fla., in March refused Lambros' motion to...
While the federal government debates the issue of lifting export controls on strong encryption products, the Department of Commerce (DOC) has recognized that an exemption should be carved out for financial institutions because of their obvious...
An NASD arbitration panel has ordered Salomon Smith Barney to pay $1.8 million to a former Shearson life insurance specialist who claimed Shearson pushed him to sell the policies of an affiliated insurance company while lying about its shaky...
John Stark is special counsel for Internet projects at the Securities and Exchange Commission. An eight-year commission veteran, Stark heads the Internet program, which includes prosecution, surveillance, self-policing, liaison work with law...
The major wirehouses have progressed to the point where their clients can perform a number of functions over the Web, but there's still one hitch: Clients can't actually transfer money into and out of their accounts, to and from a third party...
Have you ever wondered whether that bid your firm's bond desk made for your best client's $100,000 worth of California GO's was really the best they could do? Or why is it thatwhenever your favorite bond trader at the muni desk insists the 10-year...
