Practice management

There's a big difference between succession-planning practice sales and other kinds of deal activity, advisors learned during a succession-planning panel Wednesday.

Balances in small business retirement plans have increased an average of 20 percent between 2007 and 2012 in the aftermath of the recession.

From athletes who abuse illegal substances in order to win to business executives who lie on financial statements to boost profitability, examples of cheating are all around.

The new trust office in Wilmington will provide personal trust services for high-net-worth clients with more than $1 million in investable assets.

FINRA has named a senior Treasury Department official to serve as the group's first chief economist.

"You must ask everyone who comes into your office: Do you have a health problem?" estate planner and Financial Planning contributor Martin Shenkman cautioned. "If you don't ask, they are not going to tell."

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is recommending that policymakers implement a nationwide financial education program into grade school as well as standardized tests.

Wealth managers need to upgrade their strategies for working with clients coping with grief or risk losing them to other advisors.

People usually don't change after you hire them, so make sure their strengths are a good fit for the job.

LPL introduced a comprehensive support program last month for banks' licensed branch employees. The program will be offered in conjunction with Epic Platforms.

Britt Woods from Fifth Third Bank tops our list this year. He and other winners discuss the importance of providing their bank partners with referrals.

Bank customers are staying away in droves as they do more business online. Here's what advisors can do to combat lighter foot traffic at the branch.

New rules to disclose recruitment compensation may be blooming soon.

Our legal expert discusses things to consider before making a referral to a nonaffiliated third party.

Managing staff isn't easy. People don't change and you can't change someone either before or after you've hired them.

Nervous clients might seek negative information to support their beliefs. Here's how to ease their fears.

Twenty- and thirty-somethings take investing cues from their parents, and advisors need to reach them by phone or have face-to-face contact, according to a survey.

The professor of finance at Santa Clara University, Calif., discusses where investors are today and how financial advisors need to address clients' emotional outlook on the markets.

A run-down of the stories in this issue, identifying the top branch managers in the wealth management industry, and learning what it takes to get to the top.

This year's top branch managers found a way to succeed during the most challenging times.