Practice

The key to handling complex issues associated with succession and estate planning is remaining impartial.

The number of delinquent mortgages rose while foreclosures also jumped in the third quarter, according to a report released Wednesday by federal regulators.

The Financial Stability Oversight Council was created to identify systemic risks and act to disarm them. But the first five months of the council's existence have been underwhelming.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said it expelled an Austin brokerage firm from the securities industry and barred the firm's former president and a broker from working in the industry.

Three of the U.S. largest trade groups representing the derivatives industry have said to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that it needs to be a lot more lenient on how it will monitor market manipulation when it implements its greater authority under the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation.

UBS Financial Services Inc. is on the hook to pay $2.2 million in the largest settlement to date related to Lehman Brothers-associated investment products it once sold.

BlackRock, which manages $3.4 trillion of assets for investors, will launch its own trading platform inside the firm. The move will cut costs for its customers.

2011 will be critical as regulators across the globe start the difficult task of implementing the new Basel III rules even while they tackle issues left unfinished by the agreement.

The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation said Tuesday it plans to add a chairman of the board, with separate duties from that of its chief executive officer, Don Donohue.

No one even knows whether using social media helps advisors, but one thing’s for sure — prevent advisors from prospecting and you’ll lose them.