Merrill Lynch has decided to consolidate the numerous overtime lawsuits that have been filed against the firm and settle nationally with its brokers. It is the third securities firm to do so—earlier this year, both UBS and Smith Barney...
Along with holiday festivities, December offers you and your clients a couple of weeks to sort out tax-preparation plans. And for the average American that increasingly means planning for the alternative minimum tax (AMT).
Not everybody is cheering the formation of a single self-regulatory organization. An insurgency of small brokerage firms is urging their peers to strike down yesterday's announced merger between the regulatory arms of NYSE and NASD. The Financial...
Financial-advisory businesses have been growing at a breakneck pace for the past five years. But suddenly, they’re having a much harder time managing that growth, according to a recent study released by Moss Adams. In 2005, the annual median...
Three foreign firms plan to make their final bids for Putnam Investments ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the bidding process. The trio includes U.K. asset manager Amvescap, parent of...
In a move that has long been speculated about, Charles Schwab announced Monday that it had agreed to sell its private banking arm, U.S. Trust, to Bank of America for $3.3 billion. In a research report, Wachovia analysts said the deal will give...
The “risk-assessment unit” of New York Stock Exchange Regulation issued a memo today to remind member organizations of their duty not to screw clients out of hard-earned 401(k) money.
If individual investors could manage money like Bill Miller, they could all sleep better knowing that their twilight years would be spent in hammocks beneath palm trees in tropical locales. Unfortunately, the famed fund skipper’s genius hasn...
Businesses are going to need help from financial advisors as they choose default investments for their 401(k) or other defined-contribution plans, according to recent research from Putnam Investments. Under Pension Protection Act legislation...
