Wealth management

The average price tag for a data breach now is $7.2 million. How are you supposed to value the loss when your crown jewels – trading algorithms – get put on data sticks or uploaded to remote servers, as happened to Goldman Sachs? Or you have to face down billions in verified losses, because you couldn’t control “unauthorized trading,” as occurred to UBS? And if you're a financial advisor or smaller advisory firm, how do you safeguard data while also taking advantage of social media and mobile devices to service your clients? The National Security Agency has begun providing Wall Street banks with intelligence on foreign hackers, a sign that financial sabotage from abroad is imminent, if not already in progress, in the estimation of Booz Allen Hamilton. Here are the Top 10 Financial Services Cyber Security Trends to act on in 2012 and recommendations on what to do about them, from senior vice president Bill Wansley.

Most people never do the type of research required to get into the right career in the first place. So we’re here to help with a package of articles to help you determine your own profile.

Legacy expert attorneys Andy and Danielle Mayoras say the intrigue and legal wrangling surrounding the copper heiress’s $400 million estate serve as a stark reminder that everyone -- wealthy or not -- needs to get proper estate planning advice from their financial advisor before it’s too late.

The Best. The Brightest. And the Secrets of Their Success.

The Best. The Brightest. And the Secrets of Their Success.

On Wall Street identified the most prolific asset managers under 40, and these five came out on top for the regional firms.

It seems more and more common lately that when you turn on the T.V. or open your Internet browser there is breaking news of some sort of disaster. From direct financial disasters such as market volatilities to weather related disasters like floods, tornados and fires, to even more large-scale disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear crisis; disasters are unavoidable. But how prepared are you to deal with a major disaster, or other unexpected events that can trigger change? Here are 10 steps that should help you and your firm build a disaster recovery plan so you can be prepared should the unimaginable arise:

Asset management firms recorded average profitability of 28% through 2010 and the first half of 2011, according to a new McKinsey report, and independent asset managers will control two-thirds of all assets under management by 2015. Here are five business imperatives successful wealth management firms will need to heed over the next three years:

According to the survey, 70% of RIAs cited market volatility as the top concern among their clients, while 99% said it was among clients’ top three concerns. Only 6% of RIAs said wealth accumulation was a top client concern.

Every recognized profession has its top colleges. Medical and law schools in the U.S. date back to the 18th century. As a much more recent profession, financial planning has spent much of the last four decades developing its own system of education and professional certification. As many of the current crop of planners near retirement, they don't have to look too far to figure out where the next generation will come from. The answer is in all the schools. Not only has the number of programs been on the rise - up 15% since the past year and a half, according to the CFP Board - but enrollment in the programs themselves has generally been increasing, too. With so many CFP Board-registered programs out there, Financial Planning focused on 10 worthy institutions. We talked to veteran planners and industry leaders to get a sense of which 10 programs belonged in an overview. Our list is not a ranking. Like this survey itself, the information we've gathered is just a starting point. Think of it as Financial Planning Education 101, an introduction.

In this low interest rate environment, some financial planners are advising their clients to cut the middleman out entirely with intra-family loans.

Krawcheck calls for more diverse perspectives -- not necessarily based on gender or race -- and talks about the importance of appealing to younger investors put off by the struggling economy and Wall Street scandals.

Advisors of the future are gravitating toward financial planning programs. Here are the schools on many students' short lists.

Problems arise when a parent adds a child's name to an asset or aids elderly loved one who needs assistance.

Investors contributed $748 million to Fidelity Charitable, the largest donor-advised fund in the U.S., in the first nine months of 2011, a 23% increase from the first three quarters of 2010. Thus, the fund is on course to receive the largest amount of contributions in its 20-year history, Fidelity said.

Here are five of the most common scams that advisors and their clients either managed to avoid or fell victim to this year.

Advisors and their investor clients should be on the lookout for these popular scams. According to the North American Securities Administrators Association, here are five of the most common scams that advisors and their clients either managed to avoid or fell victim to this year.

As the parent company announces earnings, the Americas unit sees more net new money and higher FA productivity.

What is the difference between elite practices and other firms? One hint: Seminars are not what they used to be. Cetera Financial Group found out that it’s really more about a firm’s overall approach to marketing. The El Segundo, Calif.-based broker-dealer recently partnered with The Oechsli Institute to survey 352 financial professionals, including elites, in the report “Marketing Tactics of Elite Advisors”. Here are seven marketing tips that will boost your firm’s profile and assets under management.

Al Davis, the long-time principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders, died last week at age 82. As legacy expert attorneys Andy and Danielle Mayoras point out, estate taxes are huge concern for NFL owners and it appears that Davis, unlike other professional sports owners, made the necessary arrangements to keep the franchise under his heirs’ control.