Ann Marsh

A new online company, FutureAdvisor, aims to break open the market for sophisticated financial advice and make that service available not only to the wealthy, but to all investors. Launched in 2010, the Seattle-based startup says it already analyzes $4 billion in assets for its users and, today, it announced $5 million in new venture capital funding. …

LPL is determined to help advisors up their games in order to be able to serve clients who are generating new wealth or coming into possession of it.

In a new survey, the CFP Board revealed just how pervasive the financial abuse of seniors has come to be. At the same time, the board is seeking new standards to help seniors - and all consumers - better understand which self-described financial advisors are truly out to serve their best interests.

In the first of what the SEC hopes will be many more such awards, a whistleblower has received $50,000 for his or her help in stopping a multi-million dollar fraud. More money may be forthcoming for the individual if other, related cases move forward. The first award comes about a year after the whistleblower program began operating.

In a surprise move, incoming National Association of Personal Financial Advisors Chairman, Ron Rhoades, said that because of a compliance violation by his firm he will not be assuming the helm of the advocacy group on September 1 as anticipated.

How might the world have been different if, starting 10 years ago, every would-be home buyer had access to a free and independent tool that showed them - in highly personalized and granular detail - precisely what they could and could not have afforded to buy? Would there have been a real estate crash at all?

At four years and counting, the low-yield environment for bond looks likely to continue well beyond 2012 and has caused many investors to sit on the sidelines and miss out on additional income.

For some clients, it might make a lot of sense for planners to hedge large corrections by treating market volatility as an asset class to protect them from excessive downside risk.

Birmingham, Ala.-based advisor group Bridgeworth Financial, with nearly $1 billion in AUM, has left Lincoln Financial to join the country's largest independent B-D, LPL Financial, in a move that demonstrates the benefits of scale.

In an uncertain market, many wealthy clients are fearful of giving away liquid assets to reduce the size of their estates. An alternative is to give a home to the next generation using a lease-back strategy.

In the ongoing consolidation of the independent B-D space, insurer AIG's acquisition of Woodbury Financial Services brings the smaller firm in from the cold where it has become increasingly challenging to survive without a larger parent company.

LPL Financial reported second quarter net income of $39.5 million, down $6 million compared to $45.5 million in the same quarter of 2011. Net revenues for the second quarter of 2012 increased 1.5% to $907 million, from $894.0 million in the prior year period.

Advisors trying to persuade prospects about the benefits of planning can point to a new study of household financial decision-makers that shows those who have taken the time to put together a plan feel more confident and report more success managing savings and investments.

If anyone needs proof of the importance of revisiting their estate plans annually, the case of the high-net-worth Tweten family on the West Coast should supply it.

Many CPAs are passive in nature and afraid to ask clients to pay them extra for financial advice. Yet, often they are better positioned even than planners to suggest tax-efficient investment strategies.

In a study of 1,025 independent RIAs, Schwab found that a client retention level of 97% helped to drive client referrals and to produce record levels of AUM and revenues last year.

When LPL Financial sought to improve its highly successful Model Wealth Portfolio platform, its advisors made a couple of requests: make it easier for us to select securities and to rebalance our client portfolios.

LPL is continuing to fuel the rapid growth of its Model Wealth Portfolios platform, with a range of new offerings now available for consumers with as little as $25,000 to invest. Overall, this platform grew by almost 73% this year as of March 31 over last year to $8.7 billion.

Although overall activity in the annuity market has been down over the past 13 months, inflows in May increased by slightly more than 1% to $7.5 billion from $7.4 billion in April, according to the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.

Serving clients from the world of venture capital poses special challenges for planners. Much like entrepreneurs, VC general partners bring risky and highly concentrated investments that cry out for diversification.