Practice management

John Hancock Funds has made a number of enhancements to its Portfolio Insight tool for financial advisors, including the ability to compare portfolios side by side and see full transparency into holdings.

Clearinghouses, not regulators, should be responsible for imposing risk management practices on clearing brokers when it comes to monitoring their end customers, says the trade group representing futures commission merchants.

Fidelity Information Services tops the rankings in 2011 of the largest financial technology vendors in the world, according to the eighth annual FinTech 100 survey compiled by IDC Financial Insights, American Banker and Bank Technology News.

Financial Tracking Technologies said its insider trading detection technology has been expanded to cover international markets.

The Hartford is taking part in the upcoming National Save for Retirement Week of Oct. 16 with the “It’s In Your Power Campaign,” based on superheroes.

Having gone into bankruptcy, Financial Research Corp. is now being evaluated by Strategic Insight parent Asset International for potential purchase.

In the wake of economic and stock market volatility, many 401(k) investors are questioning the wisdom of 401(k), 403(b) and 457 plans, a survey by Allianz Life Insurance Company finds.

LPL Financial Retirement Partners has rolled out the next iteration of its portfolio of tools for retirement plan advisors working with plan sponsors.

Advisor Software this week launched goalgamiPro, a web-based financial planning tool that lets advisors create and maintain multiple household balance sheets to help prioritize and access their clients’ long-term financial goals.

Citigroup is adopting a managed service from Fidessa Group for tracking orders and executing trades globally in listed derivatives.

Financial services professionals and firms need to do a better job of implementing globally accepted international standards for financial reporting, according to a new report from a task force led by the International Federation of Accountants.

Automatic enrollment greatly increases participation in 401(k) plans for all racial and ethnic groups, with particular success for blacks and Hispanics, even among low earners, Vanguard research shows.

Steve Sanduski, the Prosperous Advisor, says advisors should use the English language in inspirational ways to motivate prospects and get them off the fence to become a client. He’s not talking about slick manipulation but about choosing your words carefully so you succinctly impart your message and create a positive feeling and mental picture in your prospect’s mind.

Among financial planners’ greatest concerns in this turbulent environment is retaining valued clients. In this high-tech era, marketing expert Marie Swift says planners should balance high-tech communications with truly “high-touch” communications.

New regulations requiring traders to post initial margin when clearing swap contracts through clearinghouses and outside of clearinghouses will cost financial firms $1.4 trillion in new capital charges, according to a research report released on Monday by Tabb Group.

Direct Edge said it is preparing to deliver a database of trade and quote history that is available anywhere, online.

Anova Technologies said it is rolling out a technology that will encrypt trading instructions in under one millionth of a second.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has unveiled a new set of features for its 401(k) and employee financial benefit programs including new mobile access to retirement account information.

In July, forward-thinking fund managers were trying to figure out what might happen to their holdings if -- heaven forbid -- the unimaginable might occur. In this case, the unimaginable was whether a major ratings agency might downgrade U.S. debt, given the fractiousness of American political decision-making.

NYSE Euronext said activity on its U.S. stock exchanges fell 19.8 percent in September from August.