Racehorses: Good For A Gamble, Bad For Investment

May 02, 2011

The Kentucky Derby has been called the fastest two minutes in sports. But after the thoroughbreds thunder past the finish line at Churchill Downs during the 137th running of the storied race on May 7, another competition will begin to gather speed...

The Changing Face of American Wealth

Apr 29, 2011

Estate planners and trustees should consider the distinctive social and demographic phenomena that shape their clients' needs

Securities America Likely To Sell At Discount

Apr 28, 2011

Ameriprise needs to find a buyer for Securities America in a hurry. Many advisors, including large producers, are likely to leave now that Ameriprise's intention to sell has been made known, sources told Registered Rep. The IBD will probably be...

Investors Focused on Managing Risk in Fixed Income

Apr 28, 2011

With interest rates and inflation expected to rise in the months ahead, investors and advisors are focusing their attention on managing the risks in their fixed income portfolios, according to panelists at Wednesday’s Closed-End Funds and...

CIMA Aims High: Seeks to Replace Series 7, 65 As Industry Standard

Apr 27, 2011

The Investment Management Consultants Association announced Wednesday that its popular CIMA certification is now accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), making it the first of the major wealth management designations to...

Competitive Threats Helped Spur Schwab-optionsXpress Deal

Apr 27, 2011

Online options brokerage optionsXpress had been looking for a merger partner for nearly three years before it accepted an offer from Charles Schwab Corp. in March, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Growing...

Merrill Lynch Names Thiel to Run U.S. Brokerage

Apr 27, 2011

John Thiel, who rose from the trenches at Merrill Lynch as a financial advisor in Tampa, Fla. to head the firm’s private banking group, will soon lead some 15,000 advisors in Merrill’s U.S. brokerage unit as well, his boss Sallie...

Poll: Do Recruiters Promise Too Much?

Apr 27, 2011

A former Raymond James advisor recently filed suit against the broker/dealer claiming an internal recruiter misrepresented the support, technology and compensation the firm could deliver. After he had joined the firm, he found that Raymond James...

Reverse Mortgages Preferable to Selling Mom’s Home

Apr 27, 2011

Many of your Boomer clients have elderly parents who are facing a seemingly unsolvable problem: how to produce enough income to cover increasing living costs without jeopardizing investment principal...

UBS Wealth Management Unit Improves Performance

Apr 26, 2011

UBS Wealth Management Americas (NYSE: UBS), rising from the ashes of its well-publicized disasters, had something to crow about this latest quarter (Q1 2011): The firm gathered $8.4 billion in net new client assets (figure includes interest and...