Practice

Sharing too much and assuming that you always know what is best are among the surefire ways of pointing clients to the door.

Americans are showing resilience in the aftermath of the financial crisis, but their advisors report that they are not doing a good enough job of saving or living within their means, Principal Financial found in a survey of 632 advisors. Only 10% of the advisors surveyed said their clients are able to easily visualize their financial dreams.

Broker Suspended for Excessive Trading in Mutual FundsBy Tom Steinert-ThrelkeldAn Arizona broker has been suspended for excessive trading in mutual funds.William Bailey, formerly a broker with the NEXT Financial Group in Mesa, Ariz., has been put on the sidelines for two years by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority for switching customers in and out of mutual funds, for average of two months per investment.Bailey also engaged in discretionary trading without receiving prior written approval from his customers, the independent regulator of brokers said.Bailey recommended 484 short-term switch transactions in seven customer accounts, in 2006 and 2007, FINRA said. He “repeatdly sold mutual funds less than one year after purchasing them, and purchased new mutual funds with the proceeds,’’ the regulator said.With the frequent switches, his customers held their mutual funds for only 60 days, on average. The seven customers ranged in age from 66 to 93 and “were all unsophisticated investors,’’ FINRA said.Bailey could not be immediately reached for comment.FINRA said the customers paid more than $147,000 in sales charges and trading fees. Bailey received more than $120,000 in commissions, from those payments.Bailey, the regulator said, frequently traded in his customers' accounts without first obtaining their permission and improperly completed customer account forms to make it appear the customers approved of the trading. “Bailey rapidly switched his elderly and unsophisticated customers in and out of mutual funds with high costs, providing a benefit to Bailey instead of to his customers,’’ said Brad Bennett, FINRA Executive Vice President and Chief of Enforcement, In settling the case, Bailey neither admitted nor denied the charges, but consented to its findings, FINRA said.An Arizona broker has been suspended for excessive trading in mutual funds.

Americans are showing resilience in the aftermath of the financial crisis, but their advisers report that they are not doing a good enough job of saving or living within their means, Principal Financial found in a survey of 632 advisers. Only 10% of the advisers surveyed said their clients are able to easily visualize their financial dreams.

Knight Capital Group said its earnings dropped by two-thirds in the second quarter, hurt by lower volume and volatility in stock trading.

When financial advisors are working with clients to figure out their retirement strategy, they need to factor in inflation into the mix. But the question is, how does one decide what inflation is likely to be years into the future when there are so many different ways to measure it even in the present?

Ryan O'Neal is at it again. He and Craig Nevius, a Hollywood producer who used to work closely with Farrah Fawcett, are in the midst of more legal fighting against one another.

State Street Corporation said it planned to reduce its technology staff by 850 employees, as part of a multi-year transformation of how it manages its information systems.

If you’re an advisor, you probably have a website. And you may belong to a social network such as LinkedIn or FaceBook. But to really make your website and social media efforts pay off, you’ll need to do more, experts say. The good news is that it’s not that difficult to strengthen your online presence -- and a stronger online presence can lead to more business. Here are eight tips for financial advisors to build a compelling online presence:

Most target-date funds are not as diversified as they could be, and particularly as they increase in popularity in 401(k) plans, their design needs to be revisited, according to Folio Investing.