Financial planning

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.

In On Wall Street's fourth annual ranking, the young hotshots of The Street talk clients and strategy. Here's how this year's top 40 advisors under 40 stack up.

Looking for a stocking stuffer for your favorite financial planner? Check out the 10 best-selling books for advisors from Amazon.com.

Bank Investment Consultant magazine honored the industry's best bank-based financial advisors for 2010. Take a closer look at what makes them so great.

FINRA panel says firm must pay $1.8 million to investor.

Just when the advisory community was hoping that it had put Bernie Madoff behind it, federal authorities announced that two of the disgraced financier’s lieutenants have been indicted on criminal charges and are also facing a civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service announced earlier this week that it has withdrawn the John Doe summons in the UBS AG scandal in which the U.S. demanded that the company hand over…

Collapsing margins – but serving customers better. Integrating complex platforms – then setting up standard-setting data centers, out of fresh cloth. Here’s how 10 top CIOs became the best on Wall Street.

It's difficult to overestimate the cost of hiring wrong. According to Top Grading by Dr. Bradford Smart, the average cost for a bad hire, earning between $50,000 and $100,000, is $80,000. While, there is no foolproof method that guarantees consistently good hires, here are some tips to maximize the chances of success.