Dave Lindorff

An accountant with a New York accounting firm that handles smaller broker-dealers is warning advisors who work at such firms that if their employer is a clearing organization, they should pay attention to how well it is planning for a continuation of business under new rule changes being mulled by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A recent survey by Putnam Investments disclosed that American households are on track to replace only about 64% of their current income in retirement -- significantly less than the 75% of income that most financial professionals recommend. To help address this discrepancy, the money management firm is rolling out a tool it says will give employers and their advisors a way to help boost employees’ retirement savings.

With the risk of a second downturn in the U.S. economy rising and debt problems continuing to plague Europe, many investors are shunning the equities market altogether. Meanwhile, the rush to safety in fixed-income investments has driven yields down to “incredibly low” levels, according to analysts.

Traditionally, municipal bonds have been sold to investors in units of $1,000 or even $5,000 or $10,000 per bond, a size that deters many smaller investors or leads them to turn to a bond fund. Now California is doing something about that by offering $25 mini-bonds.

Bank-affiliated brokerages have been big revenue earners for banks, especially since the financial crisis struck in 2008, but a new Aite Group study found that banks could and should be doing much more to boost revenues from cross-selling wealth management products to retail bank customers.

The Securities and Exchange Commission this week said it’s in the early stages of a major examination into the operations of hedge fund companies and investment banks that engage in high-frequency trading.

Most analysts and economists believe the Federal Reserve Board is practically compelled to do something to help boost the economy when it meets later this month. If and when the Fed makes a move, it will likely have a negative impact on bond funds.

IndexIQ, an issuer of mutual funds and ETFs that replicate the investments of hedge funds, this week said some of its most popular products not only bested the performance of the S&P 500 Index, but they also outperformed many of the larger hedge funds, too.

LIMRA's latest study finds that while life insurance ownership is at an “all-time low” in terms of the percentage of families that have coverage, this situation presents advisors with a huge opportunity for new policy sales.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Los Angeles district office has obtained an emergency court order halting all operations and freezing the assets of a company it says has been “creating the illusion” for seven years that it was taking investors’ money and investing it in life settlements.

Many financial advisors look for opportunities to win the 401(k) business of local employers because it both provides them with some immediate revenue and, more important, steers cross-selling business their way as employees get to know them and turn to them for financial advice -- especially as they retire and bring them their rolled-over assets to invest.

Exchange-traded funds, a relatively cheap and tax efficient way for individual investors to invest in equities while maintaining a degree of diversification in portfolios, are becoming more popular among wealthier investors and their advisors.

Despite recent volatility, UBS analyst says investors should buck up and “stay the course,” not shifting their allocation away from equities.

The analysts at Standard & Poor’s, who have pegged the U.S. economy’s growth rate at a paltry 2% for 2012, say that advisors and investors might find some value in steel stocks and ETFs.

Among large-cap indexes, the Dow Jones Industrial average was the top performer in a decidedly bad month for equities, but still shed 4.36% of its total value in August.

A closely watched index established by Dow Jones Indexes back in November 2010 began flashing red on Tuesday, a development that now has investors and their advisors reviewing the back-tested index’s history for signs of what’s to come and what investment strategies they should pursue next.

Despite all the doomsday prognostications, 2011 will likely have fewer muni fund defaults than either 2009 or 2010. So why are advisors and investors still so gun-shy?

A trio of finance professors are blasting the big three rating agencies, Moody’s in particular, claiming in a new report that they've unearthed evidence that asset classes that provide the agencies with most of their revenue benefit from better credit ratings while classes that provide less revenue receive harsher treatment.

The stock market continued its recent hot streak Monday as some analysts and investors interpreted Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s Friday statement as a sign that the central bank is considering a QE3 program to prop up a troubled economy.

The latest measure of home sales took another significant dip in July and things might actually turn out to be worse than the number suggests. That’s particularly bad news for investors and retirees who often have the vast majority of their net worth tied to their residence.