Portfolio

Federal prosecutors brought criminal charges against SAC Capital on Thursday. Dubbing SAC “a veritable magnet of market cheaters,” authorities argued that the company allowed a “systematic” insider trading scheme to play out between 1999 to 2010. It is deemed that the scheme generated profits for the firm in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Learning about the thinking patterns that you employ whenever you encounter difficult or challenging events is the first step in making life-altering changes in your thinking. Here are five examples of distorted thinking habits that advisors commonly face.

Broker-dealer Waddell & Reed has recruited six new financial advisors, for a total $141.4 million in new assets under management.

Asset management mergers and acquisitions are on the rise and all signs are pointing to another healthy year for deal activity.

During the first quarter of 2013, banks generated $790.7 million in annuity sales, up 1.2% from $781.7 million in the same quarter last year.

With three more even larger deals expected to be completed by September, Carson Institutional could become a serious alternative to some of the leading roll-up firms in the nation.

“We see an opportunity to have a national RIA multifamily office brand with the Forbes name,” Scott Gregorchuk, chief executive of Forbes Family Trust tells Financial Planning. “We are surgically targeting the right advisors and investment advisory firms to join our effort.”

Advisors in all channels saw fee income increase as a percentage of their compensation over the past year, according to a new study.

Many large managers of municipal bond funds with Detroit paper said they haven't heard any panic from their investing clients since the city filed for bankruptcy and many of their funds have lost value.

As Roth 401(k) plans continue to spread, young workers increasingly are voting to go Roth. In the first quarter of 2013, 10% of all participants in Wells Fargo-administered defined contribution plans contributed to a Roth 401(k), when available, up from 8.9% a year earlier. Leading the way were employees under age 30: 16.9% chose the Roth route, a jump from 15.2% participation in last year’s first quarter. (Only 4% of participants in their 60s chose the Roth version this year.)