Lee Conrad

Local budget cuts over the next couple of years will be drastic enough that the role of government in our lives will be re-examined.

FINRA has flexed its enforcement muscle several times in recent days but there is still a high level of anticipation to see more regulatory oversight.

In the never-ending game of musical chairs, wirehouses recruit from each other, and from UBS.

Tampa broker-dealer had been facing problems for months.

Instead of gaining from the lessons that behavioral finance has to offer, much of the industry has treated it as a parlor game.

A Dutch pension fund is the latest in a string of lawsuits against the banking company.

Young brokerage firm is interested in growth but plans to expand very selectively

UBS expects wealth management clients to return, even if near term sees more losses.

Your dad’s generation could get away with investing domestically; your clients cannot.

It’s impossible to completely protect against inflation but some old asset classes, and one new product, can help.

But, even a few bankruptcies can set a bad precedent.

Separately, the private bank is bringing on two executives.

The parent company, Royal Bank of Canada, quarterly earnings rose 35% from a year earlier to $1.45 billion.

Merrill Lynch veteran Tom Isaacs is still waiting to see if Merrill will enforce a 60-day leave clause.

When people are afraid, they cut back on discretionary expenses, which is how most people view estate-planning services, one expert said.

Traditional value has its fans Benjamin Graham for one but Evermore’s David Marcus says that approach can lead to a “value trap.”

Settlement could give more weight to New York Attorney General suit.

Judge Jed S. Rakoff says the law requires broad latitude be given to SEC.

New stock valuation tools could elevate discussions with clients.

Firms need to beef up customer service staffing and most of them are woefully unprepared for these changes.