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Dalbar has introduced a registered fiduciary designation for 401(k) advisors, the 401(k) RF Designation, who have obtained the skills and training to perform at that level of care. Training for the designation is provided by qualified training organizations or through a self-study program.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications and Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. has offered to create and operate a new repository for foreign exchange derivatives, SWIFT officials confirmed on Wednesday.

Consolidation continues to play a small but growing role in the resolution of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. In the past two weeks, acquiring banks have agreed to resolve the unpaid Tarp funds of target institutions, bringing the number of such deals to 16 with the vast majority taking place since mid-2010.

With the macroeconomic outlook still glum, housing prices still depressed and the FHA's grip on the market for low-down payment loans still intact, the mortgage insurers are stuck in the same rut. New business volume remains down sharply from pre-crisis levels, the insurers continue to pay out hefty claims on soured mortgage loans, and the forecast for when the industry returns to profitability is again murky at best.

The Treasury Department has unexpectedly allied with state regulators and consumer groups in their bid to force the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to dial back its preemption standards.

Securities Fraud Attorney Mark A. Tepper has filed a new round of claims with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) against Minneapolis-based Questar Capital, alleging “failure to supervise” a Questar Capital broker-dealer named Edward Gelb.

UBS has hired a total of 38 new financial advisors in June, with 24 of those hires coming in the last two weeks.

The new hires will work in Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin and previously had a total of $420 million in assets under management.

If your clients have money in retirement accounts they won’t need to live on, they can put that money into a Roth IRA and avoid paying taxes on any gains. Now, grandkids can inherit up to $5 million tax free.

Investors -- institutional and individual -- continue to be cautious, favoring conservative funds within the equities area and favoring debt over riskier investments. But any sense of serious worry among investors seems to be waning.