Practice management

Successful planning organizations almost always take a collaborative team approach, building on the complementary skills of members.

The U.S. House of Representatives doesn’t plan any votes on the federal budget tonight, meaning that Congress for now will fail to avert $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts set to start at midnight.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said lawmakers in Congress are “very, very close” to a deal to avert $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts set to start at midnight.

Advisors naively believe that only 17% of their clients hold a direct account when in fact 74% do, according to a new report from Boston-based research firm Cerulli Associates.

The White House and congressional negotiators agreed to contours of a budget deal including tax cut extensions, with the remaining sticking point being how to avert automatic federal spending cuts, said an official familiar with the talks.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he’s hopeful negotiators can reach a last-minute U.S. budget deal that would protect all but top earners from a tax increase.

Negotiators made progress overnight as they tried to reach a last-minute U.S. budget deal that would let income taxes go up on some top earners.

Over the coming year, financial regulators are expected to press ahead with scores of rulemaking proceedings that will affect advisors and their clients. Lawmakers will continue to refine and implement numerous provisions of the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, while mulling the possibility of expanding oversight of investment advisors.

How many times have we said to ourselves, “If I’d only known then what I know now?” At this year’s Securities America Assistant University, a panel of experienced advisor assistants shared the benefit of hindsight and the top things they wish they had known in their first year as an assistant.

With little more than a day remaining to avert tax increases for almost every U.S. worker and to halt federal spending cuts, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked to bridge gaps over income tax rates, the estate tax and other issues.

As we head into 2013, most of us have made some personal resolutions, but what about your practice?

President Barack Obama made a last- minute appeal for compromise as three senators said the chances were greater than 50-50 for a deal to avert more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. In an interview broadcast Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Obama warned of “an adverse reaction in the markets” if Congress doesn’t act.

Access to advisors and brokerage accounts is getting even easier for some investors.

Growing a financial advisory practice comes with many challenges. From bringing in new assets to finding a work-life balance, these challenges consume much of an advisor’s time and attention. However, a challenge many advisors seem to ignore is also one that offers the most opportunity - hiring an associate wealth advisor.

Congress is scheduled to return Thursday, with one of its top priorities a deal to avert the December 31 “fiscal cliff” deadline of looming tax increases and automatic spending cuts, but it will need to work quickly or reach some type of interim agreement.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has ordered five firms to pay $4.48 million for unfairly using bond proceeds to pay reimburse themselves for membership fees they paid to the California Public Securities Association, a lobbying group.

Trades were placed one to two days after the orders arrived by fax or mail, causing some customers to get inferior prices from late 2003 until June 2011, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said in a statement.

Base salaries for hedge fund and mutual fund managers are projected to increase 3.5% and incentive pay is projected to rise by 0-10% from 2011 to 2012, according to a new study from Greenwich Associates and Johnson Associates.

Wealthy Americans say growing the economy matters more in the coming year than slashing federal spending.

“While many firms are definitely taking note of the importance of women today, they still don’t quite know how to approach women in a meaningful way,” says Teresa Dentino, founder and CEO of financial education firm The Financial 411.