Donna M. Mitchell

Corporate cultures will ultimately define how far social media tools go in helping banks and financial services firms deliver services to customers.

Financial institutions should be aware of what investors are posting about their firms to sites like Twitter.

The advisory profession needs to create a repeatable and transparent experience that is client-centric, similar to what iTunes did for music lovers and Starbucks did for coffee aficionados.

The new searchable system adds another layer of transparency into the brokerage and financial advisory industry, on a firm and individual level.

Hess said he expects to close the transaction by the end of the second quarter. Colley said the idea of joining Advent is not about the deal itself, but what will happen in the subsequent days and months.

Its asset management business, which includes the Pacific Investment Management Co., saw net fee and commission income rose by 14.5%, to 1.1 billion euros ($1.4 billion), pushing up operating profit to 528 million euros, or 13.3%.

The new balance represents an increase of almost 12% from a year ago, and a 58% jump from the same period in 2009.

How do advisors know that social media really works? How can an advisor measure the direct impact on his or her practice and bottom line?

The company has seven equal-weight ETFs, six of which have been launched since December.

Sixty-three percent of investors said the advisor produces results that align with their family’s goals and risk parameters. Only 17% disapproved of the advisor’s performance.

In the perpetual race to keep advisors well equipped, efficient and loyal, Cetera Financial Group has just launched a technology platform for its investment adviser representatives.

We have heard of firms winning employee loyalty by paying them more, but never—until we spoke to the principal at Colorado West Investments—by paying them less. At the Montrose, Colo.-based wealth management firm, that is what Kevin Sanderford ended up doing to rationalize the firm’s compensation plan. After the awful downturn in 2008, Sanderford had to lower compensation for his practice manager, who also had a series 7 license. She was not drawing a huge salary—indeed,…

The announcement from Ameriprise Financial that it planned to divest Securities America set off an inevitable scramble among recruiters and the company’s advisors. So what's next?

Independent broker-dealers and consulting firms can provide hints for what to say and omit from your posts and other social media communiqués.

The company hauled in a huge $330 billion in total advisory and brokerage assets during the first quarter, a record level.

Older Americans and federal stimulus dollars are playing a big role in the slow U.S. economic recovery, but young Americans are going to have to get much more involved before the pickup can gain real momentum, economists told New York FPA members on Thursday.

49% of respondents to the PricewaterhouseCoopers study said they find it difficult to meet their household expenses on time, up from 43% a year earlier.

Sometimes, advisors can build a better business by avoiding discussing business altogether.

According to MetLife's survey, 51% of advisors said investors need alternative investments to manage portfolio volatility better.

Armed with funds from a hefty fee hike, the Washington, D.C.-based group unveiled its public awareness campaign on Thursday, during a Webinar with industry participants.