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Positive results from its “Who Knew” advertising campaign have prompted John Hancock Mutual Funds to extend the campaign through the end of the year—with ads on TV, online and in print.

Dedicated investment advice for the not-so-wealthy, and gender-specific financial planning. That's how two start-ups that presented at the FinovateFall conference last week in New York have positioned products that nudge the personal financial management sector in new directions.

Northern Trust named Marie Dzanis senior vice president and head of ETF sales and servicing where she’ll oversee the firm’s FlexShares exchange-traded funds unit.

Last month the Insured Retirement Institute released yet another in the long line of reports indicating the majority of baby boomers are nowhere near ready for retirement. Since we can’t slow down the clock to give them more time to prepare their financial capital, consultant and author Keith Weber says maybe it’s time we start helping them prepare their human capital.

Investors who relied on professional help in the form of target-date funds, managed accounts and advice earned nearly three percentage points more than those that did not, according to an analysis of eight large defined contribution plans between 2006 and 2010 by Aon Hewitt and Financial Engines. The plans covered 400,000 participants with $25 billion in assets.

Northern Trust has launched a new family of exchange-traded funds called FlexShares. The four funds, which are trading on the New York Stock Exchange, are based on indexes created and maintained by Morningstar and Markit.

The State Street Investor Confidence Index increased slightly, from 88.1 to 89.9 in September, and The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined sharply in August, remained essentially unchanged during the month at a 45.2 reading.

The nation’s stock exchanges and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority are filing proposals that will trigger halts in trading, market-wide, more quickly, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.

Last week’s deal between The Colony Group and Focus Financial Partners is just the latest in what’s turned out to be a very busy merger and acquisition period for registered independent advisor firms. Here's a look at this year's five-largest deals:

While it’s still unclear as to whether The Colony Group and Focus Financial Partners union announced last week is the largest merger by assets under management completed in the RIA space so far this year, one thing is certain: the deal is sophisticated and accomplishes strategic and financial goals for both firms at the same time.