Practice management

Advisors may still feel a bit awkward as well as worried about compliance when they use social media, but they’re definitely using it to build their brands and businesses, according to a new SourceMedia study.

A former Morgan Keegan registered rep agreed to be barred permanently from the industry for putting 10 of his middle-class clients into “unsuitable” investments –- highly leveraged ETFs, regulators said.

Because of its increasing complexity and impacts on financial firms beyond banks, firms that run registered investment funds are suggesting that the Volcker Rule gets ‘re-proposed’ before it goes into effect in July.

State Street Corporation unveiled the State Street Fund Insights Valuation Toolkit to provide timely industry insights for fund managers and directors and help them better manage data.

The operator of the Frankfurt Exchange, Eurex derivatives market and Clearstream clearinghouse plans the suit in order to recoup some of its merger costs and to clear the way to potentially make a future deal in which it could expand its derivatives operation.

Commissioner Elisse Walter told fund industry executives Monday to re-engage with the Securities and Exchange Commission on a new round of reform of money market mutual funds – and end its “unconstructive disengagement’’ on the subject.

High-net-worth investors who are intently interested in those opportunities should pay particular attention to time horizons and investment styles.

The company with the best retirement plan in New York is Deloitte, according to investment analytics firm BrightScope’s ranking of the top 25 New York City area 401(k) plans.

On April 6, the comment period on FINRA’s proposed changes to its BrokerCheck system will close, though there is still much debate and controversy about some of the proposed changes. Compliance consultant and securities attorney Jennifer Woods Burke shares her thoughts on the subject with Financial Planning.

Marketing expert Marie Swift says keeping your client pipeline full is both an art and a science. Here are some three things advisors should be doing now to prevent a dry spell.

Investment analytics provider BrightScope unveils its second annual rankings list of New York City area companies that have 401(k) plans with more than $100 million in assets.

Women describe themselves as more conservative investors who favor socially and environmentally responsible investments

Rex Staples’ securities enforcement experience and his background in securities law will be “a great asset” to the CFP Board, said Kevin Keller, the board’s CEO.

The "mass affluent" service of Bank of America has launched "co-browsing" and speech analytics projects to improve the interactive experiences of clients of its 750 financial advisors in call centers and 600 in banking centers.

California-based investment advisor James Michael Murray allegedly defrauded investors using a bogus report from a fictitious auditing firm to embellish the performance of a hedge fund, according to the SEC.

ING has released a new mobile application that allows ING retirement plan participants to access and manage their retirement plan account information in transit.

Private company share trader SharesPost and its chief executive, Greg Brogger, have agreed to pay penalties, of $80,000 and $20,000 respectively, to settle charges that the firm facilitated securities transactions without registering with the SEC as a broker-dealer.

Financial Planning Senior Editor Donna Mitchell says there are a litany of business models and management options available outside the structured walls of wirehouse firms.

CME Group said it will start offering “one-pot” margining of positions in interest-rate swaps and futures, beginning May 7.

Investment education company FiPath has hired Michael Turgeon as managing director of Advisor Services. His primary responsibility will be launching enterprise sales and marketing initiatives for the company’s marketing tool for financial advisors, FiPath for Advisors.