Practice

Just over one-third, 34%, of Americans have no retirement savings, and 27% have no personal savings, a November 2010 survey of 2,151 by The Harris Poll found.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this out: Without a new tax on the securities industry, there won’t be reform of same.

Advisors need to consider a Net Unrealized Appreciation calculation, according to C. James Johnson, a presenter of retirement planning and tax strategies for Allianz Life Financial Services.

Fidelity Investments on Wednesday announced a new website, “Income Answers” (www.fidelity.com/incomeanswers), to help plan participants nearing or living in retirement manage their money responsibly so that they will have enough income to live on throughout their retirement.

The data is available through the Fidelity clearing unit’s online workstation.

If only the administration's task in fixing housing finance was as easy as choosing plan A or plan B. Instead, part of the Treasury Department's challenge is just sifting through all the ideas.

Now that the SEC has thrown down the gauntlet on reform of the securities industry, what can independent broker-dealers and advisors expect to happen next? A lot of studies. And more rules.

A new research report from Aite Group found that banks should look to provide better multi-channel offerings to compete with online brokerage firms for mass affluent clients.

During a session at the FSI Broker-Dealer conference, a panel of marketing experts and one self-effacingly "clueless" independent broker-dealer executive weighed in on the challenge of motivating advisors to grow their client base, manage compliance issues and install meaningful continuity and succession plans without neglecting their existing roster of clients.

When planning for retirement, all possible risks must be considered and evaluated. One of the most commonly overlooked is the potential need for long-term healthcare for you and/or your spouse.