Independent b/ds, with razor-thin operating margins, need to grow to remain profitable. Yet they must also maintain that small company feel. NEXT Financial Group walks the razor’s edge.

Scott Burns has spent decades trying to figure out how people can retire comfortably and yet sacrifice as little as possible pre-retirement. Which is ironic since Burns, at the age of 67, appears to have no interest in filling his Golden Years...

Two years ago, Morgan Stanley had an image problem. Financial advisors were so down on the firm then plagued by executive infighting, badly in need of investment in retail brokerage and bleeding advisors you couldn't have paid a broker 500 percent...

ETF fund assets and numbers continue to soar in 2008. As of May 31, there were 683 ETFs in the U.S., with assets totaling approximately $612 billion. ETF industry assets rose nearly $17 billion for the month of May, buoyed by positive performance...

Independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) are enjoying a little schadenfreude over the problems plaguing the Wall Street firms.

Hiring experienced advisors with handsome books of business has its benefits, but bringing on hungry young advisors can save you upfront money, culture clashes and all the headaches that accompany today’s fierce recruiting wars for top talent.

Ask successful small-business owners if they are happy with their annual IRS tax bills and most will moan and groan. That was the case with Bob Johnson, founder and CEO of Johnson Insurance & Financial in McKinney, Texas. Fortunately, he found a...

It seems that F. Scott Fitzgerald was wrong. According to a new study, “Protecting the Family Fortune,” the very rich are not all that different from the rest of us — at least when it comes to estate planning. They also avoid it...

For the first time, the credit and capital crisis on Wall Street is having a real impact on the wealth management business.

Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 but only recently lost control of her likeness; James Brown just died in 2006 but may already lose control of his.