Donna M. Mitchell

Social media compliance is a subject that elicits a range of reactions from planners, from groans to cautious, curious questions. But Leia Farmer, the deputy chief compliance officer at Securities America, is excited about it.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has closed a loophole that previously allowed individuals to artificially inflate net worth before investing in unregistered securities offerings. Advisors are generally supportive of the change.

Chase Investment Services Corp., a division of JPMorgan Chase, will have to reimburse brokerage customers $1.9 million over the sale of unit investment trusts and floating rate loan funds not deemed suitable for them, FINRA announced on Tuesday.

Opportunities are certain to be abundant for Sallie Krawcheck, the former president of global wealth and investment management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch who was shown the door in a management shake-up last week.

In agreeing to buy Securities America, Ladenburg Thalmann is hoping to leverage the target's large national network of advisors — 1,700 who manage about $50 billion of client assets — to help it sell its own products.

American workers lapsed into investing inertia after the market collapsed in 2008, but standing still actually benefited many and helped their workplace retirement plan balances rebound by 31% between 2007 and 2010, Vanguard said last week.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is betting that enhancements to its variable annuity suite will put it ahead of competitors in the race to offer investors secure retirement income options.

LPL Investment Holdings posted strong first-quarter earnings, as a larger fleet of advisers got investors back into investing.

Certified financial planners are uniquely qualified to help Americans keep their finances in good stead, the CFP Board of Standards said. The group has just rolled out a glossy $36 million advertising campaign to make them aware of that.

Financial advisers have known for some time that Americans have lost confidence in their ability to afford a comfortable retirement, but for confidence to plunge just as economic indicators were perking up?

DC plan consultants expect that future markets will be as volatile as they have been in the recent past, and offer lower returns. That’s why they view asset diversification and custom target-date strategies as key elements to successful defined contribution schemes for retirement income planning, according to plan consultants that the Pacific Investment Management Co. surveyed last December and January.

Technology is changing some of the tenets of client recruitment in the wealth management industry, even when the targets are high-net-worth prospects with complex financial lives.

Commonwealth Financial Network, which boasts one of the largest fleets of high-end independent advisers, is instituting new rewards for enriching the firm.

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. is testing Apple's iPad with its annuities sales force.

Days after the Securities and Exchange Commission recommended that all financial advisers practice within the fiduciary standard of care, BlackRock announced Jan. 24 that it has hired an executive for that role.

As the target-date fund industry works to raise its standing with investors, a recent Vanguard survey has found that much of the job may already be done.

As the target-date fund industry works to raise its standing with investors, a recent Vanguard survey finds that much of that work might already be done.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's arbitration panel raised its credibility in the securities industry when it imposed a hefty penalty on a unit of Ameriprise Financial Inc., Securities America, for its role in selling an elderly woman private placement notes from Medical Capital Holdings, industry professionals say.

Insurance companies often face an uphill battle to convince independent advisers that variable annuities have earned a place in clients' portfolios.

Ultrawealthy investors, with their $25 million apiece in household net worth, might be a tempting prize for advisers, but any professional money manager who wants them as clients must sharpen his or her knowledge about alternative investments, new research says.