Merrill Lynch in early August dropped its financial plan quota for brokers.The new policy was hinted at by Merrill President Stanley O'Neal when he took over the retail reins this past February from longtime private client chief Launny Steffens...

What happens when clients want "something different" than typical investment vehicles?Well, as the saying goes, if you have to ask ...Alternative investments such as private equity deals or hedge funds are not for average clients. Salomon Smith...

Schwab's purchase of U.S. Trust has caused concern among some of the independent, fee-based advisers that Schwab serves. So in June, it sent a letter assuring the advisers that U.S. Trust will not be targeting their clients.The letter, which came...

Web-based account aggregation services are hot. A number of online financial services firms, including some of the biggest banks, brokerages and content providers, are helping customers consolidate their financial information.And we do mean all...

In April 1998, David Edstrom was ready to throw in the towel as a broker. He had been a rep with Merrill Lynch in suburban Chicago for a few years, and he was burned out.He took some time off to think about what to do next. "I came full circle,"...

Merrill Lynch and Charles Schwab are jockeying for position to capture the small but growing share of the U.K. retail market.Although neither firm is officially discussing its plans, both have strategies in place that are intended to reach into...

Investors often believe the wrong things about investment products and strategies. Here's what clients may be thinking and how brokers correct the misinformation.* IRAs--People believe IRAs are a great way to transfer wealth.In a poll of 200...

Here are 22 pointers from recruiters, indie firm execs and brokers on how to research an independent broker/dealer.1) Make a list and check it twice. "Make a checklist of the issues that are important to you," says Mitch Vigeveno, a recruiter who...

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is requiring rookie reps to do five financial plans a year in order to meet career targets.Brokers say there is no actual quota, but that selling the firm's Financial Outlook plan is one goal new reps are supposed to...

To appeal to a broader market, Lockwood Financial has introduced individually managed accounts with a 25,000 dollar minimum investment."We're offering this so the adviser has something for the smaller account," says Len Reinhart, CEO of Lockwood...