Financial planning

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority will begin formally examining the operations of broker-dealers this year. Here are 11 holes to plug, based on a FINRA letter to chief compliance officers on Feb. 8.

Advisors braved bad weather to attend TD Ameritrade Institutional Conference in San Diego. Check out some images from different folks that attended the event.

For three days, advisors descended on San Diego for the TD Ameritrade Institutional Conference. Mike Byrnes of Byrnes Consulting sent some images highlighting the event. (Including looks at his favorite talks, speakers, and even the best booths.)

With Black Friday upon us, advisors will have a chance to add to their technology arsenal without having to blow a hole in their pockets. Here are 11 essential tech tools advisors should consider.

The new tax law has opened a substantial window of opportunity for wealth transfer. Help your clients take advantage of it.

Financial advisors want to know the most important key to becoming a top producer. Most think the answer must be a magical new product, an innovative new sales idea or a remarkable new marketing strategy. However, their jaws drop when they learn the truth. Nathan Bergeland, the CEO and founder of USAdvisors Network, offered some insights.

“The outlook for investors in 2011 is as positive as we have seen in years,” says Joseph R. Dancy, Adjunct Professor of Law at Southern Methodist University and manager of the LSGI Venture Fund L.P.

In 2008, when the global credit crisis exploded, the SEC conducted 772 examinations of the operations of brokers and dealers of financial instruments in the United States. In 2010, that number fell to 490 examinations. The cause? The increasing complexity of the exams that take place. Here are the numbers that result, when the SEC takes on brokers.

James Carney, president and chief executive officer of ByAllAccounts, says profitable and effective practices are changing their priorities and being more progressive in their thinking this year. He offered seven habits that will help firms regain profitability.

According to Wealth-X, the top executives at the ten biggest banks and asset managers on Wall Street have an average net worth of $210 million. Their combined net worth is at least $2.1 billion. Check out the top ten.

Almost every advisor is committing one or more of the seven deadly sins. This is not a reason to beat yourself up, but an opportunity to improve your effectiveness.

Have you decided that 2011 is the year to become an independent advisor? Tom Nally, a managing director of institutional sales at TD Ameritrade Institutional, gave us 10 of the best tips for going independent.

Each year, Janney Capital Markets produces a list of events it deems reasonably likely could shake the markets. Check out the surprises Janney expects could make for a bumpy ride in 2011.

BlackRock’s Bob Doll announced some pretty bullish predictions for the year ahead. But what are the potential upside and downside risks for 2011?

For advisors in the bank channel, 2010 was a year of regulatory change, market rebounds and relative uncertainty. It was also a year of creativity, ingenuity and success. Here were some of our top stories from the year that was.

2010 was a year of change and transition on Wall Street. UBS turned to Bob McCann to grow its wealth business, branch managers continued to lead the way, and the best and brightest young advisors continued to shine. Check out the magazine's top stories of the year.

The year of the Flash Crash, debt crises in developed economies and regulatory reform gave financial planners plenty to discuss with their clients. The magazine looked behind these headlines and others to give industry professionals leading-edge insights into how their profession would cope and thrive.

We took a look back at where the industry went right (and where it didn’t), whether it involved wading deeper into social media or missing the mark on CRM systems.

Check out coverage from last year's roundtable

Wealth-X ranks the states with the most ultra-wealthy.