Practice management

Jack Mullen has built an ultrahigh net worth niche at Merrill Private Wealth Management that functions much like a family office. Here's how he did it, in our latest installment of Know Your Niche.

Any RIA or advisory practice seeking to grow must weigh the price of its marketing efforts toward prospective new clients against the return on that investment.

NASAA's proposal would align state laws with the SEC's marketing rule, eliminating concerns advisors have about running afoul of more local laws as they accept testimonials and reviews.

Marketing experts say that advisory practices trying to grow organically must be thoughtful about the button that offers website visitors a meeting — or they could lose the prospect altogether.

Wealth head Andy Sieg sees bank-based advisors as key to securing more of the $3 trillion its U.S. banking customers hold elsewhere. But he's also looking to AI.

A new study from the Center for Retirement Research suggests there is a large gap in economic outlook between financial advisors and mass affluent investors.

After Dan Allison spent more than 20 years as a wealth management consultant specializing in referrals, the AI agent version of him will coach financial advisors through WealthReach's new Multiply tool.

A GAO report suggests that blanket rules on spousal consent for 401(k) withdrawals could solve "financial infidelity problems — and exacerbate them.

The proposal is part of what SEC Chairman Paul Atkins calls his "Make IPOs Great Again" agenda.

Still, the number of widows who leave advisors is three times higher than the industry average. It doesn't have to be that bad.

When the same buzzwords — "fiduciary," "holistic," "goals-based," "client-driven" — appear on most wealth firms' websites, they do little to help firms stand out in a crowded market, experts say. There are, however, tactics that work.

Schwab services 16,000 RIAs with 2,000 different fee structures. According to the industry's largest custodian, the exact costs come down to "a very personalized negotiation" with the firms.

For our Know Your Niche series, Steve Mason, with Bank of America's Private Bank, has developed a client base out of horse lovers like himself.

Parents who don't effectively communicate estate plans to their children set them up to fail financially, emotionally and relationally.

Matthew Pallai said he has no doubt wealth managers explained the risks of private credit when recommending it to clients, but the recent rush to withdraw money from credit funds suggests "they probably should have said it more often and said it louder."

Court decisions vacated the Biden administration's DOL rule — but that didn't make rollover rules easy, experts say. Firms that get compliance right will have an edge in tapping a trillion-dollar-plus market.

A well-planned retirement can go awry when clients overspend. Here's how financial advisors can rein them in.

Jess Polito of Turkey Hill Management says she believes her firm is the only M&A advisory firm that exclusively uses retainer fees, rather than commissions.

A consulting and M&A advisory firm presented six prospective sellers to 17 buyers, with striking results for any advisory teams tapping into a frothy M&A market.

The annual Diamond Consultants advisor transition tracking study identified the winners and losers of 2025. But it also noted how quickly things can change.