Practice

Defined contribution plan participants for the most part seem largely unaffected by updated fee disclosure requirements.

WisdomTree Investments has dodged a legal bullet.

Retirement accounts and contributions are growing bigger, according to Fidelity Investments.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” Franklin was right. While it may seem obvious that business growth is central to any advisor’s ultimate success, in today’s highly complex and competitive marketplace, the importance of growth cannot be overstated.

Expect more financial regulatory changes, Schwab executives suggested Thursday -- and be wary of a new recession if Congress and the new administration don’t take steps to keep the country from going all the way over the so-called fiscal cliff

President Barack Obama’s re-election means his administration will push to let tax cuts enacted during the George W. Bush era expire for high earners, as scheduled, at year-end. Obama wants to increase the top federal income tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent, boost rates on long-term capital gains to as much as 23.8 percent, and shrink exemptions from estate-and-gift taxes.

The firm has hired Harold Langer, a three-decade industry veteran, to be senior vice president at the Tucson branch.

If there is a constant in the investment advisory landscape, it’s change. And few things are changing faster than the independent sphere.

The average 401(k) balance reached its highest-ever at $75,900 at the end of the third quarter, Fidelity Investments, one of the nation’s largest 401(k) providers, reported Thursday.

With Obama in office for a second term, the markets are likely to do well, the fiscal cliff will probably be resolved and Dodd-Frank and Obama's healthcare legislation are here to stay, said current and former MFS investment experts during the firm’s post-election webcast for financial advisors.