Practice management

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. public pension-fund assets grew by 4.2 percent in the last three months of 2013, boosted by stock market gains, the Census Bureau reported. Assets of the 100 largest public-worker retirement plans climbed to $3.19 trillion by the end of December, up $129.9 billion from September, the bureau said yesterday. The gains pushed holdings to the highest level since the government began tracking the data in 1968. …

Former UBS banker Mark Zaino walked out of court a free man Thursday after a federal judge chose to impose no further sentence on him for his role in rigging municipal bond contracts.

An advisor team which managed more than $600 million in assets at Merrill Lynch has left the firm to join Morgan Stanley.

The constant monitoring is helping the bank keep tabs on customers' likes and dislikes — and stay on top of complaints.

With an estimated $2 trillion "in motion" due to divorce or widowhood among American women, a thorough understanding of such major transitional moments may help financial advisors protect and even expand their practices.

For investment advisors with a small pool of clients, the threat of a cyber attack that could compromise investors' personal identifying information is especially acute, says one IT expert.

Each branch is unique with different personalities so you need to "crack the code" for each location-the key is to make their lives easier.

Kitces and Alan Moore are launching XY Planning Network, which will assist financial advisors working with Gen X and Gen Y clients.

Some 20 years after gaining considerable renown, Sharon Rich is still running a solo shop and billing like a consultant. That's exactly how she wants it.

More banks are deciding to invest millions in mobile banking, video tellers and core-processing upgrades after avoiding capital spending for a long time. They says it's a good move for the long term, but some will take heat from investors and other critics in the short run.

The program pairs newer women advisors with more experienced ones

As they prepare for retirement, senior advisors can help young planners become competent and confident financial advisors.

A business can't have value without having profits. Understand how to calculate existing profits - and then make a plan to increase them.

The Insured Retirement Institute is planning the launch of an advisor council this spring.

A former Baird advisor won an arbitration case against his old employer, resulting in a FINRA arbitration panel awarding him $170,000 in damages for defamation.

Nearly 150 million U.S. adults are expected to be banking on their mobile devices by 2018, and lenders can roll out the red carpet with user-friendly apps and modernized branches.

Bernard Madoff's victims are set to get $349 million in a fresh round of payments by the trustee unwinding his firm, a day after five of its ex-employees were convicted of aiding the con man's $17.5 billion Ponzi scheme.

Envestnet has increased its value fivefold since going public. Buyers may take notice.

Wealthfront, an online financial advisory firm, is in talks to raise about $30 million in a round of financing led by Index Ventures, according to people familiar with the situation.

Errors and omissions insurance premiums are rising. A proposed fiduciary standard for advisors would drive the cost up further, according to insurance specialists.