Wealth management

The nation’s estimated 17,600 bank advisors are as diverse as the U.S. itself. Here are 12 who were profiled in our magazine this year, each with different investment philosophies, market niches, and business development approaches. Their interests, too, are just as varied, making each producer stand out on many levels.

The time for watching and waiting is over. Twitter is a culture phenomenon and more and more financial advisors are setting up Twitter profiles and testing the waters to connect with existing clients, promote their services to potential new clients and share industry news and insight with their peers. Whether you are new to Twitter or seasoned vet, here are 10 tips provided by TJ Gilsenan, Web-Savvy Advisor, to help financial advisors get the most out of the platform:

Here are a dozen gifts (plus one) which could ruin your holiday spirit -- and pocketbook -- if FINRA decides you have crossed the line and been too generous.

Raymond James has added four firms with total assets of $410 million to its RIA division, said Mike DiGirolamo, senior vice president and managing director of the Investment Advisors Division of Raymond James Financial Services.

Here’s one way RIA firms can measure their firms’ success: they can see everything from where their revenue is coming from to total assets under management — benchmarked to other firms — the same way you’d look at dials on a car dashboard.

Washington Wealth Management, a breakaway RIA founded last December, continued its explosive growth by acquiring its third breakaway advisor in just the past three weeks, bringing it ever closer to $1 billion in AUM.

Legacy expert attorneys Andy and Danielle Mayoras say there’s no doubting the greatness of Martin Luther King Jr. However, he made a mistake common among millions of Americans: He didn't have a will.

Before putting a bow on 2011, advisors and their clients should take the time to nail down these four key aspects of their finances to ensure financial planning success in 2012, according to M&I, a part of the BMO Financial Group. Everyone wants to save money and prepare themselves and their families for the future. But that can only happen if clients establish well-defined goals and take the necessary steps to put advisors’ strategic advice to work. Here are the Top 4 end-of-year financial planning tasks every client needs to complete:

In nearly 90% of high-net-worth households, women are either the sole decision maker or equal partners in decisions on charitable giving, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch survey in conjunction with The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

UBS zeroes in on five events that will happen in the upcoming year, five that may and five that won’t.

When planners help clients manage their wealth, it is important to help them recognize the deep emotional sources of philanthropy.

Shrinking margins in the independent broker-dealer space have prompted another independent broker-dealer, Seattle-based Pacific West Financial Group, to close its doors.

The latest "safe haven" for investors appears to be, once again, gold. But this time, the avenue they’re taking to get the bullion into their portfolios is the exchange-traded fund.

Here are this year’s best bank-based financial advisors and the secrets to their success.

With the holidays fast approaching, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has come up with a holiday wish list for its "true love,” the financial markets. For the most part, the Deutsche Bank crew doesn’t believe they’re dreaming and predicts most of these wishes will come true 2012. Do you? Here’s an interactive slideshow counting down the 12 wishes they and most wealth managers are hoping for in the New Year.

2011 is winding to a close and financial planners and their clients are already making adjustments to their portfolios and plotting the strategies they intend to deploy to increase their wealth and buffer their retirement savings. To this end, the Financial Planning Association of San Francisco has offered up its Top 12 Financial Planning Strategies for 2012. Take a gander at this interactive slideshow detailing the best tactics for you and your clients next year.

Legacy expert attorneys Andy and Danielle Mayoras say events surrounding his estate have been anything but consistent with his musical legacy. In the 30 years since his death, his estate has seen far too many court fights, lawsuits and money-grabs to count. And that legacy of fighting over money doesn’t seem likely to end any time soon.

Fidelity Charitable has rolled out GivingCentral, an online advisor platform, and a dedicated advisor service team.

Your clients can have homeowners' insurance that monitors for leaks or fires - and even file claims on their behalf.

Intra-family loans are gaining traction to finance start-ups and help out in many other ways.