Practice

The Labor and Treasury Departments have issued a request for information to determine whether annuities belong in 401(k)s. Specifically, the agencies want to know the benefits and the drawbacks to receiving retirement income in installments.

Yacht prices, hit hard by the recession, are creating the perfect storm for a buyers’ market.

Most RIAs don’t see any lost competitive advantage if a fiduciary standard is required for everyone

Some analysts said that its latest deal for a unit of PNC is clearly a defensive move to box out Northern Trust Corp. from becoming a top competitor in asset servicing.

Many may switch institutions that don’t meet their needs.

The proposal would automatically deduct up to 3% of an employee’s salary straight from their paycheck and invest it in Roth IRAs, unless the employee chose to opt out, or chose to invest in a traditional IRA. This plan would be for employees who don’t have other types of pensions or retirement savings plans, about 80 million workers in all.

Among financial services firms well known to investors, affluent investors have the most favorable impression of Fidelity, Vanguard and American Funds. This is according to a Phoenix Marketing International survey of 850 investors age 35 to 64 with household income and investable assets, excluding workplace retirement plans, of at least $100,000 conducted this past November.

Following the financial crisis, advisers are most likely to recommend financial services companies they perceive as ethical and trustworthy, Phoenix Marketing International research shows. Conducted this past November, the Phoenix study shows that American Funds, Vanguard, John Hancock, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity command the most favorable impression among firms well known to advisers. In terms of brand recognition, advisers cited Hancock, Prudential, Vanguard and MetLife as leaders.

The banking industry's effort to compensate for lost overdraft-fee income by phasing out free checking has hit a roadblock.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration proposed Monday to raise the required level of reserves at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to more than $80 billion — a move that would require banks to pony up a huge amount of money.