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A report released by Pershing suggests that while most wirehouses and independent broker-dealers recognize that their core advisors are aging and will soon need to be replaced, few have done much in the past three years to address the problem.

Facebook and Twitter are becoming increasingly important to wealth managers and their clients, but a new survey released by Advisors Trusted Advisor makes it clear that old-fashioned word of mouth is still the most powerful marketing tool for financial advisors and their firms.

Five "psychographic" categories can help to give advisers a handle on their clients and potential clients, but they can also provide some reassurance to baby boomers

Funding consideration were part of the reason that the SEC decided to shift oversight of smaller advisors to states. With soaring deficits, how will the states handle the added responsibility of supervising financial advisors?

The State Street Investor Confidence Index, which measures the buying and selling patterns of institutional investors, fell 9.2 points in February to 91.6, down from 100.8 in January. In North America, the index fell 6.8 points to 92.5, down from 99.3.

GE Asset Management has completed its appointment of Highland Funds Asset Management as investment advisor for the GE Funds. GE will serve as sub-advisor to all of the funds except the GE Small-Cap Equity Fund, which uses other third-party sub-advisors.

Putnam Investments announced Tuesday that it is developing an absolute return fund for use in variable annuities and other variable insurance products.

Hershey Trust announced Tuesday that Bryn Mawr Trust will buy its private wealth group.

According to a survey by HSBC, wealthy investors would like to invest more abroad.

Senior ranking brokerage operations and operational risk executives beware: the Securities and Exchange Commission says the buck now stops with you when it comes to proving you have sound procedures in place.

The tide of cash washing out of municipal bond mutual funds continued to ebb last week as more and more of the “hot money” that flooded the industry the last two years seems to have escaped by now.

Four bank failures book-ended the country on Friday. Collectively, they had a total of $1.05 billion in assets and are expected to cost the Deposit Insurance Fund $267.6 million.

The former management of a Denver thrift is suing federal regulators over its seizure last month, saying the agencies closed it while it was still a viable institution and arguing it should be reopened.

Of the 75 technology companies represented at the T3 Conference, Smarsh and Arkovi are among the companies offering tools to help advisors be active in the space.

Robert S. Zuccaro will rejoin GAMCO Investors as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He is currently the chief financial officer of Commonwealth Management Partners. Previously, Zuccaro was executive vice president and chief accounting officer with National Financial Partners. Prior to joining GAMCO originally in 1998, Zuccaro was the vice president and treasurer of Cybex International, where he worked for 13 years. Before, that he was with Shearson Lehman, and began his career with Ernst & Young.

For three days, almost just over 500 and 75 exhibitors came to Weston, Fla., for the T3 Conference. Mike Byrnes of Byrnes Consulting sent some images highlighting the event (including looks at his favorite talks, one booth’s crazy attire and the best evening party.)

Broker-dealers had better be prepared to handle some tough questions on their procedures and controls to mitigate risk and can no longer pass the burdens of meeting SEC requirements to junior managers.

Succession planning in a financial advisory firm is vital to long- term success and growth, according to Richard C. Salmen, a certified financial planner and senior vice president and senior advisor of GTrust Financial Partners in Overland Park, Kan.

Some advisors at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's U.S. Trust unit this week received an ultimatum from on high, demanding they sign a new agreement that would effectively sideline them for up to eight months if and when they decide to leave the firm or else risk losing not only their 2010 bonuses but their jobs, too.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into whether municipal bond funds may have overstated the value of their high-yield holdings, The Wall Street Journal reports.