Sooner or later, you're going to get a call from a valued client that may put you in an uncomfortable situation. He will tell you that the Society for Preservation of Historically Significant Manhole Covers (an organization of which he is...

Hunter McFarlin knew something was wrong. He quit his job selling life insurance at a small bank in Murfreesboro, Tenn., to start his own advisory practice back in 2004. At the time, McFarlin figured it would take a while before he made a profit...

A generation ago, retiring clients usually had most of their money locked up in certificates of deposit at the local bank. Simplicity, predictability, and the double-digit yields of the time provided a nice compliment to Social Security or pension...

Financial-services firms are in fierce competition for good wealth managers, also sometimes known as client-relationship managers (CRMs). For the most part, retail brokerage firms have been simply cannibalizing one another, poaching the best...

Now may be the time to get your clients more life insurance: In 2008, life-insurance premiums will be 11 percent lower than they were two years ago and half of what they were a decade ago, according to the Insurance Information Institute...

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Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack opened the Morgan Stanley earnings call today by saying the firm’s quarterly results were “embarrassing.” Quite. But, he quickly pointed out that—excluding mortgage-related businesses