Practice

Although when investors are surveyed almost all say they are satisfied with their advisors, the reality is that loyalty to an advisor is different than satisfaction, said Matt Oechsli of The Oechsli Institute at the IMCA annual conference in Las Vegas on Monday.

The federal budget deficit is estimated to skyrocket to $1.6 trillion this year, but Andrew H. Friedman of The Washington Update told a standing-room only crowd at IMCA’s annual conference in Las Vegas that there are still opportunities for investors.

Nearly 150 hand-picked and already highly successful Bank of America Merrill Lynch financial advisers next month will embark on what amounts to retirement training boot camp at The Retirement Advisor University (TRAU) in pursuit of a Certified 401(k) Professional designation to further their defined-contributions expertise and differentiate themselves from other DC practitioners.

Because seniors are living longer, they are more concerned than ever about inflation, interest rates and rising healthcare costs, a survey by the Society of Actuaries found.

Unless automatic enrollment in 401(k)s and other defined contribution plans becomes universal and savings deferral rates increase substantially, people are going to have significant shortfalls in their retirement nest eggs.

Securities and Exchange Commission, money market fund, money fund

WASHINGTON-The U.S. debt, $9.5 trillion in 2010, could reach $25.9 trillion by 2021 if not kept in check. This was the warning of Erskine B. Bowles, former White House chief of staff, and Alan K. Simpson, former Senator from Wyoming, who are co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, speaking at the Investment Company Institute's General Membership Meeting here.

FINRA has hit Wells Fargo Advisors with $1 million in fines for delayed delivery of prospectuses to its mutual fund customers and required regulatory disclosure information about its representatives.

Financial advisors looking for new high ultra net worth investors should set their sights on Asian countries like China, India and Taiwan that are home to a groundswell of super-rich entrepreneurs in need of sound financial advice.

In a recent filing, State Street, the Boston, Mass.-based institutional investor services firm, revealed that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other federal authorities have inquired about its past foreign exchange practices.