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On June 7, 2012, Novato, CA-based Hennessy Advisors, Inc. signed an agreement with FBR Fund Advisers, Inc. to buy the entire family of 10 FBR Funds.

They’re skeptical, cynical and probably way too dependent on mobile computing devices. But advisors who don’t make the effort now to target and cater to Generation X and Generation Y investors will pay a steep price in the next decade as their bread-and-butter Baby Boomer clients transition from wealth accumulators to wealth distributors.

Advisors who want to position themselves for growth should set their sights on the next generation of investors who are poised to inherit unprecedented wealth.

Elite RIAs have achieved near-equal compensation with top-earning wirehouse advisors, according to research from Sanctuary Wealth Advisors.

In testimony before members of a House committee on Wednesday, Richard Ketchum, the chairman and CEO of FINRA, offered an enthusiastic endorsement of a legislative proposal to establish a self-regulatory organization to oversee RIAs.

“It’s who, what, why, where, when and how much,” says Nick Niemann, an Omaha, Neb., attorney wo has worked with hundreds of financial planners and their entrepreneurial clients.

A majority of advisors surveyed are willing to recommend sustainable investments, formerly known as socially responsible investments, making the potential markets as big as $650 billion, according to a survey by the Calvert Foundation.

On June 7, 2012, Boston-based Fred Alger & Company, Inc. ramped up its sales force with two new additions.

American Century Investments has named Peter Cieszko, senior vice president North America, to its management committee, the seven-person senior leadership team that oversees all key functional areas of the company.

At UBS Global Asset Management, the push to outsource all middle office operations, from portfolio tracking to fund accounting to performance reporting to general administration proved to be a "daunting task."

Normally, outsourcing operations at a fund firm is a top-down process.

On June 6, 2012, Financial services software giant SunGard launched a service for international fund trading, dubbed the SunGard Global Network Funds solution.

The 48 top-paying independent broker-dealers ranked by average payout.

On June 6, 2012, American Century Investments named Peter Cieszko, senior vice president North America, to its management committee, the seven-person senior leadership team that oversees all key functional areas of the company.

The 2012 John Hancock Trust Survey found that 84% of investors surveyd strongly trust their financial advisor, while primary doctors were “strongly trusted” by 79% of those surveyed and accountants by 74%.

On June 6, 2012, Eaton Vance Corp. hired Michael T. Dirstine as vice president, Institutional Business Development, responsible for developing relationships with corporate and select public pension plans, endowments, foundations and other institutional investors.

Pershing on Wednesday said advisors will now be able use its platform to open, fund and manage 529 college savings plans for investors looking to set aside cash for their children’s education.

Investors of all ages and incomes want more online services and features in order to be more informed and involved in their investment activities. And if they don’t get them from their financial advisors, they’ll find someone – if they haven’t already – who will.

"I would first like to fully fund the SEC," Barney Frank (D-Mass.), the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, said at a hearing this morning considering the Bachus bill. "The very fact that we're considering an SRO argues strongly against the inadequate funding this Congress has given the SEC."

On June 6, 2012, The Securities and Exchange Commission charged OppenheimerFunds Inc. and its sales and distribution arm with making misleading statements about two of its mutual funds struggling in the midst of the credit crisis in late 2008.