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While 52% of registered investment advisors say a double-dip recession in the next six month is unlikely, their clients are nonetheless looking to reduce expense, cut back on discretionary spending and making more conservative investment choices, according to Charles Schwab’s 10th semi-annual Independent Outlook Study released Wednesday.

A recent survey of 3,300 working Americans conducted by Putnam Investments disclosed that American households are on track to replace only about 64% of their current income in retirement -- significantly less than the 75% of income that most financial professionals recommend.

Crime lore has it that when the prolific stick-up artist Willie Sutton was asked why he robbed banks, he glibly responded, "Because that's where the money is." And in the 21st century, Sutton's maxim is alive and well in the cyber realm.

An accountant with a New York accounting firm that handles smaller broker-dealers is warning advisors who work at such firms that if their employer is a clearing organization, they should pay attention to how well it is planning for a continuation of business under new rule changes being mulled by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A recent survey by Putnam Investments disclosed that American households are on track to replace only about 64% of their current income in retirement -- significantly less than the 75% of income that most financial professionals recommend. To help address this discrepancy, the money management firm is rolling out a tool it says will give employers and their advisors a way to help boost employees’ retirement savings.

With the risk of a second downturn in the U.S. economy rising and debt problems continuing to plague Europe, many investors are shunning the equities market altogether. Meanwhile, the rush to safety in fixed-income investments has driven yields down to “incredibly low” levels, according to analysts.

Celebrities are not the only ones to make mistakes with their estate planning. It happens to people all across the country on a regular basis. According to legacy expert attorneys Andy and Danielle Mayoras, one of the most common estate planning mistakes that people make is joint ownership.

Citi Private Bank has hired Daniel Batista from JPMorgan Chase & Co. as a managing director and ultra high net worth banker.

The Financial Planning Association kicks off its annual conference, Experience 2011 Thursday and industry professionals are sure to walk away with boomers and transformation on their minds.

Investment Technology Group said it is adding Japanese stocks to its POSIT dark pool. The agency broker and financial technology developer said it expected strong demand for its "liquidity aggregation" platform in Japan, following launches in Hong Kong and Australia.

Recent market volatility has put risk management and the work of chief risk officers at the forefront of fund management, according to Joseph A. Carrier, chief risk officer at Legg Mason.

Analysts at Standard & Poor's are looking to exchange-traded funds rooted in individual countries as a vehicle for advisors and their clients to compensate for sustained weakness in the U.S. economy.

PALM DESERT, CALIF.—“The past 60, 90 days have been the craziest that risk managers have ever faced in their careers, in terms of the national debate over the U.S. debt ceiling, market volatility and a host of other key risks asset managers are now facing,” said Joseph A. Carrier, chief risk officer at Legg Mason.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has hired three financial advisors from RBC Capital Markets and UBS Financial Services in Connecticut and South Dakota.

A hearing before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Financial Services Tuesday allowed representatives from across the financial advisory industry to air their views about whether a new self-regulatory organization is necessary to oversee advisors and broker-dealers and, if it is, how it should be constructed.

Krusen Capital Management, investment advisor to a hedge-fund platform, has added Boston-based Windham Capital Management to its roster of hedge fund and private-equity managers.

UBS Wealth Management Americas has hired a two-member Wells Fargo Advisors team in its Tucson, Ariz. office.

Morgan Stanley this week said Vincent Reinhart will join the firm as its chief U.S. economist next month and lead a team that includes U.S. fixed income economist and managing director David Greenlaw.

Whether analyzing a trade before you make it or processing it afterward, Deutsche Bank says there’s an app for that.

The transmission of market data messages hit a new peak of 6.1 million messages a second Monday, as financial markets whipsawed in reaction to "news and rumors about the debt crisis in the Euro zone,'' Exegy said Tuesday.