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Managing the growth of a small financial advisory firm is tricky but important as planners face decisions about growing the client roster, adding staff and maintaining work-life balance.

The leadership of the CFP Board of Standards expressed serious concern Friday about proposals under consideration on Capitol Hill to regulate financial advisors via an entirely new regulatory body or FINRA. The role should properly stay with a better-funded and newly empowered SEC, according to the leaders of the CFP Board, speaking at a private media roundtable in San Diego.

Planners can prove their worth if they find ways to lessen the chance that their clients will not outlive their retirement funds. David Blanchett, director of consulting and investment research for the Retirement Plan consulting Group of Unified Trust in Lexington, Ken., on Friday detailed how planners can implement sustainable withdrawal strategies so that retirement income works for their clients.

With an increasing number of countries now banning commissions for planners, many practitioners impacted by the changes are finding fee-only services actually benefit their businesses -- if they structure fees to match their strengths, according to panelists at FPA's annual conference in San Diego.

“The referral whisperer,” aka Michael Brizz, held a group of 100 financial planners rapt today in San Diego when he insisted that “there are literally thousands of referrals in your client database today. Clearly the opportunity is huge.”

News of alleged unauthorized trading comes at a critical point for the firm and its wealth management business.

Our discussion boards have been pretty heated over the past week, as readers have debated whether or not moving up the Wall Street corporate ladder is harder for women than for men.

Among current retirees, annuities account for only an average of 4% of household income. That’s the finding of a new study of annuity use among retirees and near retirees just released by LIMRA, the Connecticut-based financial industry research organization.

In a survey of 297 certified financial planners released Friday, the vast majority, or 86 percent, described themselves as “very satisfied” with their career choice