Practice management

UBS Securities has once again been penalized for its improper handling of short sales. This time, the fine from the SEC is for $8 million and follows a $12 millon fine imposed by FINRA less than two weeks ago.

A new research study found that when people were shown age-progressed images of themselves depicting what they’d look like at 65, working-age adults were willing to allocate almost 33% more of their paychecks to their retirement accounts than those who didn't get a sneak peek at their future faces.

Typically, it takes a storm to disengage the autopilot and force advisors into making positive changes in their life. But Steve Sanduski, the Prosperous Advisor, says it’s important for financial advisors to be proactive about improving their lives and their practice before it’s too late.

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is advocating a fundamentally different approach to defined contribution plans by stripping down offerings and complexities to a menu of just three choices: a diversified stock portfolio, a diversified bond portfolio and one offering diversified cash alternatives.

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals, defined as those with a net worth of more than $30 million, in North America will outpace UHNW individuals in Asia-Pacific through 2032, according to Wealth-X’s "World Ultra Wealth Report 2011."

FINRA has fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney $1 million and ordered another $371,000 in restitution and interest to customers for excessive markups and markdowns charged to customers on corporate and municipal bond transactions as well as other supervision violations.

The Financial Services Authority has slapped a Dubai-based private investor a record $9.6 million – the largest fine ever for an individual – for manipulating the price of a Indian firm traded on the London Stock Exchange.

FINRA has proposed a new rule requiring carrying and clearing firms to maintain certain customer records electronically in an automated accessible location to facilitate the liquidation and transfer of customer accounts if the firm goes bust.

Fringe Benefit Administrators will keep its name under the Lincoln Trust umbrella, and expand the Denver firm’s presence in the Southeast.

NYSE Technologies said it extended its global trading network to a fifth Equinix data center.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan urged a special advisory council to dig deep as it crafts recommendations for improving Americans' financial literacy though education and training programs, arguing that personal finance should be integrated early into the curriculum as a core subject.

BNY Mellon has promoted wealth management veteran Ridgway Powell to a new position leading a team of advisors to ultra high-net-worth families and family offices.

The largest and most successful asset managers are structured as partnerships, Bob Pozen, chairman emeritus of MFS Investment Management, told attendees at Fund Forum USA’s Global Fund Distribution Summit.

The proliferation of new regulations emanating from the Dodd-Frank Act, Basel III and Solvency II are collectively inducing an outpouring of technology spending from companies in the financial service sector, a new report finds.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said reform of money market funds boils down to creating a dedicated capital buffer, to protect against runs, or letting the net asset value of such funds float, day by day, long anathema in the industry.

Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said Monday that MF Global’s woes point to a need for an expanded focus on the shadow banking system and broader transparency for derivatives.

On the heels of the Financial Planning Standards Board's semi-annual meeting in Washington, D.C., top leaders of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards offered an update on the group's agenda, which remains dominated by policy advocacy and an ambitious public awareness campaign.

Many of the nearly 1.6 million nonprofits and charities in the country are in need of advisory services. With assets growing at 8.5%, this group represents a healthy market for advisors looking to grow their client base, according to Gary Price, managing principal at Fund Evaluation Group.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s new data on 401(k) plan sponsor clients and plan participants shows that new loan issuance transactions are at record lows, while hardship withdrawals and total distribution amounts are at record highs.

Advisors take note: It’s not a company’s size but rather the demographic makeup of its workforce that influences whether it sponsors a retirement plan.