Practice management

Mary Jo White, a prosecutor and former U.S. attorney in Manhattan, will be nominated by President Barack Obama to be the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a White House statement.

We can all do something better, something new, something different, something more. According to Steve Wershing, one reason advisors have difficulty following through is that we are all pretty booked up.

The Internal Revenue Service provided advice to taxpayers Wednesday on dealing with the late opening of tax season on January 30 that could also prove helpful to tax preparers.

The AICPA’s Advanced Personal Financial Planning Conference, held last week in Las Vegas, drew a record 1,100 attendees this year, a big jump from 820 in 2012.

Social media offers an increasingly powerful way to communicate with clients and prospects, yet many advisors aren’t taking advantage.

The Internal Revenue Service reported that audits of individuals topped 1 million in fiscal year 2012 for the sixth year in a row, a coverage rate of 1.03 percent of all tax returns filed, while audits in the upper income ranges remained substantially higher than other categories.

A client advisory board is a powerful tool advisors can use to better understand their clients and receive feedback on how to be more attractive to their ideal client.

Helping other businesses can help you, too.

As a tool for advisors, Riskalyze is new to the scene. The original risk profiling product was meant for individual investors, but a professional version specifically for investment advisors was recently launched.

A lot of time, effort and money is spent on discovering if a prospective team member will “fit” and determining if a new member’s personality or behavior will be complementary to those already on the team. Ken Haman examines what "team harmony" really means.

Keeping in touch with clients on a regular and timely basis is crucial. Whether you're facing market swings or macro issues, if you aren’t in front of your clients with information, they’re probably on their way to you with questions.

Many financial service firms are targeting women as their economic power increases. The best way to market your practice to any demographic is by providing high-quality services. However, it is also prudent to have a marketing strategy that speaks to your ideal clients and clearly articulates how these clients can benefit from hiring your firm.

Rapidly changing technology offers new ways for advisors to connect with clients. That makes it an exciting time to be in business, but it also means it’s critical for advisors to adapt.

Make a better first impression: In an increasingly digital age, there’s no excuse for ignoring one of the most important tools you have.

House Republicans plan to vote Jan. 23 on a three-month extension of U.S. borrowing authority in an effort to force the Democratic-led Senate to adopt a budget plan.

You’re more than halfway through a month of working on your practice. Today, your task is simple -- and hopefully it will renew you for the remaining tips to come.

If you want to keep them on track, forget nitty-gritty details and focus on these six major themes.

Coaching and consulting hundreds of advisors over the years has allowed Ron Carson to see several industry trends and lump advisors together into various buckets. One of these “buckets” is advisors who view human capital, technology, office space, coaching programs, etc., as an investment versus a cost. Advisors who view these areas as costs tend to experience less success and grow their business at a slower rate.

Want to know whether a stock is a buy, sell, or hold? Investors and advisors can find out quickly by glancing at their iPhone.

Wealth manager Peter J. Eichler Jr., once had more than $10 billion in assets under management. Following his RIA’s bankruptcy filing in November, however, the SEC has filed a lawsuit against Eichler and Aletheia Research and Management for alleged securities fraud and for allegedly violating fiduciary duties to clients and to the funds Aletheia managed.