Financial planning

Advisors can be their own worst enemy when it comes to running a productive and profitable financial services practice. Faced with research, case studies and tools for improving their business, financial advisors often find ways not to adopt the habits that will ensure their success.

In On Wall Street's sixth annual ranking, the young hotshots of The Street talk clients and strategy. Here's how this year's top 40 advisors under 40 conquered a tough market. And check out the other top young advisors in the industry.

The Women Advisors Forum traveled to Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 15 for a gathering that featured new practice management ideas, strategies for success and market updates. Check out these photos for the day's highlights, and look out for more news from our upcoming forum in Boston on Dec. 17.

In the upcoming December issue, BIC will reveal its annual ranking of the Top 50 Bank Advisors. But in the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at advisors 41 through 50.

What are the common mistakes well-meaning advisors make when working with women in couples? Wealth psychology expert Kathleen Burns Kingsbury breaks down the mistakes (and how to correct them).

Privately owned banks do not report to the SEC, but they can face challenges if they need capital. This list looks at banks with a physical retail presence and stock that cannot be readily traded on a stock exchange.

These days, it seems like all the media can talk about is whether or not Republicans and Democrats in Washington can come to an agreement over the so-called “fiscal cliff”. But what exactly is it?

Managing a team is an important part of an advisor’s growing practice. As an individual advisor’s practice becomes more successful and complex, eventually a team structure becomes necessary.

In part one of our two-part series on long term care planning, we looked at reasons behind long term care avoidance among Americans, according to Genworth’s “2012 State of Planning” survey. In part two, Pyschologist and Money Coach Dr. Barbara Nusbaum provides suggestions on how to put these difficult emotions of fear and anxiety to good use.

According to the 2012 State of Planning Survey commissioned by Genworth, Americans aged 35 and over have many excuses for why they don’t have a plan in place for their future long term care needs. In this first part of our two-part series on long term care planning, we look at reasons behind long term care avoidance among Americans.

Compliance is an issue every advisory firm has to deal with, but is your firm adequately prepared to execute effective compliance strategies?

As social media increasingly becomes the preferred medium of communication for clients, it is in the best interest of advisors to develop a successful blogging strategy to keep existing clients close (and prospective clients coming.)

While many finance firms have developed their own applications, technology expert Bill Winterberg analyzes and ranks at the top eight asset and investment manager apps for advisors.

What are the top financial planning schools nationally? Check out this list to see where the next generation of advisors are coming from (and who the next generation of clients may be working with).

Which banks shelled out the most for this election? Among the big name firms, here's a list of the top five donors based on data compiled by opensecrets.org, a nonprofit watchdog group that follows campaign donations. Click through to see where Wall Street's money has gone:

Sometimes, in order to lock in the $5 million estate planning tax exemption, clients gift away their “excess” assets. While gifting is good, and even better if you can avoid taxes by doing it, some clients give away too much, and are no longer able to maintain their standard of living in retirement.

While disasters like Hurricane Sandy take away so much and leave but a trail of havoc behind it, the resilience of the people across the nation refuse to be trampled. Within moments, resilient individuals would begin to offer aid to their less fortunate fellows. And yet during this time, it can also be quite confusing for planners to advise clients on the best places to donate money.

The legal challenges raised by clients who are beginning to lose their cognitive acuity or are suffering from dementia-related diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, can be significant for advisors. Here are some of the top tips for advisors working with clients with dementia.

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