Practice

Advisors who don't feel like wading through reports on 9,000 hedge funds may feel more comfortable scanning information on about 40, especially if those funds have been expertly screened. Envestnet has announced a hedge fund research alliance with Fund Evaluation Group.

Insurance is an important part of all your clients' financial plans. The current controversy surrounding Michael Jackson's estate and litigation serves as a stark reminder to your clients to be careful and make full disclosure so their heirs don't have to face a lawsuit over an insurance claim when they die.

To become more successful, most small business owners must begin by acknowledging all of the areas in which their business falls short. For independent advisors, and many entrepreneurs, this can be a tough thing to assess. Never fear: Four key custodians offer four simple ways to improve your business.

Preparation is the key to a successful audit. The following guidelines will help your firm smoothly navigate the regulatory audit process and manage any possible surprises.

Dimensional Fund Advisor has made its way onto Paychex’s Open Fund Select and Advisor Select platforms. Paychex provides of payroll, human resource, and benefits outsourcing services, including 401(k) plan recordkeeping, for small- to medium-sized businesses.

ING has launched a new program called The Opportunity to Articulate Your Value in effort to help advisors stay on top of rapid changes in regulations and compensation in the retirement space.

Even with Wall Street and consumer advocates allied in pushing for it, a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission proposal to raise standards for brokers advising retail investors has run aground.

Over the next 10 years, advisors will help their clients facilitate the largest wealth transfer in the history of our nation's history and charitable planning will become an increasingly larger and more important part of that service.

Seventy-three percent of annuity owners and 17% of non-owners agreed that annuities are an important part of a retirement strategy, compared to 55% and 8%, respectively a year earlier, according to the survey of investors and financial advisors released at the IRI 2012 Annual Meeting,

"The industry has been in an interesting transformation," said Catherine J. Weatherford, president and CEO of the Insured Retirement Institute. "The financial crisis hit banks rapidly, but for the life insurance industry, it took a while for the issues from the crisis to develop."