Practice

Two Morgan Stanley financial advisors moved to Wells Fargo's independent brokerage arm in Maryland this week, taking advantage of a career path that one recruiter describes as the best of both the independent and wirehouse channels.

Fieldpoint Private, a Greenwich, Conn., based wealth advisory and private banking firm, announced Thursday that M. Thomas Conway has joined the firm as a managing director and senior advisor.

Goldman Sachs will pay $12 million to settle charges it made undisclosed contributions to a former Massachusetts state treasurer in violation of "pay-to-play" rules.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner asked the Financial Stability Oversight Council to take up structural reforms to the $2.6 trillion money market mutual fund industry, citing the Securities and Exchange Commission's failure to act.

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner put pressure on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to tighten oversight of the $2.6 trillion money- market fund industry, saying the funds may pose a risk to the stability of the financial system.

Advisors need to help clients focus on their long-term plans by demonstrating the risks of short-term emotional decisions.

OppenheimerFunds, which introduced its first Class I mutual fund shares in December 2011, has expanded its I Shares product lineup.

Many advisory firms turn to marketing to expand their practice, but few firms are able to develop an effective strategy. Here are five ways to leverage marketing for optimal growth, according to the 2012 FA Insights Study of Advisory Firms: Growth by Design.

"As breakaway brokers continue to seek the benefits of the independent RIA model and a large number of RIAs near retirement, we're seeing unprecedented opportunities to create mutually beneficial relationships between advisors," said Ben Welch, Ameritrade's director of advisor business development. "RIAConnect meets the increasing demand for a more effective way to connect firms and helps support advisor growth potential."

The increase in both market volatility and interest from the Baby Boomers in generating retirement income should be a slam-dunk for variable annuities.