Danielle Reed

Three-quarters of advisors at financial firms anticipate a continued rise in the number of peers making the leap to independence, according to a survey by Charles Schwab.

FSI needs a bit more time to respond, and some of the data requests seem misguided, according to a letter it sent to the Labor Department.

While planners may know what different client segments they serve, too often they aren’t using that information to change their practices accordingly, says Matt Matrisian, director of practice management for Genworth Financial Wealth Management.

FINRA is seeking input regarding changes it is weighing with respect to BrokerCheck. The proposed changes prompted a swift and strong response from readers on Financial Planning’s discussion boards.

Harris myCFO has hired Leslie Grant as vice president, a role in which she’ll be responsible for capital advisory services and custom banking solutions for clients.

New information FINRA is exploring adding to the BrokerCheck system could include the reason for and comments related to a broker’s termination as well as scores on industry qualification exams.

“With our economy in the shape it’s in, and saving for retirement more difficult than ever, it was critical that this troubling provision be stripped from the bill,” according to a statement from FSI President and CEO Dale Brown.

Wade D. Pfau will oversee Retirement Management Analyst designation program as curriculum director.

Almost three-quarters (71%) of target-date fund investors say that target-date funds have made them feel more confident they were making good investment decisions, according to a study.

There are certain questions RIAs should ask before making a transition to a new broker-dealer. Pat McEvoy, President of Woodbury Financial Services, spoke with Financial Planning about his thoughts on what these questions should be.

Given the market volatility over the past several years, it’s not surprising there’s a booming market in investing advice. How to sort through it all? One way is to look at what the readers themselves think.

Gresham Partners, a Chicago-based independent wealth management firm, has named two new principals.

Going forward, investment advisors will no longer be able to include the value of an investor's home in a new $1 million minimum of investable assets now required to charge performance fees, according to the SEC, which is tightening its rule around fees.

F-Squared Investments, an investment firm and RIA, has named industry veteran Mark Marinella, a former executive vice president and Global CIO of State Street Global Advisors, as its new head of investments.

Genworth Financial Wealth Management is the latest firm to announce an upgrade to its online platform, eWealthManager.

Viteos, known predominantly as a fund administrator and operations support provider for hedge funds, has expanded its operations, accounting and reporting services to family office RIA firms.

Should the stock market turn solidly bullish, small-cap stocks could be poised for good returns. But small caps are generally more volatile and less widely analyzed than large-cap stocks, making some planners and their clients leery of the sector. Craig Hodges, portfolio manager of the Hodges Small Cap Fund, talked to Financial Planning about his views on where small caps are going and how advisors might approach investing in them.

At the end of last year’s fourth quarter, the average 401(k) balance was up almost 8% from the prior quarter, to $69,100. Fidelity Investments president of workplace investing, James M. MacDonald, called these results “encouraging.”

Independent broker-dealer and RIA Lincoln Investment Planning has agreed to buy broker-dealer and RIA Capital Analysts from Western & Southern Financial Group, the firms announced. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, is expected to close in the second quarter of this year.

The survey, conducted by John Hancock Financial in late 2011, showed that 82% of investors who work with a financial advisor have a high level of trust in that advisor.