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This column lives up to its tag only insofar as it addresses a frequent shortcoming in advisors of my age group. I'm talking about putting the Web to good use in a financial advisory practice. For all the search engine technology out there, the...
Q: Like many brokers, I switched firms three years ago, joining a wirehouse offering a seven-year forgivable loan as upfront payment. Since hiring on at the new firm, my production has nosedived. I may be fired or, because I'm so frustrated, leave...
Estate planners live in uncertainty. Historically, the strongest selling point for their services has been helping clients minimize estate taxes. But with increases in the estate tax exemption and the possible outright repeal of the estate tax...
What remedies are available when an unexpected death short-circuits an estate plan, leaving heirs to pay more taxes than they would have had their benefactor lived a little longer? In wrongful death cases, one state may now permit estate-tax...
Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, publicly traded companies have had to comply with strict new governance standards. A significant part of the Act increased the role board members must play in terms of the firm's financial dealings and...
Defined-benefit plans are making a comeback but with a twist. The employer-managed retirement vehicles were a staple benefit at large companies until the mid-1990s, when many fell victim to aggressive cost-cutting. Now, capitalizing on rules set...
If saving for college were a race, it'd be a marathon, and even those 26-mile races culminate in a hard push for the finish line. So it is that college saving does not end when the kid enrolls as a freshman at State U. In fact, in the years that...
As anyone who rides public transportation or watches late-night TV can attest, our society is a litigious one. We've all seen the ads: Have you or someone you love been injured? Call 800 SUE-THEM. As amusing as they might be on the surface, the...
Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger, has never liked losing. When he married his Swedish wife, Sun, he had her sign away all claims to his earnings and assets. The prenuptial contract was in English, a language she didn't understand well...
The investment industry demands, by regulation, that an advisor a client before making any recommendations. But most firms make satisfying that requirement too easy. All a client need do is fill out an account-opening form and, maybe, answer a...