Practice

Is a mutual fund company responsible for the statements made in a prospectus for one of its funds? Is the manager of the fund? Possibly not, in either case.

Retirement as we know it is getting hit with two enormous threats.

Public fallout from the data breaches that have affected Citigroup and other large enterprises has reached the political push back stage. Sen. Patrick Leahyhas introduced the Personal Data Privacy and Security Act of 2011, which would bring federal criminal charges against enterprises that don't disclose breaches to individuals in a timely manner via mail, telephone or e-mail. Media notices would be required for breaches involving 5,000 or more people. And the FBI and Secret Service would need to be notified if the breach affects 10,000 or more people, compromises databases containing the information of 1,000,000 or more people, or impacts federal databases or law enforcement. In the House, Rep. Mary Bono Mack has introduced a similar bill requiring disclosures to victims within 48 hours of a data breach.

While retirement income is fast becoming the No. 1 concern of retirees and pre-retirees, trumping worries over rates of return and control over money, a mere 9.5% of financial advisers are addressing the issue in depth-missing out on a vital way to form and cement relationships with those entering into retirement, according to Fidelity Investments.

You can be the best financial advisor in the world but if people don't know you're there, they'll miss out -- and so will you. And when people do find you, either through a referral or targeted marketing strategy, how are they likely to respond?

Research Affiliates sees high inflation, low growth in the developed world. BlackRock looks for companies with strong cash flow. Gold prices rise.

As banks search for their place in the fast evolving world of social media, they are increasingly looking to technology to help them cope with a tangle of potential regulatory and legal challenges.

Nearly one-third, 29%, of the three million 401(k) participants that Vanguard serves had their portfolios in a target-date or balanced fund, or a managed account advisory service, according to Vanguard’s 10th annual “How America Saves.”

Endace, a network monitoring infrastructure firm, has teamed up with Verizon to help financial firms prevent losing critical market data from trading venues.

It turns out banks are reluctant to help dig their own graves. In letters to federal regulators, several institutions said they remain worried about a requirement that they submit a "living will" outlining how best to dismantle them in a crisis.