Lee Conrad

Doug Regan To Head JP Morgan's Midwest Private Bank After 27 Years at Northern Trust

Bank advisors often say the biggest benefit of this channel is the constant stream of potential clients-but are they really leveraging that?

Indexed annuity sales increased 8.3% and income annuities were up 6.1% in the second quarter, according to Beacon Research. It was the second-best quarter ever for those product types, Beacon said in a press release. Total fixed annuity sales were also up, but with a more muted 1% gain in the quarter. And they declined 17.2% from the year-ago period. …

Banks increasingly use a rolling-average model when setting compensation levels-factors beyond production also considered.

M&I, acquired last year, will be brought into the BMO Harris Bank network.

Annuity income at banks overall increased; but an apples-to-apples comparison shows a clearer picture and tells a bleaker story.

Financial behemoth names new heads for Citigold Wealth Management and Citi Personal Wealth Management units.

The new firm brings together the existing businesses of Saltzman Associates, Bielan Consulting and Ken Kehrer’s research and consulting expertise.

Samson looks to expand its network of banks and financial advisors under Essex

The outflow of $1.8 billion in the week ended March 21 compares to $2.9 billion pulled from such funds in the prior week. The last time domestic equity funds saw an inflow was the week of Feb. 15 when they picked up $46 million.

Fixed-income funds see the biggest cash inflow.

Four years after the crisis, banking and the financial industry are still dead last in public trust.

In addition to the emotional issues surrounding clients’ financial decision-making, most advisors’ skill sets are not aligned with the task ahead.

At the Bank Insurance & Securities Association annual meeting, the organization announced its decision to work with financial association and research firm LIMRA to provide more detailed benchmark data on bank investment programs than what is now available elsewhere.

With some fairly significant caveats, there is hope that the bank channel will see better days ahead this year. But first, it has to get through the current doldrums.

Clients are inclined to love their advisors even if they hate the industry. That’s customer loyalty, for sure, but public sentiment has changed before.

Our stories from 10 years ago look similar to our articles today. I know that we're not just rerunning old copy, so why is that?

The SEC sanctioned Florida-based 1st Discount Brokerage and a former executive vice president for failing to supervise an advisor who was operating a Ponzi scheme.

Addison Avenue Investment Services, the investment program of First Tech Federal Credit Union, has transferred to Raymond James as its broker-dealer.

The cultural gap between banking and brokerage is something you need to try to overcome. Don’t wait for the branch manager to do it.