In this section we present key findings and insights from our survey questions on practice management and operations, including services offered, the most time-consuming activities, professional designations, custody relationships and documentation trends.
Ringing in at roughly $170 million, President Barack Obama's inauguration bash was the most expensive ever, according to The New York Times. The inaugural committee might have limited donations from individuals to $50,000, and Wall Street might be...
Even though the value of your clients' homes isn't reflected in the assets you manage (and don't get any funny revenue-boosting ideas), these residences do represent a significant chunk of their net worths. And the sentimental value they attach to...
Here's something that may get Smith Barney advisors' blood boiling: Former CEO and Chairman Sandy Weill is still enjoying his 10-year employment agreement with Citigroup, including a full-time car and driver, access to Citi's fleet of jets (two...
Registered Rep.: As newly appointed chair of the Financial Services Institute board (a trade group for independent b/ds), what's at the top of the agenda for 2009? Eric Schwartz: We have four key priorities for the year: First, we are already...
A broker instructs his assistant to select five equities for a client's portfolio and to make a note of the price of each. But the assistant gets confused. Instead of pricing the equities individually, the assistant makes as many pairings of the...
Fidelity named Peter Cieszkoas as president of Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company. Cieszkoas was formerly president and chief executive officer of Evergreen Investments. Fidelity also announced the appointment of Ed Orazem, former...
A musician and former college teacher recently turned independent advisor, wants to build his practice around two target markets artists and non-profits and his passion for socially responsible investing. He's just not quite sure how to pull it...
When you read the 2005 Markopolos letter to the SEC, which warned the regulator about Bernard Madoff, what jumps out at you is how many professionals on Wall Street were actually suspicious of Madoff's business.
Benjamin Franklin once said: He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money. Sure, when you decide to switch firms, you may well want to pay attention to the dollar signs. But there are a lot...
With markets collapsing last fall, Nicholas Rowe, a financial advisor with Focus Capital, a registered investment advisor in Bedford, New Hampshire that clears trades through Schwab Institutional, began buying inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs)...
