Practice management

When individuals are faced with too many options they become paralyzed and don’t make the best decisions– even when it comes to 401(k) options, according to a new study co-authored by Columbia Business School and University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

To me, the most interesting event of the year, so far in the financial planning space, is the Schwab organization's new Independent Branch Services initiative. The gist of it is that Schwab's retail division is looking for experienced advisors to come in and transform their practices into Schwab branch offices on a franchise basis.

A surge in the markets didn't translate into more jobs for advisors in 2010. Count on that to change.

American Express Co. has added a cardholder perk designed to make spending on its cards worthwhile for a broad swath of small business owners: advertising credits on Facebook.

The world’s top foreign exchange dealers are working on an industry-wide initiative to reduce the risk of a Flash Crash hitting the global currency markets.

The London Stock Exchange late Wednesday pulled out of its $3.5 billion merger with Canada’s TMX Group leaving the door open for a possible hostile takeover from Maple Group.

Successful retirement preparation is driven by three variables: consistent saving and investing, access to financial advice and access to workplace retirement plans, according to a survey by Putnam Investments released on Wednesday.

While couples are saving for retirement, they don’t seem to be discussing their retirement goals, according to a new survey by Fidelity Investments.

Memories of the 2008-2009 market crash are keeping Baby Boomers from investing at a time when many are fearful they'll outlive their retirement savings, according to a new survey by Allianz Life Insurance.

In a panel discussion at the Insured Retirement Institute’s (IRI) regulatory conference on Tuesday officials from the Departments of Labor and Treasury discussed increasing access to guaranteed lifetime income products and the proposed rule on the definition of a fiduciary that would regulate retirement savings programs and professionals.

Most consumers don’t read the prospectus they receive when they purchase a variable annuity and a new report released by the Insured Retirement Institute on Monday found that 94% of consumers would prefer to receive a shorter, printed summary prospectus online or upon request.

Data giant Thomson Reuters has teamed up with real-time systems monitoring provider ITRS to allow financial firms to keep track of the performance and speed of Thomson Reuters’ market data platforms.

The majority of Americans say they want and need income replacement projections for their retirement but most have neither access to that data nor an understanding of how to translate their 401(k) savings into a stream of retirement income, according to an online survey of more than 1,000 401(k) investors by J.P. Morgan.

CFPs can go bankrupt without losing their CFP license. But they can be punished for failing to promptly notify FINRA and the CFP Board.

Fidelity Family Office Services has formed a partnership with Foundation Source to offer back-office services to the asset custodian’s 140 single-family office clients.

You can be the best financial advisor in the world but if people don't know you're there, they'll miss out -- and so will you. And when people do find you, either through a referral or targeted marketing strategy, how are they likely to respond?

As banks search for their place in the fast evolving world of social media, they are increasingly looking to technology to help them cope with a tangle of potential regulatory and legal challenges.

Endace, a network monitoring infrastructure firm, has teamed up with Verizon to help financial firms prevent losing critical market data from trading venues.

More 401(k) participants are invested in single target-date, balanced fund or managed account advisory services, according to Vanguard’s “How America Saves 2011” report.

European clearinghouse LCH.Clearnet confirmed market talk that it wants to enter the market and service alternative trading platforms.