Practice

As the April 15 tax filing date draws closer, millions of taxpayers still find themselves somewhere between putting the final touches on their tax return and just starting the process.

Four firms agreed to pay $105,000 in fines for violations of pricing, political contribution, supervisory and other rules of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

The Pasadena-Calif.-based bank decided to move its program because of Cetera’s technology platform, product menu, reporting capabilities and the training it provides advisors.

If you’re outsourcing record-keeping around the world, you still have to oversee it, for compliance purposes, experts and asset managers say.

The Senate Banking Committee approved Mary Jo White’s nomination to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission on a bipartisan vote, clearing her way to become the first ex-prosecutor to lead the agency.

Among the many provisions of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Coverdell education savings account tax benefits were made permanent. Thus, ESAs have caught up with 529 plans, which were awarded permanent tax preferences in the Pension Protection Act of 2006. Does this mean ESAs can play a vital in clients’ education planning?

Quality matters more than quantity when it comes to social media, says Blane Warrene, co-founder of the social media archiving firm Arkovi, now a part of RegEd. “Don’t grade yourself by number of followers, [but] by engagement,” he says.

Morgan Keegan employees were required to make a home office visit after their firm was acquired by Raymond James.

Recruiting and hiring experienced, client-facing advisors with ultra high-net-worth experience is extremely difficult right now, with demand high and supply low, say a number of executive search specialists.

The Internal Revenue Service is reminding tax professionals that they must implement safeguards to protect taxpayer data.