Wealth management

"As breakaway brokers continue to seek the benefits of the independent RIA model and a large number of RIAs near retirement, we're seeing unprecedented opportunities to create mutually beneficial relationships between advisors," said Ben Welch, Ameritrade's director of advisor business development. "RIAConnect meets the increasing demand for a more effective way to connect firms and helps support advisor growth potential."

In an effort to give smaller RIAs access to a broader array of services, Ron Carson has launched Carson Institutional Advisory. The new platform includes a succession planning strategy as an added attraction.

TD Ameritrade announced Wednesday it will introduce access to a full range of competitively priced annuities to help independent registered investment advisors meet increasing client demand for retirement income solutions.

With all the buzz about building a social media presence, it's still all about getting in front of a prospect. The Linked-In introduction process outlined by Kevin Nichols of the North Carolina-based Oechsli Insitute prescribes six steps to identify a potential client through LinkedIn and then score that face-to-face meeting.

If Congress does not act and the current estate tax law expires, 14.7 million U.S. households could have a tax liability according to a report released by LIMRA, a worldwide association of insurance and financial services companies, on Tuesday.

After working under one of the most successful advisors in the financial planning industry, Matthew Halloran took time, studied, read, and reviewed all of the top financial advisors he worked with over the years and found ten things are the keys to being a top advisor.

For a startup firm, attracting $150 million in assets under management within nine months is impressive. The entire story, though, of PWM Advisory Group goes back more than a decade.

Growth is essential to the advisory industry, but not all growth is good. Rather than letting growth take advantage of you, it is time to strive for sustainability.

Washington Wealth Management added Domari Wealth Management, a breakaway team from Wells Fargo with $135 million in AUM and $1.4 million in revenue, to its newly formed Woodland Hills, Calif., office.

"Confidentiality is critical," says Mary Ann Buchanan, a 25-year industry veteran and founder of Purcellville, VA-based RIA Match. "[Advisors] need to be able to look around anonymously. They need to have the ability to stick their toe in the water and see who is out there. Names and addresses [collected from users] will never, ever be sold."

To what do the nation's high net worth investors owe their wealth? In a recent survey from Spectrem Group, millionaires ranked on a scale of one to five what they believed were the key factors in building up their bank account. Was it hard work? Or were they just at the right place at the right time?

"We provide all the tools a broker needs to thrive," said Russell Gebhard, president of Sovereign Investment Group in Houston."If the advisor is successful, it's more than likely the clients will be, too."

A survey from the Oechsli Institute reveals that advisors are underusing the personal aspects of social media to build client rapport.

CFO4LIFE, a Coppell, Texax, financial planning firm with more than $450 million in assets, announced Thursday it is departing from LPL Financial to become an RIA.

"A lot of advisors say they have a team," said Jeff Fishman, who heads JSF Financial in Los Angeles. "When you talk to them, you find out they have a bunch of people who came from wirehouses. We have a real team: people from different backgrounds who play different roles."

The agency is targeting Summit Wealth Management, a registered investment advisor, and Angelo Alleca, who is charged with defrauding investors in what the SEC describes as a scheme that sought to conceal losses from trades that went bad through the creation of new private funds that were used to repay the original investors.

Wall Street firms turned out in force Tuesday night to celebrate a political development that for some hit close to home: the one-year anniversary of the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays serving in the military. Photos: Mason Braswell

Savvy financial advisors are using social sites to differentiate themselves from the competition and to build trust and credibility. Perhaps the biggest reason for financial advisors to get involved in social marketing can be summed up in four words: Your customers are there.

Omyen, which is based in Westwood, Mass., specializes in developing technologies for comprehensive financial planning and client education. The technology will be added to the FPA Practitioner Resource Guide, which is a directory of solutions and benefits to help FPA members build their business.

Thinking of integrating video into your website? Or maybe you're curious about starting a YouTube channel? Or maybe the idea of foraying into video makes you terrified. Whatever your stance, video is undoubtedly becoming a popular trend among advisors. It's a trend that is helping advisors communicate with clients in new ways, while expanding their reach to prospects.