When Stella Bray and David Wisehaupt had an opening on their $1 million team at Merrill Lynch in 2006, Julie Fox jumped at the opportunity. I wanted the chance to work on a big team, and with FAs who had a lot of potential, who were really driving...
Sales of long-term care annuities, a kind of insurance against long-term care, have been declining this year. But industry watchers expect that trend to reverse in 2010, when new federal rules kick in. Starting next January, no federal income tax...
The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced Wednesday that they expect to release a report within two weeks that explains the regulatory responsibilities of each agency and recommends...
The Financial Times suggests the way financial products and services are sold need to be completely overhauled. “There is an unhealthy focus on products that sell to advisors, rather than ones clients need.” Editorial on
On January 1, 2010, clients who were previously unable to convert their retirement accounts into Roth IRAs will be allowed to do so thanks to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. But many clients don’t understand what that means for them. Now...
The SEC charged former GunnAllen financial advisor Frank Bluestein with fraud, alleging that he lured elderly investors into a $250 million Ponzi scheme conducted through E-M Management Co. According to the complaint, over a five-year period...
It may not be as sweet as the retention deal Morgan Stanley Smith Barney reps got earlier this year, but some Wells Fargo Advisors FAs are earning their bonus dollars through a client service program.
Independent RIA advisors are cutting fees, recent research from Charles Schwab and AdvisorBenchmarking show. There is an obvious reason for this, say analysts: Despite the recent rebound in the market, the major indices are still well below where...