Practice management

Marketing expert Marie Swift says basic seminars are no longer a client magnet. Successful financial planners must be educators, networkers, and online trailblazers. Here are some ideas to get you started.

Chris Kirby says financial advisors often become hostages of their own "to-do" lists. That's why it's so important to create and adhere to a list of things that you're not going to handle so you can focus on the most important (and revenue-generating) tasks.

Defined contribution plan sponsors need to do a better job communicating key information to participants, according to a survey of plan participants conducted by State Street Global Advisors.

The SEC announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against a Denver-based company and two Colorado residents for allegedly carrying out a $15.7 million Ponzi scheme that dragged in more than 120 investors nationwide.

With 10,000 boomers turning 65 every day, these aging clients and their advisors face a slew of new challenges and complex investment and planning decisions.

FINRA says the brokerage didn't have enough controls in place to detect that Jared Weinryt had breached his $116 million trading limit as he made overnight bets on so-called futures.

Advisors who move aggressively into fee-based business end up doing much better than their transaction-based colleagues, with more assets, a higher return on those assets and more revenues, according to a new report.

A new survey of broker-dealers highlights the extent to which their firms rely on back-office technology to manage and improve advisor relationships, while at the same time revealing broad dissatisfaction with the solutions that firms have currently deployed.

Eighty percent of financial advisors say they're dabbling in social media to drum up new business and one in five has already reeled in new clients as a result of participating.

Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to settle charges that its brokerage and a former vice president sold securities it didn't understand to municipalities, non-profit organizations and other customers.

Steve Wershing, "The Referral Doctor," says one of the great misconceptions in our business is that clients "give" us referrals. If advisors want to learn how to attract a significant number of ongoing referrals, they must understand the dynamic that causes people to make referrals in the first place.

TD Ameritrade Institutional claims its iRebal system will allow financial planners to rebalance client portfolios in "near-zero" time.

Independent financial advisors are strong supporters of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in his presidential bid, a new survey has found.

FINRA has reconstituted its board of governors, adding three new members and re-appointing three others.

Market timing and late trading scandals in 2003 led to a substantially more demanding regulatory environment. This has included the adoption of a rule requiring funds to designate a compliance officer and implement a comprehensive program for complying with federal laws and regulations on investment fund operations.

About 35% of women report using a financial advisor and another 35% who don't use an advisor would consider doing so, according to a new survey from Prudential Financial.

Custom target-date strategies will hold 22% of 401(k) target-date assets by 2016, or $218 billion, according to research from Cerulli Associates. That will be a nearly four-fold increase from the 2011 asset level of $46.4 billion.

UPDATE: Who are the most influential people in our industry? Financial Planning is now accepting nominations for our annual Influencer Awards. We are seeking the most impactful individuals in multiple categories who are leading -- and sometimes pushing -- the industry to higher levels. The awards will recognize practitioners and thought leaders who have made significant contributions to the financial planning profession, from developing innovative portfolio and practice-management solutions to providing leadership for the advisory community.

FINRA levied almost $40 million in fines in the first half of the year and will likely doll out as much or more through the end of the year.

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board released a proposal Thursday aimed at increasing protection for retail investors who trade municipal bonds online.