Industry self-regulation may be due for an overhaul, according to the SIA.A January white paper issued by an SIA ad hoc committee says SROs have too many conflicts of interest when they act as market overseers as well as competitors to alternative...

In January, Merrill Lynch began making offers to former female employees who are part of a class-action sex discrimination case the firm settled in September 1998.Merrill spokesperson Bill Halldin confirms that monetary damages were offered to ...

As 77 million baby boomers have moved through life, they have made their economic mark--from baby food and toy sales to a huge labor supply and inflated housing prices. They also created an echo boom, producing 72 million offspring from 1977 to...

A federal judge in New York ruled in February that firms do not have absolute legal immunity from defamation for statements made on U-5s.The brokerage industry has argued that it enjoys absolute immunity for U-5s in New York based on a 1991 New...

Securities firms are pushing states to give them more legal protection from employment claims.A 1997 NASD rule proposal giving firms "qualified immunity" from broker defamation claims arising from U-4 and U-5 disclosures has been quietly buried by...

In February, Edward Jones became the last of the major retail firms to launch an online service for clients.In addition to showing daily account balances, Jones also makes more than 300 research reports available online to the clients who sign up...

E*Trade, which once urged investors to "boot your broker," has relented somewhat and will start referring clients with larger accounts to full-service advisers.The firm could be providing adviser referrals by the end of the first quarter...

The NASDR has proposed a new rule covering temporary restraining order (TRO) cases, and it's not a pretty picture for brokers. The proposal gives firms freedom to pursue brokers in court, unlike an earlier plan that has been dropped.Currently, a...

They may work in the same building, sometimes even on the same floor. They may even have the firm's name on their business cards, but they are separate.Groups of big-hitting brokers are setting up office suites by themselves, away from other...

Frequent updates are most important to investors--more so than whether they pay fees or commissions, or whether they use individual managed accounts or mutual funds, according to a survey conducted for CapTrust Financial Advisors.The study...