Ruthie Ackerman

The financial advisory business is growing and more advisors say they are satisfied with their jobs, yet fewer women (especially young women) are entering the profession. What does this mean for the future of the industry?

Although independent registered investment advisors are optimistic about the future of their businesses and the stock market, they are worried about the time and money associated with pending regulatory changes, according to a new survey released on Monday by TD Ameritrade Institutional, a division of TD Ameritrade.

Financial advisor Charles Winitch pled guilty on Monday in White Plains federal court to wire fraud for executing unauthorized transactions in a trust held for disabled children.

According to a survey released Thursday by MFS Investment Management investors want advisor contact and education. In turn, those investors who are more knowledgeable tend to be less fearful about investing – good news all around.

The more education a person has is strongly correlated with how confident they are about their retirement and their ability to save and plan for it, according to the 11th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, released on Thursday.

According to a poll conducted in October and released on Wednesday by InCharge Debt Solutions Americans are significantly more concerned about future expenses than paying off existing debt or paying their current bills.

The key takeaway from 2011 will be the gap in economic performance between the developed and emerging economies, said Bank of America Merrill Lynch at its 2011 Year Ahead breakfast in New York City on Tuesday.

John Y. Kim, who is already the executive vice president of New York Life Insurance Company, will take over the chairman position currently held by Gary Wendlandt on January 1, 2011.

If you want to grow your advisory business you’ll need to create a defined process with clear goals and ensure all of your staff are on board, said Spenser Segal of ActiFi at the IMCA conference in Vail, Colorado on Monday.

If you want to know what the outlook will look like for 2011 look back at 2010, said Jeffrey Kleintop of LPL Financial in his opening remarks at the IMCA Practice Management Conference in Vail, Colorado on Monday.

Currently wirehouse market share is at 56% of total fee-based managed account assets, but Cerulli predicts managed account market share for wirehouses will tumble to 50% by 2014.

According to the Women at the Top Study, women hold 91 out of 523, or 17.4%, of positions at the top 50 banks in the nation, and only eight women hold C-level positions (three are chief operating officers, four are chief financial officers and one is a chief administrative officer).

The global economy is in the middle of a scary macroeconomic environment, with fiscal imbalances in Europe, Japan and the U.S. and increased regulation, which is confusing companies as well as individuals, according to T. Rowe Price’s director of global equity.

With 266 million users in North America, the Internet and social media have become a significant part of the financial services landscape.

As markets continued their third consecutive strong year, TD Waterhouse examined six major market trends for 2011.

In an interview in July, Katherine August-deWilde, the bank’s chief operating officer, said that the management team was waiting for “the markets to be right” to take the bank public again.

Uncertainty around the estate tax and other tax rates is causing many wealthy Americans to have second thoughts about how much to donate to charities.

According to LIMRA’s Guaranteed Income Annuities report released on Monday, women buy six of every 10 immediate annuity contracts, a significant chunk of the $250 billion annuitization market.

The average 401(k) balance skyrocketed nearly 32% in 2009 more than making up for the massive losses of 2008. But more participants took loans against their 401(k)s - a dangerous trend that could lead to a decrease in retirement savings, according to a report released on Monday by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) analyzing a group of consistent participants.

Investing globally is critical to portfolio growth and diversifying risk, according to a new white paper by BNY Mellon Asset Management.