Practice management

If you’re heading to the Financial Services Institute’s OneVoice Broker-Dealer Conference starting Monday – and even if you’re not – it’s time to reboot because, for the first time, the seventh annual conference will feature a technology track.

The CFP Board is seeking input and guidance from planning professionals as it considers changing the way it currently investigates bankruptcies among planners.

Steve Sanduski, The Prosperous Advisor, offers up advice for fast-growing firms experiencing “big company” issues that can either derail their practices or, if handled properly, start them on a new growth curve.

When it comes to acquiring and retaining clients, social media channels are on their way to becoming as important as traditional media channels for wealth managers, according to a study from Celent.

Financial planners know all too well how difficult it can be to get their clients motivated enough to make the sacrifices and investment decisions that are necessary to ensure a comfortable retirement. But what could possibly derail the retirement plans of those clients who are already doing everything right?

More than 14 years ago, Jane Norberg worked with confidential informants in planning, organizing and conducting investigations of federal crimes. Now she's the SEC's new deputy chief of the Office of the Whistleblower.

The Financial Services Institute has gained another 225 members, as Mountain View, Calif.-based broker-dealer and RIA Foothill Securities announced it has signed up all its advisors.

FINRA has fined Citigroup Global Markets $725,000 for failing to disclose conflicts of interest in its research reports and public appearances by analysts.

David Chambers, a former head of Personal Trust Services and International Trust Services at Merrill Lynch, brings 30 years of experience in serving high net-worth clients.

The SEC has charged an investment advisory arm of UBS with overstating the prices of securities in three mutual funds, some times by more than 100%.

Two large RIA firms have launched their own apps in the Apple and Android store, putting them ahead of the field in the race to maintain contact with clients.

Almost six in 10 millionaires believe they have an obligation to give back to their communities, unchanged from 2008, when the U.S. economy went into a tailspin, according to a PNC Wealth Management survey.

Financial services industry groups are ready and willing to help the Labor Department do a formal study of the potential impact of a redefinition of fiduciary responsibility, according to a new letter several trade organizations wrote to the department.

BNY Mellon Wealth Management has added Timothy Barker as a family wealth advisor to its growing team of advisors to ultra high-net-worth families and family offices.

Planners have taken note of the fact that clients with incomes of $1 million or more were twice as likely to be audited by the IRS in 2011 than they were in 2009. Several say they are taking steps in anticipation of still greater vigilance on the part of the agency.

Gregory Fleming, president of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and Morgan Stanley Investment Management, was elected to replace former Bank of America Merrill Lynch wealth management head Sallie Krawcheck on the SRO’s Board of Governors.

Fidelity Investments is now offering a free version of its WealthCentral customer relationship and portfolio management platform for the iPad.

Americans overall aren’t saving enough for retirement, and as a group, women especially seem not to be prepared. Only 8% of women workers believe that they’re building a large enough retirement fund for themselves, according to a new study.

Advisors can run taxable gain thresholds, estimate the tax implications of certain trades, harvest tax losses and continually monitor portfolios.

Spending on hardware, software and communications gear is expected to grow by more than 5% this year. Here's a snapshot look at the Gartner’s forecast for 2012.