The stock market has remained unsettled since the big plunge of Feb. 27, but many financial advisers report few worries, attributing their well-being to the risk management inoculation they have given their client portfolios.
Industry participants were unhappy to learn that repeal will be an option as the Securities and Exchange Commission takes a hard look at the 12(b)-1 rule, which allows mutual funds to generate billions of dollars in fees.
Passive investing is gaining favor among wealth managers, according to bankers, vendors and industry consultants.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday overturned the Securities and Exchange Commission’s broker-dealer exemption rule in a 2-1 decision.
The structured-products industry is taking its message directly to consumers with coordinated marketing and educational efforts designed to demystify the often-complex, intermediary-sold alternative investments.
NASD will put increasing emphasis on “principles based” regulation rather than “one size fits all” rulemaking, even as it concedes that such a move could confuse many in the brokerage industry.
A federal judge last week ordered NASD and the New York Stock Exchange to supply an initial batch of documents to a broker-dealer that sued to stop the proposed merger of the organizations’ regulatory units.
The profile of “green’’ investors has changed. They aren’t just mature demonstrators of the 1960s with extra cash in their accounts.
SAN FRANCISCO — The days when registered investment advisers could remain as cloistered and mysterious to outsiders as a John Grisham-style law firm may be drawing to a close.
In an effort to connect better with customers, financial services companies of all stripes are spending more on information technology, according to one analyst.
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.
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.
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.
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.
NEW YORK — Clean energy is increasingly gaining the attention of institutional investors. Last Monday, dozens of top investors managing a total of $4 trillion in assets asked Congress, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the White House to approve stronger climate control policies.
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.
OTTAWA — The federal budget unveiled last week allows the Canadian government to remove withholding tax on arm’s-length interest payments under the Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty and with other countries.
NEW YORK — National Financial Partners Corp. will continue to pour money into acquisitions this year. At a recent conference for analysts and investors, company officials disclosed that they have earmarked $20 million to spend on acquisitions this year, a $5 million increase over 2006’s allocation.
