Financial planning

Quiet and peaceful Valley Forge-Pa. is not a place where one would expect to find one of the most successful financial businesses in history — a far cry from the hurry and shuffle of Wall Street. But Vanguard's home there speaks volumes about its ability to maintain its reputation as the lowest-cost provider of mutual funds and ETFs since John Bogle founded the company in 1974.

One of the most challenging things advisor Dave Grant faced when setting up his RIA was deciding on a CRM system.

For Jeffrey Thomasson, founder of Oxford Financial -- the largest firm on Financial Planning's 2013 RIA Leaders list -- smooth waters means it’s time to rock the boat.

A quarter of households aged 50-59 are "advice opportunity" households, a new study by Cerulli Associates shows.

At first, using social may take a bit longer as you get comfortable, but once you master the tool it will become second nature and will likely become your most powerful marketing and client engagement tool.

Some advisors question the time, energy and creativity involved in blogging, but here are some ways it's helping solo advisor Dave Grant's practice.

The fast-growing Kansas-based advisory firm with national ambitions has planted its flag in New York City, signing on RR Advisory Group.

Although many in the industry consider Dynasty and HighTower rivals for the allegiance of breakaway teams and independent RIAs, CEO Shirl Penney says Dynasty “doesn’t run into [HighTower] as much as you may think.”

The IRS has released the final regulations for the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax that was imposed as part of the Affordable Care Act.

Today we show Nos. 1-25. The advisors listed here are not just home-run hitters. Rather, they are all-around players skilled in all aspects of the game. We would argue that’s the way to build success so that is what we set out to illustrate with the BIC Top 50.

The advisors listed here are not just home-run hitters. Rather, they are all-around players skilled in all aspects of the game. We would argue that’s the way to build success so that is what we set out to illustrate with the BIC Top 50. Today we show Nos. 26-50. Check back tomorrow for Nos. 1-25.

For most of the past year, the status of a uniform fiduciary standard for brokers and investment advisors might be summarized as, “Don’t hold your breath: the SEC has higher priorities.” But an important event last week may serve as an impetus to move this long-simmering issue forward.

Northwest Savings Bank in Warren, Pa., has agreed to acquire a financial advisory firm and an employee benefits and consulting insurance company.

A growing number of firms are bringing on COOs & CFOs -- and looking outside the industry for help.

Networking, marketing and educating female clients were popular topics at the Women Advisors Forum in Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 14. Here are some of the things we heard from top female advisors and other professionals during the one-day event

Many RIA firms are tempted to use new trust companies to avoid losing clients to big banks. Some experts warn against it.

Advisors now have extraordinary tax-advantaged estate plan possibilities for wealthy clients.

Breaking out of the traditional allocation model to include a much broader range of investment categories and using relative strength principals to reallocate frequently may be one way to achieve stronger results for clients.

Some academics maintain that if a client obtains an immediate annuity, it pays an income stream for life and the individual is less likely to outlive his or her money. But of course, many planners often see issues with this in real-life situations.

An annuity offers the investor income for life -- for a price. Considering the return on investment, how do annuities compare to bonds?