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Asset management firms recorded average profitability of 28% through 2010 and the first half of 2011, according to a new McKinsey report, and independent asset managers will control two-thirds of all assets under management by 2015. Here are five business imperatives successful wealth management firms will need to heed over the next three years:

Eight in 10 advisers who sell annuities report that they are having more client discussions about retirement income planning than they did five years ago. And those discussions are becoming more emotional, according to a new report, “The Evolution of the Annuity Industry," released by the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) and Cogent Research.

The volatility that has gripped the markets in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis has changed the investment management game forever.

For more than a year, Republicans have been hammering Democrats for what they say are the hefty economic costs of new financial regulations.

Governments are falling, bond yields are zigzagging by whole percentage points and markets around the world are locking up. The eurozone turmoil risks turning into a global crisis.

"Emerging markets are just a niche asset class" persistently remains as one of the five biggest myths about investing in emerging markets, said John Flint, chief executive officer of HSBC Global Asset Management.

Investment banking and brokerage firm Stephens Inc. has named John Baumgartner managing director and co-head of equity capital markets.

The SEC's newly enacted Rule 13h-1 requires “large traders” to register to be assigned an identification number that will allow tracking of its transactions.

Direct Edge plans to launch an all-electronic platform for the trading of Brazilian equities. The exchange will be headquartered in Rio de Janeiro and launch, if all goes according to plan, by the end of 2012.

The SEC has ordered broker-dealer FTN Financial Securities to pay nearly $2 million for allowing a registered investment advisor, Sentinel Management, to defraud its clients through a reverse repurchase transaction.

A majority of finance professionals are cautiously optimistic about growth in 2012, a survey by Accounting Principals, a finance and accounting staffing company, found.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. increased sharply in October, by 0.9%, to 117.4 (2004 = 100). This follows a 0.1% increase in September and a 0.3% increase in August.

Russell Investments has launched an iPad-friendly version of its Helping Advisors website.

Jon B. Lovelace of The Capital Group died Wednesday at age 84. In 1951, Lovelace joined Capital Group, which his father, Jonathan Bell Lovelace, founded. His legacy was turning Capital Group into a pioneer in international and emerging market investing, a team approach to fund management and long-term investing.

And you thought the U.S. stocks were out of favor. Then came October. While $20.4 billion got pulled out of mutual funds that invest long-term in U.S. stocks, money was flooding into exchange-traded funds that invested in U.S. stocks.

Financial professionals, 86% of whom have at least one social media account, risk running afoul of compliance rules as regulatory bodies sort out the rules for advisors’ use of these new channels. That was the message from social medial expert Alexandra Basak Russell, at the Women Advisors Forum in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Jon B. Lovelace of The Capital Group passed away Wednesday at age 84. In 1951, Lovelace joined Capital Group, which his father, Jonathan Bell Lovelace, founded.

Bill Miller will cede his position as chief investment officer of Legg mason in April. Sam Peters will become CIO and take over as portfolio manager of the $7.4 billion Value Trust fund. Peters will also become lead manager on the Value Equity strategy. However, Miller will remain chairman of Legg Mason continue to run its Opportunities trust.

A recent survey of 1,000 mass affluent investors uncovered a statistic that startled researchers: 75% of men said they wanted their spouse or partner to take more a more responsible role with their joint money.

NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse said they would shed overlapping European derivatives businesses and open up clearing services to derivatives rivals, in a bid to win European regulators’ approval of their $10.1 billion merger.