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A new president at Penn Mutual, executive changes at Merrill Lynch, and more.

Serving a niche market can allow you to increase your assets under management and set you apart from other advisors in your area. In the first part of this series, learn where to find a niche—and whether it can be profitable.

Fixed and variable annuities sales are very sluggish, while mutual fund sales have taken off.

Millionaire investor confidence rose in March, according to Spectrem Group monthly survey, even as confidence amongst affluent investors declined.

Firm's global fixed income group now includes over 450 professionals

State regulators are urging Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd to change a provision in the regulatory reform bill that they claim would force most large state banks to convert to national charters.

Privately held companies that received money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program are starting to worry about paying it back.

Asset managers have come a long way since the financial crisis to earn back a significant amount of the revenue and earnings lost since the fourth quarter of 2007.

Advisor confidence in the economy and the stock market improved in March as a majority of advisors said they think unemployment has finally steadied.

The industry buzz was that McCann had been telling people the firm was overstaffed at headquarters.

Rep-as-advisor managed accounts have been steadily growing in popularity and will continue to do so in the short-term, but Cerulli Associates see growth dampening because of the account’s nondiscretionary nature.

State Street Global Markets’ Investor Confidence Index of 108.0 is up 5.4 points from February’s revised reading of 102.6.

President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act into law last week. The bill contains provisions for a federal long-term care insurance program. Called the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act, the program calls for workers to pay a monthly premium, to be set annually by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, and receive an average daily benefit of $50 to $75 in exchange if they require long-term care services.

A key point of contention in the Senate regulatory reform bill comes down to a critical question: How much flexibility should the government have when a systemically important firm falters?

State Street Global Markets’ Investor Confidence Index of 108.0 is up 5.4 points from February’s revised reading of 102.6.

Fidelity’s institutional service organization’s first big initiative is new tools and service upgrades for National Financial broker/dealers to reduce their administrative tasks and help them focus on clients. Fidelity developed the tools after discovering that brokers spend nearly one-third of their time on admin tasks.

In an opinion piece in today’s Wall Street Journal, Charles R. Schwab, chairman of Charles Schwab Corp., spells out the grave danger that the near-zero fed funds rate poses for senior citizens. With their purchasing power effectively eviscerated by 76%, retirees are “financially starving,” Schwab says.

Victory Capital Management, the asset management arm of KeyCorp's KeyBank, says it is positioned to quickly expand the assets it manages in collective investment trusts, or CITs, for defined contribution plans, but the effort will not lack challenges.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Jones v. Harris Associates excessive mutual fund fee case Tuesday, essentially vacating the Chicago federal appeals court’s rejection of the case on the basis that such cases can only be heard when they involve fraud.

Hartford Financial Services Co. plans to increase life insurance sales by focusing on developing its presence with independent financial advisors.