Practice management

With the transfer of wealth from baby boomers to the younger generations already underway, financial advisors need to adjust or risk getting left behind.

The RIA channel is set to be a source of headcount growth, while the wirehouses and broker-dealer channels are expected to be the biggest losers, according to Cerulli Associates’ most recent study -- but there’s a silver lining for RIAs.

Members of Generations X and Y - people between 23 and 48 years old - who have $1 million or more in investable asset are more active in the markets, engaged in planning and philanthropy, informed, optimistic and collaborative than their baby boomer counterparts, according to a new survey by Fidelity Investments.

Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit must face a lawsuit filed by two trusts that hold and administer mortgages on behalf of investors who own more than $1 billion worth of securities collateralized by the loans.

Former CFP Board Chairman Alan Goldfarb was the first CFP holder ever to be publicly sanctioned for a compensation disclosure violation, the board has confirmed – despite its assertion that he was not treated differently than other CFP holders.

In 2012, they generated an average of $262,972 in revenue, beating advisors in similar-sized banks that partner with third-party broker-dealers.

A lawsuit brought by husband-and-wife planners in Florida against the CFP Board has brought the federal court system into the debate over “fee-only” labeling and consequences – a topic that the industry has been struggling to define.

In a crowded market like financial services, the truly successful professionals are those advisors who can cultivate a fiercely loyal, devoted client base, says advisor marketing guru Maribeth Kuzmeski.

Financial advisors are three times as likely to respond to a sales pitch from an asset manager, broker-dealer, custodian or insurance company when the approach is made in person, according to a new study.

There are few marketing issues in the advisor sector that in recent years have inspired more interest -- and uncertainty -- than the use of social media in the practice.

The Department of Labor is pushing back its timeframe for releasing a highly anticipated proposal for expanding fiduciary responsibilities for advisors who work with retirement plans.

More financial firms in the retirement space are considering the lifetime value of consumers.

The Financial Services Institute launched an online social community on Tuesday modeled in part on LinkedIn and aimed at allowing advisors to network and connect privately.

Citi Private Bank nabs talent from J.P. Morgan and Abbot Downing to serve the super wealthy in key markets.

UBS picked up a Morgan Stanley veteran with $345 million in assets under management.

Senior executives with leadership experience and strong sales skills in high demand as current advisors look to retire.

No one likes being rejected by a prospective client, but it's hardly uncommon. Here are three things to keep in mind when it happens.

The regulator levied fewer big-ticket fines in the first half of 2013, according to a report from Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.

Amid growing industry debate over compensation disclosure, the FPA has changed the compensation disclosure options on its website.

A year ago, when opposition from the asset-management industry killed her plan to make money-market mutual funds safer, sec Chairman Mary Schapiro looked to Timothy Geithner, then the Treasury Secretary, to tackle “one of the pieces of unfinished business from the financial crisis.” It remains unfinished.