Practice

Andy Brooks just wants to get something done, about the structure of equity markets.

“The face of the advisor will change. There’s going to be a large cohort of retiring advisors and young advisors. They are going to be more diverse, and more will be working part-time. We have to adapt services to the new demand, and develop tools to communicate and interact with advisors.”

Using social media is clearly possible -- some advisors have had great success with it -- and there’s no doubt that compliance is in some ways getting easier. Yet compliance is still widely regarded as a major hurdle.

Fidelity Investments has rolled out a smartphone application for NetBenefits 401(k) plan participants.

As advisors, we work in a disciplined world of risk management and probabilities, while our clients rely on feelings and “gut” decisions all day long. We shouldn’t take our discipline for granted. We need to remember the vulnerabilities that lurk in the hard-wiring of the human central nervous system.

Despite other hearings being held in Washington this week of a more political nature, it’s nice to know that the Ways and Means Committee is continuing to search for ways to make life easier for small businesses, at least as far as complying with the Tax Code.

New rules being considered for U.S. money-market mutual funds will make them safer for investors while forcing some smaller providers out of the business, Moody’s Investors Service analysts said this week in a research report.

Neuberger Berman has filed with the SEC to offer an Emerging Markets Income Fund.

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and the world's largest banks won rollbacks in final Dodd-Frank Act rules that promise to transform the private swaps market by increasing competition.

SEC Chair Mary Jo White defended the agency's request for a significant budget increase before a House oversight committee, arguing that the additional funding is necessary to equip the SEC with the resources to handle a litany of regulatory tasks, including increased examinations of investment advisors and enforcement actions.