Wealth management

The future of a uniform fiduciary standard regulating the broker-dealer and RIA space is unlikely, according to Barbara Roper, director of investor protection for the Consumer Federation of America.

Irascible investing legend John Bogle questioned whether target-date mutual funds are the right retirement investment choice in all cases.

RCAP CEO Nick Schorsch says the deal could be a "tipping point" in a new wave of private equity investment in independent broker-dealers.

The most important thing an advisor can do for clients is to integrate their investment portfolios with the rest of their financial needs, according to Morningstar’s director of global fund research.

Buyer beware! The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority issued an investor alert regarding the burgeoning alternative mutual fund asset class.

A difficult May in the municipal bond market has put investors on the defensive.

Though they face similar challenges in preparing for their financial futures, men and women think about and respond to them in divergent ways, according to research released Wednesday as part of Northwestern Mutual’s ongoing 2013 Planning and Progress Study.

Who are the top independent broker-dealers by net capital? Check out a countdown that examines total net capital and net excess capital, as well as where each firm stood on this year's FP50 list.

A week after investors pulled out of low-grade bond funds at record levels, ING’s chief investment officer Christine Hurtsellers said that the selloff is “overdone.”

First Allied Holdings, an independent broker-dealer, is set to be acquired by RCAP Holdings.

With the passing of Dodd-Frank, the SEC is paving the the way to adopt a uniform fiduciary standard for broker/dealers and investment advisors. Barry Glassman of Glassman Wealth says that there's no feasible way for brokers to uphold the same fiduciary standard to which RIA are held. He writes, "for them to come under the fiduciary standard as it currently exists, their businesses would have to split up into so many micro pieces that it would be disastrous for them." But the alternative, as it is being proposed, is for the very meaning of the fiduciary standard to change.

Huntington, NY-based Catalyst Capital Advisors has added George Amrhein as Director of Business Development to build upon the firm’s key distribution relationships and manage the continued expansion of its lineup of mutual funds.

Broker-dealers charged billions of dollars in excessive markups on municipal bond trades from 2005 to 2013, according to a new study.

Advisors who don't prepare their firms for demographic changes, regulatory uncertainty, and succession planning are setting themselves, and their firms, up for failuae.

Most planners do a lot more than select investments. So how do you measure the value of providing financial planning?

John Hancock Financial Network is picking up another 280 registered representatives?with the acquisition of Symetra Investment Services.

In a business where scale is everything, regional broker-dealers are growing rapidly. Check out which firms have the most advisors, and which are gaining ground.

Timid clients and more fee-based business weighed on transaction revenues. See which firms fared best over the past year.

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services introduced a platform that it hopes will make mergers and acquisitions easier for registered investments advisors.

Payout is top-of-mind for most independent advisors. Which firms had the largest growth in payout? According to Financial Planning's analysis, here are the top 10 firms.