Practice management

Young and up-and-coming planner Winnie Sun is a passionate advocate for the role that social media can play in attracting Generation Y clients. But recently a routine LinkedIn inquiry she made yielded a benefit that surprised even her: a huge client prospect who she thinks she never could have met otherwise

Financial advisors often handle getting their clients’ affairs in order in case they die, but when it comes to succession planning for their own practices, that is often another matter entirely.

President Obama met with congressional leaders at the White House on Friday to negotiate over the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and the looming problem of the so-called “fiscal cliff,” with the leaders agreeing that the meeting had been constructive.

Three years ago, Shannon Ryan of Manhattan Beach, Calif., left a position training and overseeing advisors with Ameriprise to return to full-time planning herself. The veteran of a successful planning practice years earlier on the East Coast, Ryan realized that her neighbors in California knew her mainly as the mother to two young daughters.

Greenspan said, "If we get out of this with a moderate recession, I would say that the price is very cheap."

More than half (55%) of Americans age 53 – 65 say they plan to continue working full-time as long as their health permits, up from 51% last year.

Tom Hoenig, a FDIC board member, reiterated his doubts that too big to fail has been eliminated, and offered his prescriptions for strengthening the system.

More than a thousand financial planners from around the country descended on Chicago for the Schwab Impact conference. The event gave them a chance for them to gain market intelligence, schmooze with peers, shop for new technology, check out new investing products and learn a few smarter ways to run their business.

Reaching multi-million dollar success as a female financial advisor is all about carving your own path. That is what four multi-million dollar female financial advisors said at the Women Advisors Forum in Newport Beach, Calif., on Thursday.

When it comes to talking about retirement, eldercare, and inheritance, parents may be from Mars while their grown children might as well be living on Neptune.

Each generation has distinct characteristics that inform the way its members like to communicate and connect with other people. Naturally, most people approach others the way they’d like to be treated, but that doesn’t cut it for advisors working with clients from a different generation, said Cam Marston, a generational characteristics expert and consultant with his firm, Generational Insight.

The program, announced Wednesday, will provide financing for junior partners seeking equity in a firm. It's currently in a pilot phase for registered investment advisory firms with more than $400 million in assets under management and at least three existing senior principals.

What is different about you? Why should prospective clients choose you over any other advisor with whom they may speak? To successfully attract clients, there needs to be some reason for those particular people to choose your offering from among all of their options. So, what is it about you?

Virtually every independent financial advisor practice has a web page, and while an increasing number of advisors are seeking to make better use of other digital platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, far too many still do not have a coherent digital marketing plan in place to complement their overall marketing strategy.

When you serve a client well during one of the most difficult times of their lives, it’s not just helpful for the client, but it’s also good for your business says Amy Florian, an educator, Schwab Impact speaker and the founder of the Chicago-based loss and grief consulting firm, Corgenius.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed 734 enforcement actions in the past year, one shy of last year’s record of 735, with a focus on investment advisors.

Is your business ready to offer mobile services to clients? Already, a quarter of U.S. online adults have an interest in using their mobile devices as a main channel for their personal financial life, said Neesha Hathi, senior vice president of Charles Schwab's Advisor Technology Solutions, at a technology trends panel Wednesday at Schwab's Impact conference.

Merrill Lynch has added industry veteran Daniel Sandlin from Morgan Stanley.

The firm has added a team with over $500 million in production to its southern California offices.

Some planners join boards. Others volunteer for local causes. Sun Group Wealth Partners in Irvine, Calif., decided to build bridges with its community by funding memberships for about 1,000 families of kids with special needs like autism to a unique educational museum called Pretend City.