Practice management

The director of financial planning at R.W. Baird, Tim Steffen, discusses the upcoming elections, what changes to the fiscal landscape are possible, and how advisors should steer clients through the uncertainties and tax issues.

The ultimate test of leadership is the way you handle employees' reactions to innovation.

Our legal analyst explores commission sharing and FINRA disclosure rules.

How to sell a high-priced tier of service to clients and describe how that service is different and more valuable, like front-row seats at an event.

One of the keys to engaging clients is addressing topics that are relevant and emotional in order to bridge to longer-term planning concerns, such as the presidential election.

A run-down of the stories in this issue, including how shifting demographics can open new markets; the special needs of gay and lesbian couples; a look at dividend stocks; and Merrill Lynch's deferred compensation settlement.

Advisors are helping gay and lesbian clients face the unique barriers to achieving their financial goals.

A surprisingly simple business model could deliver financial advice to a much broader segment of the American population.

Five steps you should take now to protect your firm from fraud.

Developing a vision and a plan for your business takes focus, collaboration and consistency. And it's how the best performers enhance their success.

The economics that drove up the costs of traditional pension plans are showing signs of slowing down and that could augur their comeback.

Two Morgan Stanley financial advisors moved to Wells Fargo's independent brokerage arm in Maryland this week, taking advantage of a career path that one recruiter describes as the best of both the independent and wirehouse channels.

Fieldpoint Private, a Greenwich, Conn., based wealth advisory and private banking firm, announced Thursday that M. Thomas Conway has joined the firm as a managing director and senior advisor.

Goldman Sachs will pay $12 million to settle charges it made undisclosed contributions to a former Massachusetts state treasurer in violation of "pay-to-play" rules.

Advisors need to help clients focus on their long-term plans by demonstrating the risks of short-term emotional decisions.

Many advisory firms turn to marketing to expand their practice, but few firms are able to develop an effective strategy. Here are five ways to leverage marketing for optimal growth, according to the 2012 FA Insights Study of Advisory Firms: Growth by Design.

"As breakaway brokers continue to seek the benefits of the independent RIA model and a large number of RIAs near retirement, we're seeing unprecedented opportunities to create mutually beneficial relationships between advisors," said Ben Welch, Ameritrade's director of advisor business development. "RIAConnect meets the increasing demand for a more effective way to connect firms and helps support advisor growth potential."

In an effort to give smaller RIAs access to a broader array of services, Ron Carson has launched Carson Institutional Advisory. The new platform includes a succession planning strategy as an added attraction.

The Spectrem Millionaire Investor Confidence Index rose nine points in September, moving into positive territory for the first time in three months.

Planners born before 1946 may be members of the so-called silent generation. They may stand three generations older than the rising Geneneration Y, but they are the demographic that Gen Y trusts the most, according to a new white paper,