Does Merrill Edge, Merrill Lynch's brokerage, banking and financial advice platform for the mass affluent, compete directly with Merrill financial advisors? We couldn't get a straight yes or no from Prasad, but that's probably because...
When it comes to what they are paying their advisors, investors are clueless. A 2011 survey by Cerulli Associates and Phoenix Marketing International found that 31 percent of investors were not sure how their advisors were compensated, while...
Most advisors are most interested in working with individuals who have the most money to manage. This usually means those who are about to retire or have just done so. But many of these clients have one thing on their minds that may be even more...
National Planning Corporation has expanded its recruiting team with the addition of Scott Montgomery and Keith Mistretta as vice presidents of new business development. Montgomery joins from FirstPoint Partners, a consulting and recruiting firm...
Commercial mortgage REITs are well-positioned to take advantage of increased borrower demand and the upcoming wave of maturing commercial property loans, although some risks remain. Demand for commercial real estate loans, as reported by the Fed...
This Month's Contest:THE PRISON BREAK There are two cellmates locked in a prison cell. The guard will come in five hours to execute them. There is a window that is high up on the wall through which they could escape if they could reach it. The...
Fool Me Twice Robert Pinkas was not deterred the first time, SEC charges suggest. The regulator says Pinkas stole $173,000 from a fund client to cover the costs of defending himself in a separate investigation. Pinkas then lied to the client about...
I don't know if market guru Dennis Gartman speaks French, but his recent announcement of a course correction making him once again wild-eyed bullish on stocks reminded me of a classic Gallic expression: plus a change, plus c'est la mme...
Yield-starved investors have good reason to be increasingly frustrated. Money-market funds yield next to nothing, and five-year Treasuries yield less than 1 percent. TIPS sport negative yields. The yields are likely to remain skimpy since the...
In a year that saw roller-coaster market moves, the nation's top custodians seemed to do all right in their efforts to lure new assets and advisors to their platforms. All four major custodians logged growth in breakaways in 2011, although some...
