Practice management

Orion’s accounting and performance review software provides SWS advisors with performance dashboard.

SEC chairman Mary L. Schapiro said there is not a substantive effort to review the agency’s “clearly erroneous” trade rules, even though Knight Capital took $457.6 million in losses after a flood of erroneous trades on August 1.

Advisors all desire employees who know what you want even before you speak. While these type of people are typically a needle in a haystack, there are ways to optimize the staff you have already.

Wall Street may still be in love with complex financial instruments, but more and more investors are choosing a simpler, more prudent way to invest, and Steve Atkinson explain that that is why the assets under management with independent wealth advisors continues to grow.

Raymond James executive Chet Helck called for a year of working to restore public trust and confidence in the financial services industry, economy and nation at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association annual conference on Tuesday.

In addition to serving the local community, such clinics offer new graduates real-world experience.

Instead of expected retirement at the age of 65, the number has gone up to 75, according to My New Financial Advisor's survey.

SIFMA chief executive Tim Ryan said at the trade group’s annual meeting that the commodity futures regulator’s plan to oversee swaps made by foreign firms with U.S. participants breaks from international standards.

Millions of Americans are facing their own personal fiscal cliff, with half of middle class investors saying their most important day-to-day financial concern is paying the bills, never mind saving for retirement, according to a survey from Wells Fargo. What can advisors do to help?

Facing a growing demographic of Americans who likely have not saved enough for retirement, BlackRock launched The BlackRock Retirement Center, a new digital retirement platform that offers individuals access to resources, tools and insights about their pending retirement.

The chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, hosted a lunch with 75 New York business leaders in a bid to help to steer Washington away from the fiscal cliff and toward a budget compromise akin to Simpson-Bowles.

David Lerner was banned from the securities industry for a year and his firm ordered to pay $12 million for misleading investors into buying real estate investment trusts, regulators said. Lerner, whose David Lerner Associates Inc. has underwritten about $7 billion of its Apple REITs, was also fined $250,000, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said today in a statement.

Social media is rapidly changing the way financial advisors approach their marketing efforts, but staying current with compliance regulations can be a challenge.

Also, 293 midsize advisors called out for delayed move to state oversight.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has snapped up a Morgan Stanley advisor team managing about $2.5 billion in client assets to its Private Banking and Investments Group.

Even though six in 10 women are concerned they aren’t saving enough to last throughout their retirement, few are taking steps to mitigate this risk.

Hawaii is the best state for retirees according to the 2012 MoneyRates.com analysis of the Best and Worst Stated for Retirement in the U.S.

Have you thought about what you can do in your practice to improve how you operate your business, making sure that this year is a better year than last year? Do you think your practice needs improved focus in order to be more profitable? Chris Kirby has some suggestions that could streamline your business to a “leaner and meaner” more profitable machine.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has just finished work on a new supply chain finance module for its CashPro Online banking channel for corporate clients.

Got an account in the red for the year? Dropped some iffy advice? That can be forgiven. But wait too long to call that millionaire client back and you might be out an account.