Practice

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations under a law change that will require reporting of basis and other information by stock brokers and mutual fund companies for most stock purchased in 2011 and all stock purchased in 2012 and later years, making it easier for investors to report their gains and losses next year on their tax returns.

The American Institute of CPAs has told the Securities and Exchange Commission that accountants need an adequate transition period if the SEC decides next year to incorporate International Financial Reporting Standards into the U.S. financial reporting system.

Angelo Mozilo, the former chief executive of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, has agreed to pay $22.5 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the largest-ever financial penalty for a public company senior executive.

Aim is to help investors readily compare fees.

France, Germany and others, meanwhile, are uncomfortable with the powers of the EU’s new securities regulator.

Under existing rules, a bank with a 4 or 5 Camels rating cannot make such payments to parties terminating their affiliation with the institution.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration will require 401(k) plans starting Jan. 1, 2012 to clearly spell out all fees and expenses each quarter so that investors can more readily compare the costs of their holdings.

The number of advisors the firm transitioned may have fallen in the first nine months of this year, but the assets they brought over are higher.

Disgruntled by big-firm groupthink, Erwin, Martin and Rexius set up Sapient as an RIA in Eugene, Ore.

Economy is taking a definite toll on retirement savings.