Rachel F. Elson

While the biggest independent B-Ds have been fairly quiet, the deal-making has shifted to other players. See who's in focus now.

For advisors whose clients want some of their assets in real property, the current rebound creates both opportunities and challenges. Want to understand these clients a little better? A recent survey took a deep look at investment real estate buyers and identified several characteristics that set them apart.

Higher valuations, shakier bets: Advisors whose clients want real estate holdings face a new set of challenges.

Advisors who are helping clients prepare themselves financially for retirement are only doing part of the job needed.

About a quarter of fee-only advisory firms we surveyed in February said they had changed their fee structure in the past year (as did 20% of all independent firms). So what did they do? We combed through respondents' individual comments to identify several of the changes firms have made.

Psychological experiments at the University of Georgia offer a pair of clear takeaways for advisors facing prospects.

Changes in both demographics and tax laws require a massive rethinking of estate planning strategies. Here are a few of the minefields that planners should avoid.

As economic landscapes shift, RIAs are going to need to rethink the ways they charge clients and deliver service.

The pace of RIA dealmaking has leveled off over the last few years, with no increase in the number of deals over the previous year and aggregate AUM acquired ticking up only slightly to $47.4B from $43.7B, according to new data from Schwab Advisor Services.