Practice management

Do you know what your clients want? If not, there’s a good reason: The affluent mind has changed.

America has yet to witness the tremendous societal transformation retiring Boomers will have, as the oldest is a mere 64 and the youngest, 46. But we are beginning to see signs of the tsunami-sized impact this 77 million-strong army will have on the workplace, the economy, healthcare and even the arts and entertainment.

In an effort to attract assets and customers, Bank of America Merrill Lynch has introduced the Financial Wellness Monitor to help employers score how well employees are doing at saving for retirement.

The run on advisors from wirehouses is the new reality for Milwaukee-based Baird.

Separately, the private bank is bringing on two executives.

Advisors are thinking outside the box to grow their businesses despite market volatility last year.

A troubling 72% of workers age 60 or older are putting off retirement because they say they don’t have enough funds, according to a survey of 700 people that Harris Interactive conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder.

Aging is the worst part about retirement - unless you consider the rising costs of healthcare eating into your nest egg.

As the race to rake in breakaway brokers continues to heat up, it seems that independent broker-dealers, are failing to spend on the areas of technology that matter most to independent advisors: customer relationship management and integration.

Merrill Lynch veteran Tom Isaacs is still waiting to see if Merrill will enforce a 60-day leave clause.

Mission statements are meant to develop a purpose for family wealth that all members can support.

The new hires bring an expertise in fixed income, including corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities.

Advisors believe many Americans could need double or triple their savings targets.

Vice President Joe Biden unveiled the Middle Class Task Force's new report on the middle class Friday, in which he outlined plans to offer automatic Individual Retirement Accounts to most Americans, provided clarification for giving advice to plan participants, and offered a proposal to allow plans to provide guaranteed retirement income products.

Advisors spent much of the last two years telling clients not to worry about the day-to-day shifts in the market, that their goals are long-term. But are they applying their own mantra?

Retirement plans, endowments, foundations and other large investors in North America will turn over $420 billion in assets to new investment advisors, according to the “2010 Consultant Search Forecast” survey of 70 leading investment consulting firms by eVestment Alliance and Casey, Quirk & Associates.

CUSIP Global Services, the numbering agency for North America, and Avox have teamed up to create a new identification code for business entities called Cabre.

Despite an increase in affluent investor confidence, millionaires are “uneasy” about the economy.

Recent claims against advisors moving firms harks back to the bad old days pre-Protocol.

Financial services firms have reckoned with the fact that social media is here to stay, but insurers would be wise to watch how their name is being used in social circles.