Larry Barrett

American workers exited 2010 with more than $10.2 trillion invested in employer-sponsored retirement plans, up 10% from the $9.3 trillion in play at the close of 2009, according to a new report from Chicago-based affluent investor consultant Spectrem Group.

While tens of thousands of independent financial advisors looking to build their brand and their book of business are just now warming to social media, most are still reluctant to jump in with both feet due to compliance and regulatory issues set forth by FINRA, the SEC and FSA, most of which deal with archiving and recalling all correspondence to protect investors.

A pair of Boston-area RIAs this week announced they will team up to provide a variety of advisory services to more than 2,000 high net worth clients holding more than $2 billion in assets after discount brokerage E-Trade agreed to sell Wellesley, Mass.-based Kobren Insight Management to Newton, Mass.-based Adviser Investment Management for an undisclosed amount.

People are living longer, working to an older age and largely underestimating how much money they'll really need to afford the retirement they've always envisioned.

Lincoln, who believes the U.S. economy is about midway through a projected five-year bull run, took some time this week with On Wall Street to provide his big-picture views on a number of timely topics as well as a look back at what financial services firms, advisors and investors have learned from the rollercoaster-like ride of the past few years.

In the latest indicator that perhaps the worst of the economic malaise is behind us, a new report released on Wednesday by Spectrem Group finds that the number of U.S. households with a net worth of more than $1 million, excluding their primary residence, jumped 8% to more than 8.4 million households in 2010.

Buoyed by a robust stock market, stabilizing unemployment and incrementally improving corporate earnings, senior executives at the nation's largest banks, brokerages and securities firms are more optimistic about the U.S. economy's overall prospects than they've been in years.

Bank sales of total annuities regressed slightly in January, according to the latest Kehrer-Jackson Monthly Bank Annuity Sales Survey, but overall investor interest still remains much higher for both than it was at this time last year.

FINRA on Tuesday is warning investors to be on the lookout for scams offering investors an opportunity to buy pre-initial public offering shares of Facebook and other popular social media companies that many Wall Street investment banks will be taking public in the next year or two.

Despite all the dire warnings from financial advisors, relatives and the federal government, most Americans still aren't saving anywhere near enough money to afford the dignified retirement they all claim is so important to them and, worse, most don't even have any idea exactly how much they'll need even if they were to begin saving today for their golden years.

The U.S. and Singapore were co-valedictorians in a new Morningstar report released on Friday as both countries earned "A" grades on a report card that measured the overall experience of mutual fund investors based on a variety of factors including taxation, transparency and investor protection.

Insurance companies and investment firms offering retirement services to companies large and small are learning that attention to detail, an improved communication with plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can dramatically improve their customer retention and satisfaction rates.

Saxo Bank announced it has reappointed Steen Jakobsen as its chief economist after leaving the Danish bank in early 2009 where he served as chief investment officer at Limus Capital Partners.

Variable annuities with guaranteed living benefit riders surged up 78% in the past two years to more than $521 billion in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a new LIMRA report charting the sales prowess of more than 95% of the variable annuity sector.

U.S. investors have warmed to exchange-traded funds in a big way over the past five years and their growing familiarity with the expanding variety of products available helped pushed the total value of U.S. ETF assets over the $1 trillion mark last month, according to a report from State Street Global Advisors.

Financial advisors who want to keep their high-net-worth clients happy and in the fold would be well advised to keep their mobile phones close at hand, according to a new survey conducted by Chicago-based affluent investor consultant Spectrem Group.

While the financial services community waits for some movement from the SEC on new rules and policies governing advisors, the Labor Department has taken it upon itself to get the ball rolling in the name of better protecting investors and pensioners.

Fixed indexed and income annuity sales shook off a lackluster to start to the year to finish 2010 with some much-needed momentum, according to Beacon Research's latest research.

Being financially prepared for retirement consistently ranks at or near the top of investors' lists of priorities regardless of their age, ethnicity, income level or gender. But this basic albeit mundane goal was largely forgotten by fund managers, financial advisors and even investors themselves in the past decade as cheap loans and skyrocketing home prices distracted many from the big picture.

Most of Canada's largest financial services firms have and will continue to invest heavily in IT projects for the foreseeable future to garner more customers and stay ahead of the compliance and regulation curve.