According to a source familiar with the details, the 8,700 jobs UBS plans to cut by the end of 2010—for forecasted cost savings of roughly $3.5 billion—will include 2,000 in the Wealth Management division, many of them financial advisors.
Challenges to conventional investment wisdom abound these days. Now Jim Rogers says diversification is garbage—stick with what you know, pick the right basket, put all your eggs in that baby and let it ride.
Variable annuities are in the midst of a major overhaul. In recent months, VA providers have been busy raising fees, decreasing benefits and, in some cases, suspending guaranteed income and withdrawal riders all together. As asset values in VA...
Bank of America is in the process of rolling out a client referral program for its global wealth management division, which includes Merrill Lynch and the bank’s former Banking & Investments division (BAI), with a combined 18,000...
Goldman's quarterly earnings were "amazing," but what will a populist Congress think of its "accrued compensation" kitty of $4.71 billion? for more, go to VonAldo.com, the blog of Registered Rep. editor-in-chief David A. Geracioti.
The Treasury Department announced last Wednesday it will offer help—in the form of TARP money—to the struggling life insurance sector. The news sent life insurance stocks soaring on Thursday, and they continued to rise on Monday. The...
Once again, President Obama has got his facts wrong. In Strasbourg the other day, Obama said that the recession was caused by the “reckless speculation of bankers,” particularly of American bankers, he implied. Not so. Please go to...
Shorts are, once again, in the sights of regulators, as they seek remedies—or, some would say, scapegoats—for recent market pain. The Securities Exchange Commission announced today that it is considering restricting short selling—...
In our November "Fear & Loathing in Retirement Land" package, we noted how difficult it was for financial planners to create retirement plans for clients with iffy DB plans. What to do about it. Go to VonAldo.com.
In 2001 and 2002, insurance companies began introducing the guaranteed withdrawal benefit, giving VA owners a guaranteed income stream. The current bear market is forcing insurance companies to cut benefits and to increase costs.