Practice

Former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt called the lack of an adequate backup plan a “body blow” to the reputation of the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE Euronext called his comments “appallingly and irresponsibly wrong.”

In a continued push to reform regulation for advisors, five independent financial firms have joined the Financial Services Institute.

The registered investment advisor is becoming a portfolio manager, more than an advisor.

If your goal is to win new clients and influence bank trust officers, then you have to learn how to talk the talk-first lesson, be sincere.

While community bankers mostly agree that stronger restrictions on a bank's ability to expand into complex activities are necessary, the details are a matter of some debate.

The financial advisor industry is facing a looming crisis. Advisors are getting older, and there aren't enough talented young people entering the field to take the reins as these older advisors retire.

This month's story on retirement is applicable to all our readers. We focused on mass-affluent investors, which, for this story, we viewed as those with decent jobs, and some money, but not enough to be truly confident of a comfortable retirement.

We all know the stats — 10,000 people a day will retire for the next 20 years. And guess what? Most of them aren't rich. Many fall into the "mass-affluent" category, which means they have some money, but they can't afford to make any mistakes. And many of them have very little time left. What can you do?

Your clients may not fully understand their motivations—but as an advisor, you need to delve further into their psyches.

Advisors have to walk a tightrope when retired clients show signs of dementia. How do you follow your clients' wishes and also do what's best for them when those two things begin to diverge?