Practice and client management

A complex mixture of new or expiring laws, intersecting retirement planning questions and the threat of so-called stealth taxes could add up to a highly beneficial strategy.

After an exhausting presidential campaign, here are the key policy, investment strategy and practice management topics for financial advisors and their clients.

With 2025 nearly here, year-end tax strategies including gifting, charitable donations, estate planning, retirement plans and more are on the table.

Firms such as Carson Group, Morgan Stanley, Morningstar and Merrill are taking vastly different approaches to naming their AI assistants, with some preferring a human name, a male name or simply no human identifier.

A recent FINRA Investor Education Foundation report, "How Gen X Compares Financially to Other Generations: Doing Alright but Feeling Bad," found few born between 1965 and 1980 reported positive feelings about their financial situation.

AI-powered YourStake has since expanded into a comprehensive advisor platform, offering portfolio analytics and meeting automation, claiming to save five hours a week for advisors.

An industry survey of 200 compliance officers showed that a mere 12% of respondents currently using AI said they also adopted an AI risk management framework; experts said advisory firms need an AI governance plan ASAP.

Cinda Collins alleged before a FINRA arbitration panel that RBC fired her in late 2019 in an attempt to "steal much of her book of business without compensating her for it."

Is your firm promoting diversified advisors? Can your clients relate to you despite cultural differences? Those questions and more were addressed by leaders of top wealth firms and regulatory agencies during FINRA's Diversity Leadership Summit this week.

Advisors must educate themselves on how climate-related risk can impact the lives, portfolios and net worths of their clients — and communicate those risks accordingly.