Portfolio

"We provide all the tools a broker needs to thrive," said Russell Gebhard, president of Sovereign Investment Group in Houston."If the advisor is successful, it's more than likely the clients will be, too."

Cynthia Egan, head of retirement plan services at T. Rowe Price, is retiring on December 31.

After garnering over $1 billion that ended a nearly month-long, outflow pattern last week, tax-exempt money market funds were back in negative territory this week as they lost $449.9 million and total net assets settled at $269.80 billion for the week ended Sept. 17, according to The Money Fund Report, a service of iMoneyNet.com.

Investor demand outlasted the end-of-summer doldrums with robust inflows to municipal bond mutual funds. But the past week saw those flows to weekly reporting funds fall to more modest levels, $256 million in inflows for the week ended Sept. 19.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has decided to increase its minimum equity trade fees to $75 from $50 following a year of research on how its pricing fits the market.

Gabelli Adds Hedge Fund Vet to Alt Unit

Cynthia Egan, head of retirement plan services at T. Rowe Price, is retiring on December 31.

Pewaukee, WI-based Capital Innovations is currently prepping a fund that will bet on timber and farm-related, the Journal Sentinel reports.

Broadridge Financial Solutions has launched Broadridge Fluent, a new service that aims to significantly improve communications between financial services firms and their customers via marketing, transactional and regulatory communications.

A survey from the Oechsli Institute reveals that advisors are underusing the personal aspects of social media to build client rapport.