Wealth management

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Private equity has lost its taste for U.S. banks because of the stringent rules imposed by regulators, says Hamilton James.

First Republic Bank unveiled plans for an initial public offering, nearly five months after completing a management-led buyout of the one-time Merrill Lynch operation.

Steven A. Cohen's SAC Capital Advisors LP got a government request for documents as the U.S. widens a probe of Wall Street insider trading that has implicated former traders at the firm.

Richard A. Lumb has been named the chief executive of Accenture's financial services operating group.

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

In an August 2009 meeting, Larry Roth, the chief executive of Advisor Group, was blunt about how much the massive taxpayer bailout had damaged the American International Group name.

FBI raids seeking documents from three hedge funds are related to a series of insider trading investigations being directed by the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, according to a person familiar with the probes.

Counselors have typically been young, about 30 on average, but according to David Jones, the president of the American Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, more older people are entering the field.

As it readies for a massive pruning of its mutual fund family, Columbia Management Investment Advisers is promising a stronger, more affordable lineup.

Many active fund managers get paid to predict where the market is headed — and to get there a step or two ahead of their rivals.

Pacific Investment Management Co., manager of the world's largest mutual fund, is raising at least $1 billion for a private fund to buy troubled loans from banks divesting assets to meet new rules, said two people briefed on the plans.

As fee-oriented investment management becomes more popular with advisers and clients, fee-structured accounts are growing apace. Or not, depending on how the terms are defined.

Willard "Bill" Jonathan Tillotson Jr. followed Rule No. 1 in succession planning: He started early. So when he died, control of the Pittsburgh financial advisory firm he helped build in the 1960s passed as expected to his daughter, Kim Tillotson Fleming, and the company's small group of employee-shareholders.

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Though concern about being unable to pay for health care in retirement is felt by somewhat fewer Americans, 23% versus 30% in 2006, more people, 19%, are worried about having to work longer to supplement retirement savings, up from 12% in 2006, new research says.

Entrepreneurs are a philanthropic lot — 90% of them donate to charity every year, both personally and through their companies, according to a survey by Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will vote Friday on new registration rules for hedge funds and private-equity funds.

Retirement is top of mind for a majority of pre-retiree baby boomers, a survey by Charles Schwab Corp. found.

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.