Donald Jay Korn

A difference of 1% in fees could reduce an investor’s balance at retirement by as much as 28%, according to the Department of Labor.

For years, Lincoln Financial has effectively been raising prices on its variable annuities, yet consumers keep buying. The company’s VA business exceeds desired levels now, so further price increases have been announced: cutbacks in benefits offered to consumers. The expected result is a boost in second-quarter business but a slowdown in the second half of 2013.

Since 2009, the number of companies that match 401(k) contributions has decreased by almost 7%.

In a low-yield environment, payouts of 4% to 6% have many investors thinking about increasing their exposure to real estate.

In 2011, 44% of brokers who left wirehouses landed at independent firms, but every broker has an array of options when it comes to independence.

Years after the peak of the financial crisis, mass affluent investors remain pessimistic about their finances.

Most Boomers lack confidence in their retirement readiness, and the unease is growing.

Outsourcing in wealth management has been gaining continued momentum according to a Celent study.

Employee borrowing from 401(k) plans increased 28% in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, according to Wells Fargo as over 60% of new loans went to individuals heir 50s and 60s.

While some of the asset increase resulted from appreciation since the 2008 financial crisis, other factors contributed to this growth.

Since peaking at $1,900 per ounce in September 2011, the price of gold has dropped nearly 22%, to last Friday’s close. Labeling himself an “inveterate contrarian,” John Stoltzfus, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer, suggests that a near-term bounce might be in order.

As the overall financial advisory business picks up, “more than eight in 10 advisors want to spend more time attracting new clients,” Pershing discovered, “and nearly as many believe that they could grow faster if they had better time management tools or processes.”

Several estate planning products were built to address concerns about paying federal estate tax. However, the tax law passed earlier this year may have made these products moot. Advisors need to react before angry clients start calling.

If the long-term care market is “broken,” why are some experts calling this year the year to buy the product?

Financial advisors with clients who have been awarded pension rights in a divorce should follow up to see if the proper procedures to claim those rights have been followed; if not, advisors should urge immediate action.

When looking to spread the word about mutual funds and other investment strategies to Generation Y Investors, financial services firms should consider new media, according to Cambridge, Mass.-based consulting firm Cogent Research.

Amid the 31 initial public offerings that took place in the first quarter, one key theme emerged: a new hunt for yield, according to a new report from Renaissance Capital.

If clients are looking to invest in a better residence or a vacation home, now is the time.

Why do so many people handle their own investments, rather than use an advisor? A bad experience? Cost concerns? Neither of the above, according to a new survey for the Deloitte Center for Financial Services.

“The primary reason for the drop-off in fines was because there were no auction rate securities cases in 2012,” said Brian Rubin, partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.