Today the SEC resolved charges against Citi and UBS alleging that the two firms misled investors about liquidity risks related to auction-rate securities.
As the market dips yet again following another fitful rally, reality has been setting in for most Americans: We’re in a recession—and the gilded age of credit-fueled lifestyles and profits is over.
Giving bonuses to company executives of a bankrupt, government-rescued company, now that’s a story most news organizations dream about. After all, nothing plays better than outrage—especially when you can play the greedy fat-cat theme...
Executives at AIG, once the world’s largest insurance provider, are bracing for a fall off in P&C and life insurance business in the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, premiums were up slightly versus the previous year. But we’ve...
In our 18th annual Broker Report Card survey, wirehouse FAs say they are fed up with management ruining their excellent franchises and platforms. Will the great advisor diaspora begin?
As we all know, the Holy Grail for most advisors is the high-net-worth client. But Stacy Francis has a different idea. While Francis, who runs Francis Financial, a New York-based firm, serves some affluent families, she also focuses on decidedly...
Wachovia advisors (including legacy A.G. Edwards types) are clearly exhausted from the ride their firm has taken them on this year and it's not over yet. Wachovia has been near the bottom of the heap in our Broker Report Cards for the last five...
Just a few months ago, working for Merrill Lynch was the pinnacle of achievement for many in the Merrill herd: Eighty percent of Broker Report Card respondents from Merrill said their firm was the best in the business. Only Edward Jones, where...
When E. Stanley O'Neal was promoted to CEO of Merrill Lynch in the summer of 2002, he aimed to change the perception among institutional investors that the firm even though it had 15,000 retail brokers worldwide was solely an expert in selling...
Back in 2006, the theme of our 16th Annual Broker Report Card Survey was: We Love Management. Our survey of about 920 advisors revealed mostly positive attitudes (of course, as usual, reps complained then, as they do now, about company support)...