It'd be easy to write off 2004 as a year of much talk and little action when it comes to trusts and estates law easy, but misleading. While it's true that Congress failed to enact estate tax legislation, a major tax law it did pass, the...

This article updates the guide published in Trusts & Estates, volume 143 (January 2004) and examines trust and estates software and online resources. In practice, the distinction between Internet-based resources and software continues to blur as...

What, no more golf balls? No free fancy lunches? Dinner? No drinks? Financial advisors who grew accustomed to the little and sometimes not so little treats that mutual fund wholesalers lavish on them may have noticed a certain lack of swag lately...

A NASD proposal to require that reps with three or more formal complaints against them receive extra supervision from their firms elicited a hue and cry from major broker/dealers when it was first announced in late 2003. Both reps and their firms...

To virtually no one's surprise, regulators have begun scrutinizing how 529 plans are peddled. In December, the SEC and NASD sent a letter of inquiry to Edward Jones and American Funds, requesting information on how those firms sell the college...

Aclient of mine recently received the securities industry's equivalent of the black spot that pirate death summons made famous in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. The client reacted to the arrival of the NASD's Rule 8210 letter the same...

Q: In March 2003, I purchased $80,000 of Franklin New York Tax-Free A shares for my 70+-year-old client, who wanted to hold them long-term and was eligible for the $50,000 breakpoint. She didn't need the income (as evidenced by her reinvestment of...

The coming year will bring forth unprecedented opportunities to attract wealthy clients. In 2005, an estimated 17.4 million U.S. households will have annual incomes exceeding $100,000. Further, the number of millionaire households, which jumped...

In the wake of the improprieties and scandals of the past few years, the financial services industry is abuzz with talk of ethics and image. One of the key questions firms are asking is what role, if any, branding plays in their credibility and in...