Practice management

Nearly two-thirds of plan sponsors have changed the investment lineup in their 401(k) plan in the past year, up markedly from a mere 20% in 2008, according to the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America.

The team is taking about $1.2 million in production with them. The move makes Brancucci and Crossan managing partners at the practice, which has more than $100 million in AUM.

Linedata says that it has combined the risk analytics services of Riskdata with its Beauchamp portfolio management platform.

Transamerica Retirement Services has added 38 new stock and bond options to its investment platform for company-sponsored retirement plans.

The SEC has charged three investment advisors — OMNI Investment Advisors, Feltl & Company and Asset Advisors LLC — for failing to implement compliance procedures to prevent securities law violations. OMNI’s owner, Gary R. Beynon, was also charged.

An industry group has asked regulators to disclose the factors they will use to determine which muni broker-dealers pose more risks and should undergo compliance examinations more often under a new proposed exam program.

Risk management software firm Algorithmics has just launched a new risk reporting service for hedge funds in the U.S. and signed up fund of hedge funds manager Optima Fund Management in New York as its first client.

Fidelity Investments and Verizon have partnered to offer Verizon’s four million FiOS subscribers access to the Fidelity Market Monitor Application that, for no additional cost, will provide them with quotes, charts watch lists and news.

For financial planners, it means they might have to work a lot harder to get younger investors to recognize the value of investing in stocks.

Rep. Barney Frank, the influential Massachusetts Democrat who championed legislation that made such a dramatic impact on the financial planning industry, will not seek re-election next year, capping a 32-year career in Congress.

Marketing professionals are quick to suggest that the best way to find success as a financial advisor is niche marketing. Marketing expert Marie Swift delves into exactly what niche marketing is and why advisors should care.

Business is running smoothly now, but Financial Planning senior editor Donna Mitchell says ARGI Financial had to overcome some operational hurdles — ultimately changing custodians and back-office systems — to get to this point.

iPhone 4S sales are off the charts, even with its battery issues. iPad sales are similar. Android now is the most popular operating system for mobile phones. So why aren’t more financial services firms encouraging employees to bring their own devices to work?

The Financial Services Authority has for the first time ever barred a compliance officer from working in the financial services industry.

Almost seven in 10 U.S. households that own traditional IRAs have developed strategies for managing income and assets in retirement, according to a study released last week by the Investment Company Institute.

Retirement plan advisors’ top five concerns include new disclosure rules, market volatility, finding greater flexibility and customization in plans, measuring a given plan’s success and an expected redefinition of fiduciary status.

Most advisors don’t have a disaster recovery plan. We all like to think it won’t happen to us when we think of the big ones -- tornado or hurricane -- but all firms and advisors need to be prepared for anything that can cause an interruption to our business and serving our clients. Here's what you need to know to get started.

The SEC charged a longtime Bernie Madoff employee with fraud for his role in creating fake trades to facilitate the massive Ponzi scheme.

Marketing expert Marie Swift says the end of the year is a perfect time to review everything in an advisor’s marketing toolkit. This week, she talks about the importance and value of the power bio and the core issues article.

The SEC's newly enacted Rule 13h-1 requires “large traders” to register to be assigned an identification number that will allow tracking of its transactions.