Practice

Business is running smoothly now, but Financial Planning senior editor Donna Mitchell says ARGI Financial had to overcome some operational hurdles — ultimately changing custodians and back-office systems — to get to this point.

With new cost-basis reporting requirements in effect for the 2011 tax year, Charles Schwab is warning investment advisors to brace for a hectic tax season and prepare for a flood of questions from clients who for the first time will receive a revised 1099-B form packed with new transaction information.

iPhone 4S sales are off the charts, even with its battery issues. iPad sales are similar. Android now is the most popular operating system for mobile phones. So why aren’t more financial services firms encouraging employees to bring their own devices to work?

The Financial Services Authority has for the first time ever barred a compliance officer from working in the financial services industry.

Retirement plan advisers’ top five concerns include new disclosure rules, market volatility, finding greater flexibility and customization in plans, measuring a given plan’s success and an expected redefinition of fiduciary status. Those are the results from a national listening tour conducted by Transamerica Retirement Services.

Almost seven in 10 U.S. households that own traditional IRAs have developed strategies for managing income and assets in retirement, according to a study released last week by the Investment Company Institute.

Retirement plan advisors’ top five concerns include new disclosure rules, market volatility, finding greater flexibility and customization in plans, measuring a given plan’s success and an expected redefinition of fiduciary status.

Most advisors don’t have a disaster recovery plan. We all like to think it won’t happen to us when we think of the big ones -- tornado or hurricane -- but all firms and advisors need to be prepared for anything that can cause an interruption to our business and serving our clients. Here's what you need to know to get started.

The SEC charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee with fraud for his role in creating fake trades to facilitate the massive Ponzi scheme.

The SEC has ordered broker-dealer FTN Financial Securities to pay nearly $2 million for allowing a registered investment advisor, Sentinel Management, to defraud its clients through a reverse repurchase transaction.