In a dramatic re-branding, NAVA Inc., the trade group of variable annuity providers, last week changed its name to the Insured Retirement Institute and its focus to serving “the insured-retirement-strategies industry and consumers who rely on those guarantees.”
First, carry out the sentence. Then select the jury (preferably a dysfunctional or biased one). Finally, hold the trial and announce the verdict. That is the peculiar process that Congress and the Obama administration are following in trying to ensure that there will be no repeat of the financial crisis.
Although affluent and millionaire investors may be more optimistic about the economy, they are still not confident about the stock market, according to a survey released today by Phoenix Marketing International of Rhinebeck, N.Y.
It didn't take long for Allgen Financial Services Inc., a registered investment adviser, to seize on The Charles Schwab Corp.'s offer to waive electronic stock commissions through next June 30 and reimburse account transfer fees for any new-to-Schwab client that RIAs sign on by yearend.
investment advisers, financial planners and brokers should exercise extra caution before they recommend or guide their clients into leveraged exchange traded funds.
In another barometer of the continuing pain that fee-based financial advisers are experiencing, The Charles Schwab Corp. has reported that net new assets in its adviser services businesses fell 47% in the second quarter to $7.7 billion, from $14.5 billion a year earlier.
President Obama's regulatory reform proposals provided a broad outline and left many of the details to Congress. Ideally, before filling in those details, Congress will gather evidence on what caused the financial crisis, and where regulation actually broke down.
Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is correct: Fiduciary standards for all who give investment advice won't be sufficient to deter fraud.
Even though independence is losing its stigma as a sign of failure among wirehouse brokers, they continue to move at only a moderate pace to independent broker-dealers and registered investment advisory firms, a panel of experts said last week.
At the beginning of the year, after it missed cues for seemingly everything from the massive Madoff Ponzi scheme to the credit crisis, the Securities and Exchange Commission was being written off as all but dead.
The Charles Schwab Corp. is dipping into its deep pockets to help independent advisers capture business from full-service brokers.
The Obama administration has put forward an excellent blueprint for regulatory reform. Much of what the administration has proposed will increase transparency, reduce the risk of another financial meltdown and
City National Corp., the bank holding company that owns Convergent Capital Management LLC, has agreed to buy a majority interest in Lee Munder Capital Group, a firm with more than $3 billion in assets under management.
Something must be done to encourage employees of small companies to save for retirement. As many as 78 million such workers aren't saving for the future and ultimately will depend solely on Social Security for retirement income.
City National Corp., a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based bank holding company that owns Convergent Capital Management LLC, has agreed to buy a majority interest in Lee Munder Capital Group, a firm with more than $3 billion of assets under management.
Now that the stock market seems to be signaling that the recession has bottomed, perhaps the demagogic bashing of bankers, insurance executives, hedge fund managers, auto executives and even ordinary businesspeople will cease.
Independent advisory firms have stepped up their outreach efforts, and the largest firms continue to open accounts even though their assets under management have dropped.
Household financial decisions are being made increasingly by affluent women, creating opportunities for financial advisers, according to two industry surveys.
Congress should pass, as quickly as possible, a bill to establish an Office of Insurance Information.
Congress is likely to begin a review of the financial oversight system next month, with an eye toward revamping regulation. Banking, of course, will take center stage, especially now that the federal government has a direct stake in many of the nation's largest banks.
