Practice

For those in the business of providing investment advice, the situation in the nation's capital is getting serious. With Washington gridlocked and steeped in uncertainty over a series of tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, members of the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee met for a joint session to consider a critical and contentious facet of the tax code: capital gains.

Tim Pawlenty, the former Republican governor of Minnesota who criticized Wall Street while running for president last year, is joining the Financial Services Roundtable as president and chief executive officer.

A survey from the Oechsli Institute reveals that advisors are underusing the personal aspects of social media to build client rapport.

They represent a bigger opportunity than the Baby Boomer generation and they require new strategies from planners who want to reach them. But, for those planners who can adapt to the preferences and priorities of Generation Y, they could provide a lifetime of new clients.

As PenFed moves investment program back to former third-party marketer CFS, it sets sights on previous AUM mark of $250 million.

The Financial Planning Association and Peak Advisor Alliance, a financial advisor coaching and practice management company, announced on Wednesday a new partnership offering FPA members coaching, content and discounts on Peak services.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered five firms to pay $137,500 in fines for violations of trade reporting and other municipal securities rules.

The agency is targeting Summit Wealth Management, a registered investment advisor, and Angelo Alleca, who is charged with defrauding investors in what the SEC describes as a scheme that sought to conceal losses from trades that went bad through the creation of new private funds that were used to repay the original investors.

Savvy financial advisors are using social sites to differentiate themselves from the competition and to build trust and credibility. Perhaps the biggest reason for financial advisors to get involved in social marketing can be summed up in four words: Your customers are there.

Omyen, which is based in Westwood, Mass., specializes in developing technologies for comprehensive financial planning and client education. The technology will be added to the FPA Practitioner Resource Guide, which is a directory of solutions and benefits to help FPA members build their business.