Practice management

Are advisors doing clients a disservice when they prepare to hand over the reins?

A former Merrill Lynch advisor has joined Abbot Downing, a unit of Wells Fargo that serves ultra-wealthy clients.

Why your awesome 401(k) is still not as good as cash; Ignore this savings plan at your peril; Will benefits continue to increase if you wait past 70?

After listening to advisors pitch their businesses, a panel of investors explained what works. Advisor and consultant Ron Carson shares the most important takeaways.

The CFP Board is seeking to position itself as a guidepost to advance varied efforts to even out the gender gap in a profession in which men hold a substantial majority of positions and dramatically out-earn their female colleagues.

Diebold, best known as an ATM manufacturer, is rebranding and diversifying itself and promoting its consulting services on a popular banking topic: how to redefine branches as sales and service hubs.

Student debt threatens safety net for elderly Americans; Accessing retirement income for small business owners; When stock and real estate bubbles collide

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren said brokerage regulation needs a “major re-examination” to prevent funding shortfalls during a crisis and that brokers should have higher capital requirements.

When and how your clients elect Medicare coverage can have a big effect on their overall budget.

Both were booted from the brokerage industry for misappropriating customer funds.

Advisors need to take a more active role in engaging with college and university programs to help bring more students into the workforce, said industry officials at the CFP Board's recent academic conference.

The pitches are persuasive. Workers who leave jobs with the federal government transferred $10 billion last year out of the Thrift Savings Plan.

Customize your income-replacement rate; options for required IRA distributions; finding an identity beyond the workplace

Many U.S. households are not adequately prepared for retirement, according to a new report from the Federal Reserve that found 31% of non-retired respondents indicating they have no retirement savings or pension, including 19% of those ages 55 to 64.

Planners can help clients and build family loyalty by having difficult conversations about late-in-life options, says a speaker at LPL Focus.

As programs struggle, Kevin Keller says new Washington planning center will help academic financial planning programs.

HighTower recruited a Merrill Lynch advisor team managing $800 million in assets.

Is the American dream still alive; Social Security earnings test is not a tax; How to manage health care costs

Planners should consider hiring younger staff, and then encouraging -- or even requiring -- junior associates to study and sit for the CFP exam and complete their experience requirements, the CFP Board says.

Advisors still are not tapping into the Gen Y market, a study from Principal Financial Group shows.