In general, Registered Rep. tries to stay out of politics. But the 2008 presidential election has already captured my attention. Sensing a demoralized Republican party, the Democrats seem to be positioning themselves as eat-the-rich populists...
On June 25, 2007, the Supreme Court agreed to hear Knight v. Commissioner1 to decide whether trusts and estates can fully deduct the fees they pay for the investment management and advisory services they receive.2 For the last 10 years, a debate...
Is your practice retirement-ready? As you may have heard, in the coming years nearly 80 million Americans will bid farewell to their careers. In so doing, they will end the wealth accumulation phase of their financial lives, and begin the wealth...
The RIA industry had a good year in 2006: median assets under management, revenues and net profits hit record levels last year, according to Rydex Advisor Benchmarking’s annual survey. Clearly they’re doing a lot of things right. But...
Wow, what a mess, eh? While the credit squeeze and the rush to safety has equity investors scared, one wonders: Is it time to go shopping? Consider the brokerages.
It’s not easy keeping up with the changing wealth management landscape. There is so much information available these days. How to stay focused on those things that will have the most impact on your clients? Well, the Dow Jones Wealth...
Sweeping federal reforms on 403(b) plans should mean more demand for services from financial advisors, as plan sponsors (primarily K-12 public school districts and small not-for-profit organizations) try to manage the new requirements.
When Jenkens & Gilchrist, the 56-year-old national law firm based in Dallas, closed its doors for good in March of 2007, it also seemed to mark the end of one of the nation's highest profile tax scandals. Jenkens, specifically its Chicago tax...
In 1976, Congress enacted Section 6166 of the Internal Revenue Code so that, when a business owner died, his closely held business wouldn't have to be sold just to pay the federal estate taxes owed on his estate. Before this law, a taxable estate...
Since 1993, I have been running, like Forrest Gump, down every road I could find to try to discover an antidote to the tragedy inherent in the American version of the Chinese proverb, from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations, which...