Law and regulation

Many financial advisors and their firms fail to understand and comply with custodial responsibilities to clients, according to the SEC . As a result, the commission has issued a “risk alert” and “advisor bulletin” to remind and educate planners about the importance of complying with custody rule.

“FSI has long supported a uniform fiduciary standard that increases protection for investors without limiting access to financial advice and service for Main Street Americans,” Dale Brown, the institute’s president and chief executive said in a statement Monday.

Regulators levied a $750,000 fine on Ameriprise for alleged wire transfer fraud committed by one of its brokers in 2010.

Should mutual funds be backing off on holdings in gun and armament makers?

The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday called for more information from industry members and other stakeholders about the potential impact of its proposal to apply a uniform fiduciary standard of care to broker-dealers and investment advisors who provide advice to retail customers.

Now that the March 1 deadline for Congress and the White House to reach a deficit-reduction agreement has lapsed, federal agencies must now begin to absorb $85 billion in automatic spending cuts, but for financial advisors, it could be business as usual, at least for the time being.

Another money market fund is making its way toward the recycling bin.

When FINRA boss Richard Ketchum suggested the group was pulling back from its effort to regulate RIAs, advisors cheered -- but some observers worried the story isn't over. On Twitter, Investment Advisor Alliance said:  'Pressure is off for now. But what happens when Congress is once again more favorable to FINRA's goal?' …

When it comes to policing the way brokerages and advisors market themselves, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has turned into RoboCop.

The largest purveyor of money market mutual funds in the United States this month told the Financial Stability Oversight Council that no further reform of such funds is necessary.

No additional congressional action is planned before the start of the cuts, to be split between defense and non-defense spending. The across-the-board reductions will total $1.2 trillion over nine years, with $85 billion set to take effect in the remaining seven months of this fiscal year.

Observers say it's unlikely Congress will be able to strike a deal to stop across-the-board budget cuts from going into effect, raising concerns for bankers and regulators alike.

How to walk the fine line between expressing gratitude for a referral and divulging a new client.

The former TARP inspector general discusses the financial crisis and suggests advisors need to look beyond government policies for the greater truths.

Broker-dealers and advisors recommending complex, high-yield products to see more scrutiny.

As annual registration nears, compliance experts warn RIAs to be cautious about their numbers.

The justices unanimously ruled in favor of two Gabelli Funds LLC officials seeking to block SEC claims that they improperly let a client engage in market timing, a practice of making frequent, short-term trades at the expense of other investors. They contend the SEC missed the five-year deadline to file the lawsuit.

The SEC plans to take a close look at potential conflicts of interest in the investment-advisor practices that its examiners oversee, and will ramp up scrutiny of the marketing and performance claims of federally registered advisors, according to the examination guidance the agency recently issued for the coming year.

Mike Tyson is preparing for another fight -- this time, with his former financial planner.

The Touchstone Funds Group is dumping six funds that its Board of Trustees deems to small and redundant.