Financial planning

Clients can consider gifting up to $14,000 to as many individuals each year before gift taxes kick in.

Clients can consider gifting up to $14,000 to as many individuals each year before gift taxes kick in.

Following the most recent hacking incident in the financial industry, technology experts weigh in on what this means for wealth managers.

But watch out for the pitfalls of this common end-of-year-practice.

Clients should consider spreading out transfers over their lifetime to lower tax liabilities.

Low-cost competition will force fee-based advisors to restructure how they are compensated, said Brian Leitner, senior vice president of practice management at Mariner Wealth Advisors.

Debate over the role of robo advice turns on whether DIY millennials are a market worth chasing.

"We can shuffle women from one firm to the next all day long, but we're still going to be at that 15%," says Michelle Lynch, director of Raymond James' Network for Women Advisors.

But watch out for the pitfalls of this common end-of-year-practice.

Strategizing Wealth Transfers to Heirs to Lower Taxes

Help clients deploy their RMD funds to cover both expenses and taxes.

A close look at areas where the right action can lower your client's tax bill on investments. Plus: How clients can pay little or zero capital gains taxes, and tax tips for clients who are new parents.

Congress shouldn't wait for the disability trust fund to run dry before it addresses the insolvency, according to a group convened by the Bipartisan Policy Center; Plus, millennials are advised to not cash out their assets when they move employers.

The pretense that Republican opposition to the DoL's proposed fiduciary rule changes is being done in the name of investor protection is "galling," says The Consumer Federation of America, an advocacy group.

Help clients deploy their RMD funds to cover both expenses and taxes.

The team made the move in part to be able to grow in new directions, says senior financial advisor Tommy Boyd.

Paul Reilly says there is little question the law will pass, but he hopes the restrictions are more workable and the rules more clear on what financial products are restricted.

“Being a financial advisor looked interesting, and I realized I could help people,” says Brain McGinnis, a former Florida deputy sheriff turned financial planner with the help of a super OSJ firm.

Currency-hedged ETFs give advisors lacking experience in this area an option.

“There is a large gulf between some of the overly simplistic applications on the market today and those that are much more comprehensive; RightCapital could occupy the middle ground,” columnist Joel Bruckenstein says.