Practice

The former management of a Denver thrift is suing federal regulators over its seizure last month, saying the agencies closed it while it was still a viable institution and arguing it should be reopened.

Of the 75 technology companies represented at the T3 Conference, Smarsh and Arkovi are among the companies offering tools to help advisors be active in the space.

Succession planning in a financial advisory firm is vital to long- term success and growth, according to Richard C. Salmen, a certified financial planner and senior vice president and senior advisor of GTrust Financial Partners in Overland Park, Kan.

Some advisors at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's U.S. Trust unit this week received an ultimatum from on high, demanding they sign a new agreement that would effectively sideline them for up to eight months if and when they decide to leave the firm or else risk losing not only their 2010 bonuses but their jobs, too.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether municipal bond funds may have overstated the value of their high-yield holdings, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Lincoln Financial Group says it took swift action to safeguard private consumer information and beef up its security policies, after it discovered vulnerabilities in a Web-based system that stored consumer account records for two of its business units.

The regulator said the companies had failed to adequately safeguard non-public customer information.

James Shorris is set to return to the private sector in April after more than seven years in enforcement leadership roles at the organization.

Whose needs come first?

“What worked 5 years ago, doesn’t work today,” Peter Montoya told a packed room at Thursday’s T3 conference in Florida.