Want to goose your revenues? Of course you do. But how? For an increasing number of advisors, one solution is targeting small companies' 401(k) plans. There are a host of services you can provide, anything from setting up the plan and choosing the...
It is hard to believe that it has been two-and-a-half years since the inaugural Career Moves column, entitled Of Myths and Moving, was published in the September 2004 issue of Registered Rep. So much has happened in the brokerage industry since...
Registered Rep.: The ideal client is (in three words) Mark Hall: Willing to listen. RR: The ideal advisor is MH: An excellent listener. RR: You've partnered with three local community banks to help grow your client base. What is toughest about...
Over the past 15 years, the Japanese stock market has had more false starts than a high school track meet. Last April, for instance, the Nikkei 225 index hit a high of 17,563, up 9 percent from the start of the year, and then proceeded to collapse...
Let's face it: The custody and clearing business isn't exciting to most advisors. Execution of trades is regarded as an invisible utility. Advisors just want it to work, no mistakes. Ever. And for many reps, they never really have to learn...
SEC Front Running Probe: The SEC is investigating at least 10 securities firms for leaking mutual fund stock-trading data to hedge fund clients and others. The examination, which, according to The New York Times, includes Merrill Lynch, Morgan...
In The Glitch (January 2007), it was reported that NASD had not corrected the CRD record of former Piper Jaffray broker trainee Mark Schley after the regulator announced that it had wrongly flunked him on the Series 7 exam. Wisconsin securities...
The most common sticking point for the family-business owner and his successors is driven by fear. Even though succession planning promises great financial returns and is the embodiment of a family legacy, it's nevertheless terrifying to many...
After stagnating in 1999, real estate funds soared. During the next seven years, the fund category returned 21.8 percent annually, according to Morningstar. Now some advisors worry that the real estate rocket ship is due to crash. But there are...
If you are like most working people, you go to the office every day. And, if you like your job, it can even be hard to stay away. But if you get a suspension from the NASD, don't give in to temptation. Stay away. Go on vacation. NASD Procedural...
