Donna M. Mitchell

Just days after the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a recommendation that all financial advisors practice within the fiduciary standard of care, BlackRock announced it has hired an executive for that role in the company.

Some 33% of plan sponsors were more likely to cite service as a top reason for choosing a consultant.

Mark Schoenbeck’s career - and his life – has come full circle.

Most regulations already cover financial planning activities, but designations need another look.

As the broker-dealer community changes, dealing with through-the-floor commissions and the ballooning costs of compliance and back-office management, so must Firm58.

According to a Vanguard study, financial planners still have a big role to play to help investors understand allocations, risks and the big picture.

The sub-advisors who will construct the fund’s regional sub-portfolios hail from offices including those in Brazil, India, Japan and South Korea.

Advisors Access uses a passive, asset-class driven investment approach using products from Dimensional Fund Advisors

It is one thing for a registered investment advisor to buy an investment-planning product to streamline operations at his or her practice, but smoothly integrating that product is often a much bigger production.

Joyce, a former 3Com executive, helped power global distribution of the Palm Pilot.

The panel’s decision also sent a signal to broker-dealers that financial advisors should perform much more thorough due diligence on the soundness of companies issuing certain securities before allowing investors to participate in risky investments.

FINRA effectively backed up claims that Securities America breached its fiduciary duty and violated industry rules.

The CM Commodity Index Fund takes on contango with staggered maturities.

Edward Plotkin is the new vice president of wealth management services at NB|AZ Wealth Management, part of the National Bank of Arizona.

Tony Davidow is the newly appointed managing director and portfolio strategist at Rydex|SGI.

Dan Coughlin, chairman and CEO of Howe Barnes, will join Raymond James holding two high-level positions.

The California financier was convicted on 25 counts of fraud, sentenced to state prison and ordered to pay $600,000 in restitution.

Clearly Loomis Sayles is not going to pay heed to the weekly ups and downs of bond market activity with this fund.

The company had a one-time compensation expense of $222 million, after certain advisors exercised their share options after the IPO’s closing.

Fixed-income investors are exercising patience these days, with slow-moving rates that are expected to edge up slightly in 2011.