If personal finance were an orchestra, there would be little doubt what would occupy the first chair in the College Savings section. The 529 savings plan has for years been the darling of investors and advisors, and there are good reasons for its...
If last year's federal budget process teaches anything, it's this: Nothing's a sure thing. True, several of last year's most interesting proposed items dividend and capital gains tax reductions, for instance made it into the final budget. But...
Boasting a track record of steady returns, American Funds has emerged as the top player in the market for 529 savings plans. Of the $35 billion in total 529 assets, American held $5.3 billion at the end of 2003, according to Financial Research...
When firms decide to get hitched, the first marital squabble usually surrounds how the name will look on the mailbox. Will it be hyphenated, or is it better to have two separate mailboxes? When McDonald & Co. was acquired by KeyCorp, parent of...
In April, the NASD instituted a rule meant to prevent stockbrokers from, in effect, buying their way out of client complaints and a dinged Form U4 by settling, out-of-court, with their clients for money. But already stockbrokers (with the help of...
As advisors set their sights ever higher, one of the most sought-after types of client is the family office, with advisor notions of the ideal falling just this side of Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. Like any rare and elusive species, family...
I know my assistant is getting paid far too much, mused Jerry. She is getting 2.5 percent of my production, making her the highest paid assistant in the office. She's got an 8:30-to-4:30 mentality, and she acts as though her bonus is an...
Bond investors have reason to fret these days. With the Federal Reserve holding its benchmark rate at just 1 percent, short-term funds pay puny yields. The economy appears to be recovering, implying that rates are bound to rise in the next year...