Social media has become an inescapable force, but many in the financial services industry are still holding back from using it.

The “Tax Insights” information is available online at Putnam’s advisor website and new wealth management center.

With JPMorgan rumored to be eyeing a minority stake in Twitter that would value the company at $4.5 billion, it’s time for advisors to start taking it seriously. Not surprisingly, like many other aspects of web-marketing and social media, how an advisor uses Twitter is different from most everyone else.

The search function lets advisors root out detailed profiles of existing clients, prospects or professional connections using a wide array of variables.

Financial services firms are being specifically targeted in Web attacks by "criminal elements," according to Edward Powers, a principal at Deloitte & Touche. Those attackers “know what assets they’re going after and they’re going after you in a very orchestrated way,’’ he said at a meeting of the Wall Street Technology Association.

While carriers have many reasons for slow adoption, 11 life insurers now offer mobile functionality to consumers, according recent research.

The tool lets retail investors see how their portfolio is performing against benchmarks and how much risk they have taken.

To help financial advisors and firms jumpstart their social media endeavors without running afoul of FINRA regulations, LIMRA and social middleware firm Socialware this week rolled out "Insight: Advisor Series," a new social media training program specifically designed to help guide them through the potential legal and cultural landmines presented by social networking sites and platforms.

In the past year, TD Ameritrade’s mobile trading has increased by 125%.

Of the 75 technology companies represented at the T3 Conference, Smarsh and Arkovi are among the companies offering tools to help advisors be active in the space.

Marie Swift, the president and CEO of Impact Communications, presented to a room of advisors at the T3 Conference in Florida on how they can maximize their online presence by effectively using social media.

When it comes to web marketing, independent advisors are different from everyone else. Which means there is a good chance you have been getting bad advice. Bad advice about using the web to grow your practice.

The app, which can be downloaded for free from Apple's App Store, is the firm's first foray into the mobile applications arena and the cornerstone of its nascent WealthCentral Mobile strategy.

The two marriage partners did not describe this as a ‘merger of equals.’ Deutche Borse shareholders, after all, will have 60% control. But NYSE Euronext chief executive Duncan Niederauer says it’s not a takeover. So what is it?

"Social media" is not just some amorphous glob of communications outlets to be employed or avoided. Here's the quick setup to get going with a strategy to use social technologies effectively.

Joseph Price, FINRA senior vice president of corporate financing and advertising regulation, told Dow Jones a second Social Networking Task Force will meet in March and more guidance will be issued by the end of the year.

Mobile apps and smartphones are all the rage on Main Street, but only a small minority of investors and traders are using them for their portfolios.

Most projections call for financial services firms to boost tech spending this year by 5% or less. Then, there's Brad Lyman, director of technology at Matthews International Capital Management, and a more robust estimate today at the National Investment Company Service Association 2011 Conference & Expo.

An audit of financial services firms' advisor websites reveals that most have improved in a number of key categories, but most still only rank somewhere between "fair" and "good."

SunGard Data Systems said it introduced a mechanism for tracking leaks of company information through social media. The capital markets software supplier said a new surveillance product will help organizations watch for "content that may breach internal communication and privacy policies.''