Wealth management

In the wake of the newly-passed American Tax Relief Act of 2012, it’s likely many wealthy clients will continue to make large family gifts. If they are giving away hard-to-value assets, they might consider following a tactic from the Wandry case, decided by the Tax Court in 2012.

The last-minute tax deal cobbled together in Washington contained several key elements for estate planning. Now advisors can break the good news to wealthy clients:

Here we present a new look at our Top 50 Bank Advisors list, reshuffled and ranked by AUM (and then we cut it down to just the top 20).

The RIA sector drastically outpaced the growth rate of the rest of the financial services industry in the past year, growing at 13% versus 1.3%, according to research from Cerulli & Associates. For our annual RIA Leaders report, Financial Planning ran the numbers to look at the 50 fastest-growing fee-only RIA firms for 2012.

Who is poised to influence the financial advisory industry this year? Check out who made the list, in alphabetical order, and who will set the agenda on everything from the next generation of advisors to the latest set of regulatory rules.

“It has been a good niche for us,” says Russ Crosson, the president and CEO of RIA Ronald Blue & Co. “Clients come to us because they want to be good stewards.”

The Internal Revenue Service released new income tax withholding tables for 2013 late Monday to reflect the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 Bush tax cuts and the more recent payroll tax cuts of 2011 and 2012, but noted that the guidance would be modified if Congress acts.

Two questions lie at the heart of the rapidly evolving registered investment advisory space: Which of the country's 15,016 RIA firms can legitimately call themselves independent? And what, precisely, does independence mean anyway? Here are Financial Planning's top 50 fee-only RIA firms for 2012.

What advisors can still do to protect business owners' assets even though last year is gone.

For a price, new data-mining services offer access to stunningly detailed personal information on clients and prospects.

The shaping of this year's list reveals plenty about the shifting dynamics of the RIA industry.

A portion of the health care law could carry some unpleasant surprises for high-income taxpayers.

Advisors naively believe that only 17% of their clients hold a direct account when in fact 74% do, according to a new report from Boston-based research firm Cerulli Associates.

This year was a “slower year than many expected,” in terms of financial advisors departing major firms for other pastures, according to Chip Roame, the managing partner at Tiburon Strategic Advisors. “I believe 2013 may be slower, too,” he says.

With little more than a day remaining to avert tax increases for almost every U.S. worker and to halt federal spending cuts, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell worked to bridge gaps over income tax rates, the estate tax and other issues.

Small businesses may be facing a variety of regulatory changes after January 1.

Industry experts and thought leaders make their predictions about what is to come for advisors and investing in 2013.

The Women Advisors Forum convened for its last 2012 event on Dec. 17 in Boston. Among the topics discussed include tips to facilitate the recruitment process, how to use technology to improve communication with clients, sustainable investing as a long-term strategy and new approaches to practice management. Check out these photos for some of the highlights from that day.

Celebrating its two-year anniversary with an announcement of its 11-figure status, New York-based Dynasty Financial Partners aims to separate itself from the myriad of firms offering services to registered investment advisors.

With 2012 coming to an end and 2013 just on the horizon, many advisors are doing what they can to prepare their business for the New Year.