Financial planning

Lawmakers may eventually prevent heirs from cashing out inherited IRAs over their lifetime. But that could actually be good news for both clients and advisors.

Transferring an IRA asset to a trust is a strategy that provides the beneficiaries protection from creditors and divorce; Plus, what the proposed Medicare 'doc fix' means for seniors.

Outlook for the planners -- who were recruited with a promise that they would "not [be] required to sell" -- seems to depend on whether you talk to Northwestern Mutual or LearnVest.

Google's attempt to capture the "stickiest" part of many online banking relationships could eventually help put it at the financial center of the consumer's life.

The 99-year-old U.S. estate tax would disappear under a bill approved Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee.

A reality TV episode on a bakery's succession plan hits uncomfortably close to home for a wealth management pro.

An arbitration panel confirmed that a former advisor will pay back a promissory note to Morgan Stanley - almost 10 years after leaving the firm.

Knowing the cost of a retirement community is key to making a smart decision, with independent living communities costing $2,520 per year; Plus, the price tag of a bipartisan bill averting Medicare doc fee cuts.

Consider a client's long-term investment goals before tax-loss harvesting; Plus, how clients plan to invest their tax returns, and ways to finance a son's or daughter's college bills through investments and tax breaks.

The amount of money socked away in retirement accounts jumped up 6% with U.S. retirement assets totaling nearly $25 trillion at the end of December 2014.

Federal agencies are working on a uniform fiduciary standard, but one NYC official believes states can lead the charge.

The $6 billion RIA seeks exponential growth by trading one private equity investor, Lovell Minnick, for another, Genstar Capital

Traditional firms must boost their digital wealth management tools or risk being overrun by those that already do.

More acquisitions are expected in the digital wealth management space as firms look to quickly add tech platforms and services.

Northwestern Mutual, the nation's second-largest life insurance company, is buying LearnVest, an online financial planning start-up founded in 2009.

Affiliated Advisors Group, which manages approximately $600 million in assets, will operate as an OSJ branch within Royal Alliance, part of the AIG Advisor Group network.

During the planning process for a digital platform strategy, Fidelity says its partners and brokers asked why it couldn't just go buy eMoney Advisor instead.

Pension funds are joining the currency markets to protect their offshore investments and gain from future price changes as the U.S. dollar continues to perform well; Plus, three reasons to use a Roth IRA to save for college.

John Lipari and Richard Ribek say they chose Raymond James' "client-first culture."

Banks are gravitating toward a new technology they think can help customers more easily open mobile accounts: allowing photographs from smartphones to help customers auto-fill portions of their application.