Practice management

As mobile applications proliferate, do financial advisors really use them?

In a survey of 21 different positions in financial advisory firms, a new survey from the Financial Planning Association indicates that most planners got a pay increase from the time that the was survey was conducted three years ago.

Two thirds of high-net-worth households with $5 million or more in investable assets believe that the country is worse off now than it was in 2007.

Even as Americans struggle to save, with more than four in 10 living from paycheck-to-paycheck and eight percent who say they don’t earn enough each month to pay for essentials, most are confident in their ability to manage their personal finances, according to a recent survey by Allstate.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the dismissal of a class action that sought damages by class members as a result of the 2008 UBS tax evasion scandal.

Married Baby Boomers are much more likely to have retirement savings and a retirement goal than their single friends.

Dynasty Financial Partners announced Monday it hired Michael Moriarty as director of investment platforms.

Brown Advisory, an independent investment management firm with $33 billion in assets under management, announced the appointment of Porter Schutt and Bill Dugdale as partners in the firm’s Wilmington, Del., office.

Only 11% of households cite referrals as the reason for beginning relationships with advisors, according to Cerulli Associates.

Mary Jo White, President Barack Obama’s nominee to lead the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said she will avoid some matters involving firms including JPMorgan Chase & Co., General Electric Co. and Deloitte & Touche LLP if confirmed by the Senate.

Unlike the soon-to-be-discontinued Facebook Credits, the new Amazon Coins have a ready marketplace with consumers and merchants.

Total HSA accounts rose by 22% last year, to more than 8.2 million, while assets picked up by 27%, to $15.5 billion.

Target maturity funds picked up more than $13 billion in the fourth quarter of 2012, bringing the industry’s total assets to some $485 billion, a 29% increase from a year ago, according to data from Ibbotson.

FINRA appears to be pulling back from its campaign to regulate RIAs -- and advisors couldn’t be happier.

“Firms have to commit to planning," says Mike Durbin, president of Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services. "The firms on a path to high performance are on a fast course to planning.”

Some pent up demand could make 2013 a more robust year for recruitment.

Fidelity will team up with Extend Health, a Towers Watson company, to help retiring corporate employees choose Medicare coverage.

A growing number of the nation’s wealthiest individuals are seeking advice on moving their funds and themselves not only across state lines but across national borders as fears grow over the direction of U.S. tax policy.

When it comes to understanding white collar criminals, Walter A. Pavlo, Jr. wants financial services professionals to know one thing: they look a lot like them.

Are advisors getting it wrong on recruiting and hiring? A new report out from Pershing finds a gap between what advisors say they ought to be doing and what they're actually getting right.