Practice management

The SEC and Connecticut Banking Commissioner Howard Pitkin charged Southridge Capital Management LLC and its chief executive officer, Stephen M. Hicks, with defrauding investors in million of undeserved fees.

The Boston-based company hopes the new offering will help independent advisors boost their business with ultra-wealthy clients.

Some states may face a severe pension fund reckoning, but the problems are manageable if lawmakers act now to address them through a combination of increased contributions and benefit cuts, according to Loop Capital Markets LLC.

President Obama's appointment of Elizabeth Warren as the top administration official in charge of setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau avoided a probable Senate confirmation battle but continues to raise doubts about her authority.

Making the switch to state supervision is the hardest part. After that, monitoring is comparatively light.

He will take over from James Shorris, who has been acting chief of enforcement since Susan Merrill left the organization in March.

The 1,000-advisor firm is targeting $300,000-plus independent advisors, $1 million teams and $500,000 to $5 million firms.

Institutional investment managers may soon have to report to the Securities and Exchange Commission on what say they have on executive pay at the firms they invest in.

Unlike other House Republicans, Rep. Ed Royce is not looking to repeal outright the Dodd-Frank reg reform law, but the California lawmaker is likely to try and clip its wings.

While advisors are clamoring for access to web-based prospecting, most broker-dealers are paralyzed over fears of a social-media snafu.

Though it bucks conventional wisdom, giants may become smaller, simpler and safer over the next handful of years if regulators properly use tools provided in the Dodd-Frank Act.

The former Ferris, Baker Watts LLC will pay $500k for inadequate supervision of sales of reverse convertible notes to retail customers.

According to Allianz, 97% of surveyed younger boomers say the U.S. is in a retirement crisis.

The Delaware company hired Walter J. Dillingham Jr. as a managing director and business development officer; John M. Lawson as a managing director and investment advisor; and Leigh H. Weiss as a managing director and investment advisor.

Now is the time for a balanced approach to both equities and fixed income, MFS advises.

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged two hedge fund portfolio managers and their investment advisory businesses with defrauding investors by overvaluing illiquid fund assets they placed in a "side pocket."

Broker-dealers who are sponsoring their customers' direct access to securities markets need to face a "higher level of accountability with respect to the algorithms they use,'' according to their chief regulator.

Its never too early to begin helping clients prepare for the 2011 tax season. It will become even more so as the Bush tax cuts come to an end on Dec. 31.

“Advisors need systems in order to accomplish their goals, whether you’re a large firm or a one-man team,” said Craig Snyder, one of LPL's top managers. “You need to track your activity so you can see what else you need to do to maximize your return on investment.”

Just 11.2% of private-sector establishments offer health benefits to early retirees.