FSI sees the new insurance coverage as an added benefit the group hopes will help it increase membership and amplify its advocacy efforts.

Nearly 40% of community banks have no plans to introduce new products and services in the next three years, according to a recent survey from the Federal Reserve and Conference of Bank Supervisors. Technology also remains a daunting challenge, along with regulatory changes and other business challenges.

Discussing his experience disclosing a cancer diagnosis to clients and other challenging planning scenarios, an ethics consultant offers a number of surprising lessons for advisors.

Should small and midsize RIAs be required to have a succession plan in place for their firms? State securities regulators are asking for input from practitioners as they wrap up the rulemaking process.

The SEC has initiated an administrative proceeding against an advisor who allegedly misappropriated around $2 million of investors' funds in a scheme dating to 2008.

Consumer and industry advocates are criticizing FINRA over its alternative to a proposal that would have required recruiting firms to disclose advisor compensation incentives to clients when moving between brokerages.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will probably use emergency court action to stop state and local governments from selling municipal bonds if it thinks their offerings are fraudulent, an enforcement division official told bond lawyers meeting here.

"Any effort to put broker-dealers and advisors into the same box is probably not going to work," says a former deputy director of the SEC's Division of Investment Management.

Ane S. Plate was banned for allegedly looting more than $140,000 from a customer account.

Sales and advice should be separated by law, because there’s a clear difference between true "fiduciary" practices and those of the brokerage industry, Fiduciary Institute says.

"We want to focus on what advisors can do to prepare for the next generation or two," says NAPFA chair Robert Gerstemeier.

TD Ameritrade's online hub will offer information and action alerts to advisors as lawmakers and regulators weigh hot-button issues.

An ex-Morgan Stanley advisor represented himself in a contract dispute with the firm before FINRA, and the arbitration panel assessed him over $200,000 in fees.

Even as the SEC decided last month to put alternative mutual funds under the regulatory microscope, the investments are in a growth period as asset managers who offer the products seek to market their advantages to advisors and investors.

Two days after Apple unveiled its attempt to advance mobile payments, CFPB Director Richard Cordray cited the burgeoning field as a key area of concern his agency needs to examine.

Supporters of a broader and more rigorously enforced fiduciary standard are rallying behind a set of best practices they would like to see advisors and brokers incorporate into their practices.

Applying your fantasy football skills to retirement savings; 7 fatal flaws in America's 401(k) plans; 3 steps to protect your portfolio in the next market crash

FINRA has promoted one of its own to head the regulator's disciplinary unit, but still has no replacement for Linda Fienberg's other role as head of arbitrations.

The financial services sector as a whole is chasing short-term gains and in the process saddling investors with the costs of higher trading volumes and often not acting in their best interests, says Vanguard founder John Bogle.

Banc of California has announced extensive community reinvestment goals as part of its planned purchase of 20 Banco Popular branches in Southern California. The agreement, which appeased a community group that had opposed the sale, shows how much power such organizations wield when it comes to M&A.