Practice management

Did you ever wonder why the word "billion" seems to elicit a terrible feeling in your gut? Do you remember when a billion dollars seemed like so much money it was unattainable? Do you remember when a millionaire was considered really wealthy? Now, a millionaire is not rich and a billionaire must have done something evil to become one.

According to an SEI poll, 44% of wealth managers said dealing with ongoing and ever-evolving regulatory changes will be their firms’ top priority this year.

Matrix Financial Solutions refreshes its RetireTool(k)it to better support regulatory compliance and simplify the selection and monitoring of funds.

U.S. senators Jack Reed and Charles Grassley introduced a bill to authorize the Securities and Exchange Commission to impose bigger sanctions after the agency said it didn’t have adequate tools to deter financial fraud.

John Hancock Funds today unveiled a new program and a survey to help retirement plan advisers demonstrate their value and build stronger relationships with their plan sponsor clients

I’ll bet the amount of training an advisor receives on portfolio and client management over ten years could fill an ocean. I’ll also wager the amount of training an advisor receives on managing staff couldn’t even fill a thimble.

The advocacy organization sent a letter of comment to the SEC citing the impact a fee hike could have on independent firms.

Financial services firms are broadening the scope of their retirement advice tools and planning a major push to help advisors understand them, according to a survey by Hearts & Wallets.

More and more affluent investors are looking to mobile devices to review finances and check up on their social media accounts.

Airgead Clann, a California independent investment advisor, announced they will proceed with a FINRA arbitration against Charles Schwab regarding the abrupt termination of their investment manager service agreement in October.

Many CPAs are passive in nature and afraid to ask clients to pay them extra for financial advice. Yet, often they are better positioned even than planners to suggest tax-efficient investment strategies.

Fidelity survey finds that wealthy investors are especially upbeat about consumer confidence and spending right now but still remain very concerned about real estate prices.

Advisors and firms need to get over their aversion to audits and, instead, use them as an opportunity to improve client service and internal efficiencies.

Employees are willing and able to save more money for retirement through their workplace retirement plans. They just don’t know the best way to do it.

Beverly Hills Wealth Management, a wealth management firm serving high-net-worth individuals, families and businesses, announced the hiring of a new marketing director and the launch of its new Public Agency Financial Advisory division.

Janney Montgomery Scott has selected VestmarkONE to expand its managed account capabilities while providing enhanced operational efficiency.

The firm will be rolling out PriceMetrix CommissionCheck to more accurately assess the value of its services.

TD Ameritrade Institutional attracted 120 breakaway brokers to its platform for independent registered investment advisors in the third quarter of last year, a nearly 50% from a year earlier.

Transamerica retirement survey finds that unemployed and underemployed Americans face an uphill battle to recoup the assets they’ll need for retirement.

Actiance announced the first social media enablement platform to work with Salesforce’s CRM data, allowing advisors to track and analyze sales discussions with clients in their blogs, on Twitter and other popular social media sites.