Practice

The nation’s stock exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are filing proposals that will trigger halts in trading, market-wide, more quickly, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Eighty-four percent of 401(k) sponsors surveyed by Mercer and the U.S. SIF Foundation (formerly known as the Social Investment Forum Foundation) believe that sustainable and socially responsible investing (SRI) funds will either hold steady or grow in the next five years.

Managers of U.S mutual funds, separately managed accounts and other asset pools are pretty concerned about whether they calculate their risk exposure and performance results correctly and report correctly to regulators and clients.

Retirement Benefits Group on Monday announced that three retirement specialists from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s The Fraser Group have joined the San Diego-based retirement-focused branch of LPL Financial.

Professional marketers and smart advisors always tackle the “The 3 M’s” of marketing before they do any serious outreach. The 3 M’s are the foundational elements of all good marketing. However, according to marketing expert Marie Swift, it’s a very common error for many entrepreneurs and small business people to start with the wrong “M.” The problem with that is, it rarely, if ever works.

Investors who relied on professional help in the form of target-date funds, managed accounts and advice earned nearly three percentage points more than those that did not, according to an analysis of eight large defined contribution plans between 2006 and 2010 by Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines. The plans covered 400,000 participants with $25 billion in assets.

UBS AG announced that CEO Oswald Gruebel has resigned and that Sergio Ermotti will assume the top spot at the Swiss bank on an interim basis.

Financial Advisers of America on Monday announced that Honolulu-based CKW Financial Group has joined its family of investment advisors, bringing more than $900 million more in assets under management to the San Diego-based broker-dealer.

Investors reaching or in retirement are much more likely to stay in the stock market if they’re invested in financial products that provide guaranteed income. That was one of the major findings this week from an online survey Prudential conducted in May of this year.

The Department of Labor announced Monday that it has pulled its current proposal for the definition of a fiduciary off the table. The agency will take up the issue in early 2012 and re-propose a fiduciary definition after more industry input.