Practice management

Clients of RidgeWorth Investments will now be able to access a variety of functions and data from their investment accounts thanks to a new application available for the iPad.

So you want to tap into the global markets and find new opportunities for growth? But before you do that, you need to get re-acquainted with the new IRS requirements for reporting the basis of the cost you ascribe to a security or fund you purchase.

Nearly one out of four pension plan participants invest solely in target-date funds, according to new research released from The Vanguard Group—a six-fold increase over the past five years. Further, adoption of these funds among new plan participants is even higher, with 64% of employees entering plan for the first time with a single target-date fund.

Securities regulators charged two Ameriprise Financial advisors and three others with insider-trading, saying they made $1.8 million in illicit profits based on confidential merger information one of the advisors learned through an Alcoholics Anonymous relationship.

FINRA developed a more robust market surveillance and whistleblower group. And the regulator recently imposed rules that require firms to report violations.

Marketing expert Marie Swift offers up some tips for advisors looking to restore their creativity, intuition and communications skills.

More than half of those surveyed have investable assets of less than $25,000.

Ahead of yesterday’s Women Advisors Forum in Boca Raton, Fla., we caught up with Eleanor Blayney, president of Directions for Women, on why attracting female clients is crucial.

Even the best-laid retirement plan can come unraveled if clients and their advisors aren’t proactive about setting reasonable spending limits and sticking to them. Here’s an interactive slide show detailing nine ways advisors can keep their clients from overspending throughout their retirements.

A senior Prudential executive is calling upon the government to promote the development of multiple employer plans, which allows many small employers to pool their resources together under a single defined contribution plan.

Morgan Stanley said it has placed broker David S. Walker on leave, after prosecutors said a 44-year-old mother of four accused of running a brothel had visited the firm to discuss an online prostitution venture.

The proposed rule change might lower litigation and forum expenses, but it could also result in more claims and awards against reps and (eventually) RIAs.

An analysis by Spectrem Group found that 41% of wealthy investors surveyed said they relied primarily on their own research and analysis, while another 40% said they relied primarily on a trusted financial advisor.

Bankers are "bastardizing" the process of terms of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, by threatening to file lawsuits over whether costs and benefits of new rules have been adequately studied, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission member Bart Chilton.

The heart – and brains – of a Wall Street firm used to be the great sales trader, said Matthew Andresen, co-CEO of Headland Technologies. Now, that value increasingly is moving into machines.

In addition to the emotional issues surrounding clients’ financial decision-making, most advisors’ skill sets are not aligned with the task ahead.

“Before allowing our reps to use social media, we needed a technology solution to handle our complex regulatory needs,” says Chad Oppedal, assistant director of compliance for the Principal Financial Group.

Morningstar, Inc. has launched a new alternative investments center as part of several enhancements to MorningstarAdvisor.com, a free website that provides advisors with practice management information, investment trends, and industry insights.

SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro told a financial services subcommittee of the House of Representatives that the federal regulator intends to spend $100 million of its $1.6 billion requested budget for fiscal 2013 on information systems and another $50 million on modernizing the EDGAR stock information database and www.sec.gov, its public website.

Marketing expert Marie Swift says niche marketing cannot only help advisors attract significantly more business, but also provide richer opportunities for self-expression.