Financial planning

The IRS has released guidance on issuing tax refunds to same-sex married couples in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.

Despite a tarnished reputation, annuities make sense for some clients. Even so, advisors highlight some of the biggest challenges they face in using annuities for clients.

Sometimes changing broker-dealers doesn't work out the way you expect. Just ask Wayne Maier, a financial advisor in Bay City, Mich.

Social media has proven to be a helpful marketing and communication tool for many companies, but the financial industry seems to only just now be breaking into this trend. Here are 5 tips on how to get started.

If you are a bank program manager looking to recruit financial advisors then you already know that this is no easy task. Here are four tips to help with recruiting.

Exclusive: Without any notice, ‘fee-only’ is replaced with ‘none provided’ on CFP holders’ profiles.

Despite continued economic and market uncertainty, most advisors expect 2013 to be a good year according to a new poll released today by SEI.

Technical malfunctions at stock exchanges around the world are putting their owners’ credit ratings in jeopardy, according to Standard & Poor’s.

Culture clash between merging firms can mean the end of even a well-planned deal.

Think you might be bored at your kids' birthday party? Think again. Dave Grant shares three business lessons he learned at his son's recent party.

Exclusive: Widespread abuse of the term raises question of a disciplinary double-standard.

Low rates and longer lives make the conventional wisdom of 4% withdrawal rates obsolete.

Financial services firms have to start recruiting the half-million college students who may be interested in becoming advisors, or risk having demand for financial advice outstrip supply within ten years, a new study from Pershing shows.

At a time when recruiting is down across the independent broker-dealer space, Cetera Financial Group has added 247 net new advisors nationwide between Jan. 1 and June 30, 2013.

These investment strategists say they believe the emerging economies in the world are where equity opportunities are to be found.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued new guidance and streamlined procedures for spouses who are seeking equitable relief from joint income tax liability.

As desktop publishing has become less and less expensive and more advisors are building brochures to advertise their practices, marketing organizations are encouraging teams to articulate their value proposition to the marketplace. Here are two glaring errors that advisors must avoid.

With heavyweights like PIMCO throwing its hat into the managed futures mutual fund ring, interest in this investment vehicle appears to be rising.

Many banks are at a crossroads now on whether to stay independent or sell—but for those banks that raised money to buy others, the pace of consolidation has been a drag.

In a Q&A with Financial Planning five scholarship winners – and next generation planners – share their views on the industry opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.