Industry News

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NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 04, 2010
Appeal of life settlement securitizations seen as limited

Buzz is building among financial firms about arranging life settlement securitizations, but experts question the structured products' viability as an investment amid a lengthy list of risks and a limited track record of successful transactions.

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 03, 2010
BofA Merrill to train up to 2,000 new brokers: Report

After trimming the ranks of its brokerage force, Bank of America Corp. apparently wants to build up its force again — this time from the ground up.

NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 03, 2010
MetLife expects 50% bump-up in earnings next year

MetLife Inc. on Monday projected fourth-quarter and 2010 operating earnings mostly above analyst estimates.

NEWS RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 03, 2010
Sieg retools Merrill Lynch's retirement services group

Three months after he joined the company, Andrew Sieg, head of retirement and philanthropic services at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, has reorganized its retirement services group

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 03, 2010
At Merrill, BofA reps are fair game

Recruiters at competing firms are likely to reach out to bank brokers at Bank of America Investment Services Inc., according to industry observers.

'Incredibly inexpensive' U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 02, 2010
'Incredibly inexpensive' U.S. stocks cheapest since 1990

Earnings outpacing market sentiment, analysis shows. Says one investment strategist: 'The recovery is real, it's V-shaped and it's got legs.'

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 02, 2010
Nomura shifts management team in U.S.

Naoki Matsuba set to take over the reins in the Japanese company's North American operations

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 02, 2010
BNY Mellon's Kelly pulled down $11.6M in '09

Sizeable haul for the bank's CEO actually worked out to a 6% pay cut from the previous year

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 01, 2010
Nobel laureate at independent B-D? Markowitz joins Dallas firm

The father of modern portfolio theory plans to spend plenty of face time with advisers at 1st Global Capital

NEWS RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 01, 2010
Industry group suggests alternative to Obama's auto-IRA plan

The SPARK Institute's option would limit contributions to $10,000, higher than the typical IRA, would “simplify” investment option selection, among other things.

NEWS LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 01, 2010
Insurance groups slam Obama's budget proposal

The life settlements and life insurance industries are criticizing President Barack Obama's 2011 budget proposal, which includes provisions that would require additional reporting to the IRS for life settlements and would impose taxes on corporate-owned life insurance.

NEWS RIAS FEB 01, 2010
Affiliated Managers Group reverses its 4Q loss and buys a stake in Artemis

Asset manager Affiliated Managers Group reported a fourth-quarter profit on Monday, reversing a loss for the same period a year ago.

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 01, 2010
Top 10 areas of improvement for broker-dealers

VVV Research and Development Inc. conducted a national survey on behalf of broker-dealer Cambridge Investment Research Inc. In the survey, 648 representatives were surveyed about their experience with their broker-dealers. As part of the survey, advisers listed areas in which they said broker-dealers needed to improve.

Reaching out to Haiti
NEWS OPINION FEB 01, 2010
Reaching out to Haiti

Over the weekend, my daughter asked me what our family was going to do to help Haiti.

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 01, 2010
529 marketing receives a failing grade in study

The size of the college savings market will more than double in the next five years, but Section 529 college savings plans still have a long way to go to gain marketshare.

NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 01, 2010
Shunning stocks? Big mistake, says Al Frank's John Buckingham

The stock market might not perform as well in 2010 as it did last year, but the case for equities is still hard to ignore, according to John Buckingham, chief investment officer at Al Frank Asset Management Inc.

NEWS WIREHOUSES FEB 01, 2010
Brokers wait for economy to turn

After two disastrous years in a row, brokerage industry observers say something akin to normalcy may return this year.

NEWS PRACTICE MANAGEMENT FEB 01, 2010
Oppenheimer reaches agreement with Illinois over 529 fund losses

The state of Illinois has reached a settlement in its lawsuit over losses in the Bright Start college savings program under which parents will get back $77.23 million — slightly more than half of what they lost in investments handled by Oppenheimer Funds Inc.

NEWS MUTUAL FUNDS FEB 01, 2010
Fidelity slashes fees on 529 plans

Fidelity Investments last week announced that it is cutting the management fees on its Section 529 plans.

Shrinking ING may shed brokers, funds
NEWS INDUSTRY NEWS FEB 01, 2010
Shrinking ING may shed brokers, funds

A wrecking ball has hit ING Groep NV's global supermarket of financial services, whose many parts include a $600 billion global asset management business and a U.S broker-dealer network of 8,700 reps and advisers.