Practice management

More than 40% of states have poor pension funding ratios, Morningstar municipal credit researcher Rachel Barkley said.

Approximately 300 advisors affiliated with independent broker-dealer Symetra Investment Services, based in Bellevue, Wash., now have access to a Envestnet's online tools, including aggregated reporting capabilities.

TD Ameritrade Institutional drew a record 441 breakaway brokers to its platform for independent registered investment advisors in fiscal 2012, a 27% increase from a year earlier.

Research tells us that 90% of heirs will reject their parents’ advisors, and 70% of widows will change advisors after their husband’s death. Can you afford that level of loss?

Charles Schwab has launched the Schwab Advisor Center app for the iPad available for download. Advisors will now be able to access key client data such as balances, positions, and transactions from their iPads.

Ultimately, damages to the region could amount to $50 billion, according to Jim Kane, president of personal insurance at HUB International. Even at this early stage, he says, there are several pieces of advice that planners can (and should) offer to clients who are contending with damages.

Times have changed, of course, and advisors and their clients interact with each other and with financial data in more dynamic ways. Clients have easy access to abundant consumer-oriented financial data and sophisticated investment analytical tools. They also expect their advisors to produce answers whenever they want them, no matter where the advisor might be at the time the question arises.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has decided to implement a number of regulatory changes designed to help firms and advisors whose business was affected by Hurricane Sandy.

The vast majority of boomers are not prepared for retirement and have put saving on hold until the economy turns around.

More than eight in 10 (85%) are saving less than 10% of their income for retirement.

Affluent and millionaire investor confidence rose in October, according to research from Spectrem Group. Meanwhile, millionaire investors see mostly advantages to working with advisors.

Former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt called the lack of an adequate backup plan a “body blow” to the reputation of the New York Stock Exchange. NYSE Euronext called his comments “appallingly and irresponsibly wrong.”

In a continued push to reform regulation for advisors, five independent financial firms have joined the Financial Services Institute.

If your goal is to win new clients and influence bank trust officers, then you have to learn how to talk the talk-first lesson, be sincere.

The financial advisor industry is facing a looming crisis. Advisors are getting older, and there aren't enough talented young people entering the field to take the reins as these older advisors retire.

Your clients may not fully understand their motivations—but as an advisor, you need to delve further into their psyches.

Advisors have to walk a tightrope when retired clients show signs of dementia. How do you follow your clients' wishes and also do what's best for them when those two things begin to diverge?

A run-down of the stories in this issue, including Credit Suisse's expansion plans, tips on avoiding the biggest estate planning mistakes, making account opening more efficient, and a discussion of senior fraud with Don Blandin.

Steps you should take if you are terminated.

How long must a broker-dealer keep records of accounts that have left the firm?