In an effort to connect better with customers, financial services companies of all stripes are spending more on information technology, according to one analyst.
WASHINGTON — Those who bet that the U.S. stock market’s fairly steady climb since last summer was too good to last were winners last month.
The financial planning world has been focusing too heavily on the act of accumulating assets, according to an academic speaking at the InvestmentNews Retirement Summit in New York this afternoon.
Seizing an opportunity to exploit the perceived integration problems of Advent Software Inc.’s offerings to financial advisers, 19 technology companies have formed YourSilverBullet.net.
Initial reactions to the proposed changes to the ethical standards for certified financial planners have been favorable, but the other shoe could drop this week.
Advisers who start their own practices after leaving larger firms often find that their biggest obstacle is obtaining affordable health insurance for themselves and their families, observers say.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is getting close to bringing a first-of-its-kind privacy case against a broker-dealer for using client data in the account transfer process, and industry attorneys said that the SEC is investigating similar cases against as many as a dozen other firms.
BOSTON — Independent advisers are used by 22% of millionaire households, and those advisers on average hold 56% of the millionaires’ investible assets — the largest share among financial service providers, according to a survey released last Monday by Fidelity Investments.
Worried about giving clients a fair deal and keeping regulators at bay, some brokerage firms are tamping down the commissions on variable annuities that registered representatives and financial advisers sell.
IRVINE, Calif. — The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed that firms beef up their disclosure of cash sweep policies. The proposal, part of a little-noticed package of rules floated by the SEC this month, would require broker-dealers to provide a quarterly notice to customers telling them that they can opt out of a default sweep option and choose another vehicle for their cash.
