Financial planning

It's time to think about accelerating clients’ income for 2012 in anticipation of higher taxes for 2013 and beyond, according to the founder of one of the nation’s largest RIAs.

Spending on hardware, software and communications all is expected to grow by more than 5% this year, in the latest Gartner forecasts. Is this the year that not just trading firms, but companies of all stripes get bullish on technology spending, again? Here's a snapshot look at the consulting firm's prognostication.

Equity funds saw outflows of $9.4 billion for the week of Jan. 4, 2012, according to numbers released by the Investment Company Institute.

How investors go about making decisions in uncertain and volatile markets can have long-lasting implications, especially when bias and emotion enter in. The field of behavioral finance has shown that human beings can’t be presumed to take the most logical, rational approach to investing. So if not logic, just what is affecting our decisions? A recent report from Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Private Wealth Management Research team outlines psychological and social factors that affect how we make financial decisions. Be aware of these factors to help you avoid some psychological pitfalls that regularly affect professional and amateur investors alike. Source: Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Private Wealth Management Research

A date is set for the exchange-traded equivalent of the world's largest mutual fund to get going.

Cetera Financial Group has agreed to buy Genworth Financial Investment Services, an independent broker-dealer with almost 2,000 independent advisors specializing in integrating wealth management services with tax and accounting services.

The operators of the Chicago Board Options Exchange said its futures exchange achieved record volume in 2011, based on its fear index.

You never know what to expect. But events of 2011 gave plenty of clues for what lies ahead in 2012, as trading firms and exchanges speed up and beef up.

Nearly two years after a UBS wealth manager was found dead in her bathtub on New Year’s Eve, a New York court official has filed a wrongful death suit accusing the late Shele Danishefsky Covlin’s estranged husband, a former stock trader, of strangling his wife.

Planners should pay close attention to a new U.S. tax statute that will take effect in the 2012 tax year that experts say could make it difficult for their clients to keep their American citizenship and their foreign-based assets at the same time.

Sometimes it just isn’t your year. And 2011 wasn't the greatest of years for some of the world's most iconic companies, particularly for tech firms such as Cisco Systems and HP that have delivered massive returns to shareholders for years. However, comparing these select 30 stocks’ performance against one another over a one-year period is hardly a comprehensive or “fair” method to evaluate each company’s long- or short-term prospects. For the year, the Dow is up just over 6%. They say success has a million fathers but failure is an orphan. Here’s hoping you or your clients were holding a large position in these Dow stocks this year. Also see: The 10 Best-Performing Dow Stocks of 2011

Only 30 stocks comprise the world’s most closely watched index – the Dow Jones Industrial Average – and its daily, weekly, monthly and annual gains (or losses) serve as a very handy – albeit simplistic – snapshot of investor sentiment and a decent barometer of how the U.S. and world economies are fairing. Of course, comparing these select 30 stocks’ performance against one another over a one-year period is hardly a comprehensive or “fair” method to evaluate each company’s long- or short-term prospects. There are far too many factors – good and bad – that influence any stock’s performance over a 52-week period. And to merely be a member of this exclusive group probably means the company is doing – or has been doing – something right for quite some time. Saying that, everybody loves a winner and if you or your clients held any of these top-performing Dow component stocks in their portfolios this year, there’s a pretty good chance they did quite well for themselves in 2011. For the year, the Dow is up just over 6%. Here’s an interactive slideshow featuring the 10 Best-Performing Dow component stocks of 2011. Also see: The 10 Worst-Performing Dow Stocks of 2011

Americans, particularly Baby Boomers, are more nervous about and unprepared for their retirement today than at any time in history. Survey after survey has found that people are delaying their retirements, planning to work during their retirement and scaling back expectations for their golden years. Here are 12 not-so-cheery facts that Baby Boomers and their financial advisors need to appreciate and address in the coming year to ensure they're properly prepared for the retirement they've always envisioned.

The nation’s estimated 17,600 bank advisors are as diverse as the U.S. itself. Here are 12 who were profiled in our magazine this year, each with different investment philosophies, market niches, and business development approaches. Their interests, too, are just as varied, making each producer stand out on many levels.

The time for watching and waiting is over. Twitter is a culture phenomenon and more and more financial advisors are setting up Twitter profiles and testing the waters to connect with existing clients, promote their services to potential new clients and share industry news and insight with their peers. Whether you are new to Twitter or seasoned vet, here are 10 tips provided by TJ Gilsenan, Web-Savvy Advisor, to help financial advisors get the most out of the platform:

Here are a dozen gifts (plus one) which could ruin your holiday spirit -- and pocketbook -- if FINRA decides you have crossed the line and been too generous.

Before putting a bow on 2011, advisors and their clients should take the time to nail down these four key aspects of their finances to ensure financial planning success in 2012, according to M&I, a part of the BMO Financial Group. Everyone wants to save money and prepare themselves and their families for the future. But that can only happen if clients establish well-defined goals and take the necessary steps to put advisors’ strategic advice to work. Here are the Top 4 end-of-year financial planning tasks every client needs to complete:

UBS zeroes in on five events that will happen in the upcoming year, five that may and five that won’t.

Shrinking margins in the independent broker-dealer space have prompted another independent broker-dealer, Seattle-based Pacific West Financial Group, to close its doors.

The latest "safe haven" for investors appears to be, once again, gold. But this time, the avenue they’re taking to get the bullion into their portfolios is the exchange-traded fund.