Investors often try to save costs on their mutual fund investments by choosing those with no initial loads. Others select funds with relatively low administration fees, hoping more of their money will go to work for them. But they could be missing...

When it comes to assessing the honesty and ethics of 23 different professions, it's hard to imagine anyone could rank lower in the public eye than journalists or politicians, whose credibility have long been questioned. But in a recent Gallup Poll...

It was a record-breaking year for arbitration cases, according to the National Association of Securities Dealers. In spite of the fact that investors' overall satisfaction with their brokers sits at 91 percent (see Confidence Slipping? page 22)...

Hey, it looks like all those sales coaches are right confidence and enthusiasm are what win customers. At least that's what a recent Wake Forest University study found. The study gave 600 students a choice between two fictional stockbrokers who...

Years ago both firms and investment professionals discovered the advantage of fee-based accounts they offered a steady revenue stream and promised to reduce compliance problems. Instead of dreaming up new reasons to trade and generate commissions...

The thousands of people killed in the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were mostly ordinary Americans. And they shared something with too many fellow Americans: many did not have proper wills. Now, families are...

The Edutainer Wayne von Borstel goes a little crazy, ranting and raving to keep his seminar audiences entertained. Wayne von Borstel was a farmer turned insurance agent turned financial planner when he hit upon the idea of building his business...

High-yield bonds, which have been called junk for a reason, aren't living up to their nickname. As an asset class, high-yield funds, which represent the best way for advisors to expose their clients to junk bonds, were off by an average of just 0...

This should come as no surprise, but it's worth repeating: The biggest opportunity for any broker is learning how to attract and service affluent clients. And there is no time like the present. The most powerful marketing force of all...

For most of the 1990s, no-load mutual funds had no trouble selling directly to individual investors. But that was during a raging bull market. These days, mutual fund companies' phones have gone quiet, and the money has stopped rolling in. As a...