Practice management

The looming stats are everywhere when it comes to the future of the advisory business, despite being a fast-growing industry. Here's how one advisor is trying to ensure a brighter outlook.

Like professional football players, most financial advisors maintain an external persona of confidence, but if advisors are honest with themselves, many insecurities –including avoiding contacting aggressive clients during market collapses, or fearing that they will look weak if they can’t think quickly on their feet when challenged by their clients—linger beneath the surface.

The process of switching to independence does not happen overnight. Here are 10 steps to consider when making the move to the RIA segment from Schwab Advisor Services.

In a keynote address kicking off the Insured Retirement Institute's Government, Legal and Regulatory conference, Atkins, now the CEO of Patomak Global Partners, offered a round critique of the Dodd-Frank Act and the myriad rulemaking proceedings that it set in motion.

Less than a week after landing another Morgan Stanley advisor, Raymond James has lured a Midwestern group with over $240 million in assets under management from Morgan Stanley to its independent-broker dealer.

The executive of Sacramento County in California recently attributed the increase in his county’s pension costs to “investment losses during the recession.”

Advisors may soon see lower fees for liquid alternative asset funds – hedge fund mutual funds – thanks to the push by hedge fund managers to market these plans more aggressively into the defined contribution space, according to panelists at last week's 25th annual Morningstar Investment Conference.

A top official for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority resigned after the agency was informed he was indicted for felony theft and charitable bingo fraud in 1993, the year he joined the agency.

Networking and a hands-on approach to learning about investing, running the family business and entrepreneurship are the best ways to attract and retain next generation clients, according to the head of one of the industry’s most successful and longest-running Next Gen programs.

The most common question from advisors about social media used to be “Should I bother?” Now that regulators and compliance departments have provided at least some guidance, the more common questions from advisors involve how to use social media effectively without it becoming a huge time vortex.

Following lunch with a prospect, Dave Grant turns to an abundance of tech tools to turn the referral into a client.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved new FINRA rules that prevent mutual fund and hedge fund industry personnel from serving as public arbitrators, effective July 1.

Advisors might want to consider brushing up on their foreign language skills if they want to pursue the highly prized millionaire market.

John David “J.D.” Joyce and his team moved to Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in Houston on May 23.

Want to boost your clients’ retirement income by 29%? There are five things advisors can do to help clients meet their retirement goals

A Connecticut advisory firm has developed a new approach to help financial planners solve client problems more quickly and efficiently. The activity is aimed at strengthening internal communications across service units, exchanging institutional knowledge, supporting business strategy and day-to-day management initiatives, and developing personnel skills.

The future of a uniform fiduciary standard regulating the broker-dealer and RIA space is unlikely, according to Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America.

To compete with larger industry players, RIAs must improve their processes, according to a new study by Aite Group and Envestnet/Tamarac.

Why do some wealth management firms experience explosive growth while others plod along at a more leisurely pace? To answer this question, Fidelity recently invited senior executives from nine firms that manage $1 billion or more to join us for a full-day discussion of what’s driving growth.

A $1 million producer has jumped from Morgan Stanley to Raymond James in Columbus, Ga.