American Express has been warning its financial advisers for years: If you're concentrating on transactions, you might be working for the wrong firm. So, when the firm launched its new Web-based investment service Nov. 8, offering free online...

Merrill Lynch retail head Launny Steffens answered questions from Registered Representative at an industry event in New York in October.What's your concept for integrating a discount business with full service?Steffens: We're going to have an...

Preliminary details of a NASD spin-off of Nasdaq emerged Nov. 3 at a meeting of small firms in Marina del Rey, Calif.The restructuring of Nasdaq will take place via two tranches of privately placed stock, with 75 percent of Nasdaq ultimately...

Merrill Lynch is about to make revisions to its account-distribution procedures. In a memo to the sales force in October, retail chief Launny Steffens said, "By the end of the year, we will further modify our policy regarding account distributions...

PaineWebber reps are reacting favorably to InsightOne, a new nondiscretionary fee-based program that lets clients negotiate on price and service, and place an unlimited number of trades online.For those with $100,000 to invest, the account...

Talk about a study in contrasts.On Oct. 20, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter went all out to promote the launch of its new ichoice Internet trading service with a huge press conference broadcast live to 20,000 employees.At the same time, the firm...

When building a book, sometimes there's more in a rep's way than the typical marketing obstacles and client objections. Meet four brokers who have faced personal health challenges along with the common stumbling blocks. Their physical situations...

The after-hours party is picking up steam. PaineWebber will launch its after-hours trading service first quarter in 2000. And on its heels is Merrill Lynch, which also plans to join in what Salomon Smith Barney started in October.The details of...

Capital Research and Management's American Funds Group might offer class B shares. The $275 billion investment company, which offers 29 mutual funds, has asked shareholders to allow the new share class on seven of its more tenured funds."The...

All U.S. stocks could be priced in decimals in less than a year, according to an industry proposal.Under an SIA steering committee plan, a select group of stocks will begin trading next July with minimum quote increments of 5 cents. By October...