Practice

As the race to rake in breakaway brokers continues to heat up, it seems that independent broker-dealers, are failing to spend on the areas of technology that matter most to independent advisors: customer relationship management and integration.

529 college savings plans have attracted $100 billion in 11 million accounts, roughly a quarter of the money parents in the U.S. have set aside for their child’s education. But that’s far short of the hundreds of billions of dollars asset management firms expected them to attract.

Issue is less where it is housed than how much power it has

Merrill Lynch veteran Tom Isaacs is still waiting to see if Merrill will enforce a 60-day leave clause.

At a luncheon, which honored 13 women for their work with New York charities, BofA's Sallie Krawcheck talked about her devotion to the scholarship fund she set up for her childhood prep school.

Financial advisers are looking forward to 2010. In fact, 68% recently surveyed define their 2010 business mindset as one of acceleration and growth. Curian Capital LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Prudential, surveyed more than 1,800 independent financial advisers in an effort to gauge how the market downturn impacted their practices during 2009, and determine how it will shape their priorities for the year ahead.

As the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair continues to push for an agency for the financial protection of consumers as part of an overhaul of the financial system, a group of women executives are headed to Washington D.C. to speak to a group of senators about why the agency would be important for women consumers and business leaders.

Broker-dealers can offer financial advice that isn't in the best interest of their clients, and the insurance industry wants to keep it that way.

Mission statements are meant to develop a purpose for family wealth that all members can support.

Over the past decade, the firm's mission has remained the same: to help women build confidence and an open dialogue around financial responsibility and knowledge.