Practice management

The most critical component of any advisor/client relationship is communication, but it seems clear from an MFS Investment Management survey released on Monday that advisors and investors are speaking a different language.

Securities and Exchange Commission officials are urging market participants to provide their views about the muni industry and how it can be improved, after the SEC was forced by budget cuts to suspend a series of field hearings that were to be held around the country.

This is according to a survey of nearly 24 large financial firms by Hearts & Wallets.

In the latest indicator that perhaps the worst of the economic malaise is behind us, a new report released on Wednesday by Spectrem Group finds that the number of U.S. households with a net worth of more than $1 million, excluding their primary residence, jumped 8% to more than 8.4 million households in 2010.

Parents may need to worry less that they’ll promote dependency, study finds.

Two top Obama administration officials said Tuesday that the government-sponsored enterprises would not be exempted from a pending proposal to help standardize mortgages sold into the secondary market.

Americans are not very confident at all that they will be able to retire, a Country Financial survey of 3,000 Americans finds.

Despite all the dire warnings from financial advisors, relatives and the federal government, most Americans still aren't saving anywhere near enough money to afford the dignified retirement they all claim is so important to them and, worse, most don't even have any idea exactly how much they'll need even if they were to begin saving today for their golden years.

Advisors hate it when ancillary tasks eat up too much of their time, because it robs them of the most enjoyable part of doing their jobs—working directly with clients!

Even three years can increase income by 38%

What is your unique value proposition? What is the strategic direction of your practice? What can you do that will really drive referrals? The best answers may come from consultants often underutilized by financial advisors – your clients.

Three hires come from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and another advisor joins from Oppenheimer & Co.

House Ways and Means Committee Democrats introduced a bill on Thursday that would reinstate Build America Bonds, the higher small-issuer limit for bank-qualified bonds, and six other bond, tax credit and loan guarantee programs.

Empowering the SEC to adequately monitor markets would help restore some faith in the U.S. capital markets, according to the industry group.

The new plans come as Baird plans to grow its advisor force by 150 in the next several years.

Insurance companies and investment firms offering retirement services to companies large and small are learning that attention to detail, an improved communication with plan sponsors and, indirectly, plan participants can dramatically improve their customer retention and satisfaction rates.

The financial advisor’s equivalent of the real estate agent’s “location, location, location” mantra is “communication, communication, communication.” Given the events in the Middle East, you have a perfect opportunity to communicate with your clients, deepen your relationship with them and position yourself as a thought leader with the investing public through a timely, well-written update letter.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority expelled MICG Investment Management of Newport News, Va., and barred its chief executive and majority owner, Jeffrey A. Martinovich, from the securities industry.

According to PIMCO, consultants said that active management makes the most sense for all asset classes, except large-cap U.S. equities.

Financial advisors who want to keep their high-net-worth clients happy and in the fold would be well advised to keep their mobile phones close at hand, according to a new survey conducted by Chicago-based affluent investor consultant Spectrem Group.