As controversial fiduciary proposal to curb conflicted retirement advice heads to White House for review, insiders see exemptions permitting commonplace brokerage business models.

The White House plans to throw its full weight behind a Department of Labor proposal to make it harder for brokers to push higher-fee mutual funds or other expensive retirement investment products.

Most companies strongly protect their crown jewels: internal sales figures, product development plans, account numbers and customer transaction information. Typically lower down the priority list are customer relationship management systems and databases of clients' contact information.

A U.S. probe into how Morgan Stanley client information ended up for sale on the Internet is examining whether a financial adviser was targeted by hackers after he took data from the bank, two people briefed on the inquiry said.

A U.S. probe into how Morgan Stanley client information ended up for sale on the Internet is examining whether a financial advisor was targeted by hackers after he took data from the bank, two people briefed on the inquiry said.

Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS Group banker who won a $104 million whistle-blower award after serving time in prison for tax conspiracy, won a U.S. judge’s permission to testify in France in a separate probe of the Swiss bank.

Charles Schwab and New York agreed to settle a 2009 lawsuit in which the state accused the firm of promoting auction-rate securities as safe while failing to disclose the risks before the market for them froze.

The Obama administration is expected to endorse more stringent fiduciary rules requiring brokers to have their clients' best interest in mind when recommending retirement-account investments; Plus, the retirement investment mistake clients don't know they're making.

A recent research paper found that community banks' assets, along with market share in most types of commercial lending, have fallen since the Dodd-Frank Act was passed. The report is giving advocates of smaller institutions more data to rally around.

Industry leaders at NICSA's strategic leadership forum in Hollywood, Fla., reached quick consensus on the twin challenges at the top of every organization's strategic priority list: managing cybersecurity threats and responding to increased regulatory demands.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions said that it will publish a second batch of draft plans on Feb. 20 for identifying funds or particular investing practices that could present systemic risks.

Local investing opportunity networks can bring in a healthy income stream -- but advisors need to make sure compliance is squarely on their side.

Obama signs executive order encouraging businesses to share more information about new and emerging threats as regulators warn the advisory industry that they're watching closely.

Top official says the industry regulator is combing through hundreds of comment letters on controversial broker data-reporting rules, vowing close consideration of privacy and security concerns.

The SEC barred an RIA from the industry after the firm was charged with misleading investors -- including falsely claiming that its fund was "SEC approved."

Asset management organizations must adopt modern, maintained systems that provide a single coherent book of record and smoothly integrate with the surrounding necessary data flows.

Support for fully exempting community banks from the Volcker Rule continues to grow, but advocates fear it could be waylaid by a larger fight in Congress over changes to the Dodd-Frank Act.

No clarity on how regulators will decide to handle fiduciary standard proposed for broker-dealers, Schapiro said.

The mounting danger of data breaches and online crime threatens firms with financial disaster unless they become more cyber-resilient, says one cyber security and technology risk expert.

The push to make money-market funds safer means the biggest U.S. banks will pay more to borrow while America’s near record-low financing costs go even lower.