Practice

Real financial planning requires a comprehensive focus on client needs, according to Kathy Stepp, principal and founder of Stepp & Rothwell, Inc. a financial advisory firm in Overland Park, Kan. To make that happen, Stepp says, her firm uses “very high ratio of us versus them.” In fact, she says, the firm has a staff-to-client ratio that is “probably unheard of in the industry.”

But only 34% have a dedicated budget.

Capitol Bancorp said its annual report that it was notified on March 30 that it would receive a subpoena from the SEC's Chicago office concerning its third-quarter reporting.

Dan Rebmann joined UBS in March after serving for almost 13 years at Merrill Lynch.

While healthcare costs are inevitably going to rise in the future, a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2011 will likely spend $230,000 on healthcare throughout their retirement, Fidelity estimates. This is an 8% decline from the $250,000 retiring couples in 2010 will need, due to recent changes in Medicare, Fidelity said.

The Lifetime Income Analysis Tool boosts 401(k) contribution rate from an average of 7% to 8.6%.

Self-regulatory officials may assess fees on municipal advisors based on their advisory activity and are focused on disclosure to retail muni investors.

Frustrated by the lack of progress with a global settlement between the 50 state attorneys general and the top mortgage servicers, federal banking regulators are expected to move forward with their own enforcement actions against 14 servicers as early as next week.

The new gift-tax exemption of $5 million opens the door to lots of gifting strategies, ranging from simple to more complex.

Supporters argue the new agency has unprecedented power that needs to be checked, but others contend the GOP simply wants to undercut an agency it never liked to begin with.