How might the world have been different if, starting 10 years ago, every would-be home buyer had access to a free and independent tool that showed them - in highly personalized and granular detail - precisely what they could and could not have afforded to buy? Would there have been a real estate crash at all?

A new survey of broker-dealers highlights the extent to which their firms rely on back-office technology to manage and improve advisor relationships, while at the same time revealing broad dissatisfaction with the solutions that firms have currently deployed.

Eighty percent of financial advisors say they're dabbling in social media to drum up new business and one in five has already reeled in new clients as a result of participating.

TD Ameritrade Institutional claims its iRebal system will allow financial planners to rebalance client portfolios in "near-zero" time.

There have been more advances in technology for independent advisors in the past decade than there were in the previous 30 years. And the speed of this change is accelerating even faster today, giving advisors more tools to provide even better service to an even larger group of clients.

Members of Gen X and Y have less allegiance to their investment providers than previous generations, according to a new report.

The days of filling a conference room with prospective clients for a retirement planning seminar at the local Holiday Inn are pretty much over. If advisors really want to grow their assets under management these days, they need to get mobile and social as soon as possible.

First rule of thumb - it will cost you. The days of the service-driven model are over and banks will not be able to capture wallet share by going cheap.

Focus will be on building networks and boosting skills.

SEC Appoints New Head of Advisor Examination Program

Social media and technology usage has increased among ultra-high-net-worth and millionaire investors, according to a new Spectrem Group report.

According to an SEI poll, 44% of wealth managers said dealing with ongoing and ever-evolving regulatory changes will be their firms’ top priority this year.

Matrix Financial Solutions refreshes its RetireTool(k)it to better support regulatory compliance and simplify the selection and monitoring of funds.

More and more affluent investors are looking to mobile devices to review finances and check up on their social media accounts.

Janney Montgomery Scott has selected VestmarkONE to expand its managed account capabilities while providing enhanced operational efficiency.

The firm will be rolling out PriceMetrix CommissionCheck to more accurately assess the value of its services.

Actiance announced the first social media enablement platform to work with Salesforce’s CRM data, allowing advisors to track and analyze sales discussions with clients in their blogs, on Twitter and other popular social media sites.

Regardless of size, the most widely cited response to the question of whether a fund firm will cut spending on technology this year is: We won't.

The FPA and FiPath for Advisors announced a strategic partnership that will allow FPA members to access a variety of online marketing and educational tools.

Wireless networks, mobile devices and cloud computing have transformed the way advisors do business. How can these innovations change your business?