Financial planning

Clients need to know the facts when offered a lump-sum payment for trading in their pensions; Plus, seven questions to ask before buying a qualified longevity annuity contract.

Planners are demanding more sophisticated tools and vendors are responding. Here are the top takeaways from this year's Technology Tools for Today Conference.

Online competitors like Wealthfront and Betterment are taking issue with Schwab's characterization of its automated investment service as cheaper, better and not just skewed to millennial investors.

The U.S. has a record 10.1 million millionaire households, a Spectrem Group study shows.

The divide within the financial industry creates confusion that ultimately puts the financial security of everyday consumers at risk, write NAPFA execs Dave O'Brien and Geoffrey Brown.

Tax season isn't supposed to be fun. But if your civic duty feels extra unpleasant this year, you're not imagining things. Here are four reasons this tax season really is the worst.

It's 'not what I would consider to be planning,' said RCS Capital CEO Michael Weil during a Citi Asset Management Investors Conference in New York.

Why companies should have to offer low-cost funds in 401(k)s; Plus three secrets to maximizing Social Security spousal benefits.

As federal regulators mull rules to extend anti-money laundering requirements to advisors, industry members might want to act on their own to set up formal programs to screen for suspicious activity.

Many investors traditionally bought high and sold low, losing out on market averages. But a new Morningstar report shows that the typical investor now is posting returns that are closer to those of mutual funds.

A majority of Americans continue to be concerned about the privacy and safety of their personal and financial data when filing their tax returns online.

Yes and no, experts say. But it's a thorny issue given that many IBD advisors consider themselves fiduciaries and do most of their business through RIAs.

Pushing out its app on the same day as Apple's latest show is an example of Fidelity taking advantage of a first-mover branding opportunity.

Announcing its automated investment product, Schwab takes aim at new digital advice competitors.

The review is likely to start with broker-dealers and their platforms; It will coincide with a second, more targeted phase of the commission's cybersecurity sweep.

BofA and its Merrill Lynch unit were sued by two former advisor trainees who claim they weren't paid overtime for 10-hour days, long nights and weekend work.

One strategy to handle the risk of higher interest rates is to invest in ETFs; Plus, picking a place to retire.

The latest earnings reports from Raymond James, Ameriprise, Stifel and RBC show how these key regional broker-dealers measure up.

Learn how to earn money through IRA rollover options; higher earners should be aware of six mistakes that could result in higher costs and taxes; plus cheaper retirement plans for small firms with help of a new tech startup?

The SEC acknowledges that cybersecurity requirements vary from one practice to the next, but insists that the tone from the top is critical.