Larry Barrett

While Congress, the SEC and individual states continue to work out the precise definition of a fiduciary and precisely what his or her requirements will be going forward, RIAs and other financial services professionals still need to take it upon themselves to implement best practices that will ensure they'll be in compliance whenever these new regulations are finalized.

Analysts think Sonova Holdings AG, the world's largest manufacturer of hearing aids, is poised for strong growth for the next decade and represents a solid value at its current trading price.

After riding out some choppy storms in the middle and latter part of the last decade, registered independent advisors -- and their clients -- now stand ready to cash in on enormous growth opportunities as long as their willing to embrace new technology and communication mediums.

A new report released this week from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) claims that some of the largest mutual funds -- including Vanguard and BlackRock -- are guilty of rubber-stamping company-initiated, executive-compensation plans that are often out of whack with their companies' performance and therefore compromising shareholders' best interests in the process.

Investors clearly are buying into the social media hype, sending LinkedIn shares through the roof in their first trading day.

If financial advisors really want to increase the likelihood that their clients will commit to and execute on the retirement savings plans they've devised, they should ask less questions, use lots of simple visual aids and talk to them like eight-year-old children.

Baby Boomers are getting older and so are their advisors which means it's high time to start planning for the next chapter for both parties. But it's easier said than done.

Evolve or perish. That was the general theme of the opening keynote address here today at the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors' national conference delivered by Doug Lipp, a motivational speaker, author and former head of corporate training at Walt Disney University.

Taxable bond funds and exchange traded funds enjoyed another banner month in April, according to Morningstar's latest Direct Fund Flow Update, adding another $17.7 billion and $23.3 billion in inflows, respectively.

A perfect storm combination of eroding social security trust funds, high unemployment and a flood of Baby Boomers all hitting retirement age at the same time will put enormous strain on the system for the next two decades and result force retirees and their advisors to come up with alternative retirement income plans and strategies to make ends meet.

Financial advisors looking for new high ultra net worth investors should set their sights on Asian countries like China, India and Taiwan that are home to a groundswell of super-rich entrepreneurs in need of sound financial advice.

Charles Schwab's total client assets increased $35 billion to $1.68 trillion at the end of April, up 11% from the year-ago quarter and up 2% from March, a reflection of the overall strength of the stock market last month.

Nearly 150 hand-picked and already highly successful Bank of America Merrill Lynch financial advisors next month will embark on what amounts to retirement training boot camp at The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU) in pursuit of a Certified 401(k) Professional designation to further their defined-contributions expertise and differentiate themselves from other DC practitioners.

Sluggish retail sales and rising gas prices took their toll on Americans' spending last month and the number of new applications for jobless benefits decreased at a slower pace than expected.

Investors often make the mistake of exposing themselves to too much risk in their portfolios or failing to take on enough risk for their investment timeline. Here are a couple of large-cap funds that might represent a happy and profitable compromise.

LIMRA this week debuted Ready-2-Retire, an interactive web application that gently navigates pre-retirees through a retirement preparation guide that advises them of various risk factors as they age and provides an opportunity to prioritize their so-called "bucket list."

The subsidiary of Prudential plc reported total sales and deposits of more than $5.7 billion in the first quarter, up 31% from the year-ago quarter and up 5% from the fourth quarter.

At time when more Americans than ever are petrified they won't have enough set aside for retirement, a new LIMRA survey suggests that peace of mind could be just a phone call away.

Whether its establishing a Facebook page to hawk your wares or building a corporate profile on LinkedIn to recruit new employees, social media has been a game-changer for small businesses that have embraced it despite their initial reservations.

Advisors Asset Management is reaching out to the 37,000-plus registered reps and independent advisors in its network to help them begin or perhaps expand on their social media endeavors to help improve communication with their clients and attract new advisors to their firms.