Practice management

Millions of Americans are facing their own personal fiscal cliff, with half of middle class investors saying their most important day-to-day financial concern is paying the bills, never mind saving for retirement, according to a survey from Wells Fargo. What can advisors do to help?

Facing a growing demographic of Americans who likely have not saved enough for retirement, BlackRock launched The BlackRock Retirement Center, a new digital retirement platform that offers individuals access to resources, tools and insights about their pending retirement.

The chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, hosted a lunch with 75 New York business leaders in a bid to help to steer Washington away from the fiscal cliff and toward a budget compromise akin to Simpson-Bowles.

David Lerner was banned from the securities industry for a year and his firm ordered to pay $12 million for misleading investors into buying real estate investment trusts, regulators said. Lerner, whose David Lerner Associates Inc. has underwritten about $7 billion of its Apple REITs, was also fined $250,000, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority said today in a statement.

Social media is rapidly changing the way financial advisors approach their marketing efforts, but staying current with compliance regulations can be a challenge.

Also, 293 midsize advisors called out for delayed move to state oversight.

Merrill Lynch Wealth Management has snapped up a Morgan Stanley advisor team managing about $2.5 billion in client assets to its Private Banking and Investments Group.

Even though six in 10 women are concerned they aren’t saving enough to last throughout their retirement, few are taking steps to mitigate this risk.

Hawaii is the best state for retirees according to the 2012 MoneyRates.com analysis of the Best and Worst Stated for Retirement in the U.S.

Have you thought about what you can do in your practice to improve how you operate your business, making sure that this year is a better year than last year? Do you think your practice needs improved focus in order to be more profitable? Chris Kirby has some suggestions that could streamline your business to a “leaner and meaner” more profitable machine.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has just finished work on a new supply chain finance module for its CashPro Online banking channel for corporate clients.

Got an account in the red for the year? Dropped some iffy advice? That can be forgiven. But wait too long to call that millionaire client back and you might be out an account.

Franklin Templeton Investments announced the launch of its new online, interactive retirement center for advisors and plans sponsors on Thursday.

In spite of Medicare’s almost constant presence in the news recently, most U.S. investors still grossly underestimate how much they will need to save to cover the costs of healthcare in retirement, it emerged in a webcast last night from Wells Fargo’s retirement group.

Kevin Keller, the CEO of the CFP Board, expain how enforcement has changed since he took the helm at the company and he looks ahead at the future of the group.

Kevin Keller, the CEO of the CFP Board, discusses what it will take to attract advisors to become CFPs and dispels some of the biggest myths and misconceptions about the credentials.

The system now provides financial advisors with access to tax tools, account details and trading information.

Ask a room full of financial advisors if they have thought about business planning, and most will say yes. Ask that same group of advisors if they have actually taken the time to create a written business plan and more importantly, follow it, and the majority of that room will most likely say no.

Most believe without action to address tax cuts and spending cuts that are set to roll out at the end of the year, economic conditions will worsen.

Independent business owners associated with broker-dealers have a real chance today to capitalize on the frustrations that wirehouse advisors are experiencing with regard to increasing compliance burdens, lack of support and compensation limitations. Mindy Diamond says that a big problem, however, is that most of the firms these principals represent are not positioned properly to benefit from this unique opportunity.