IRVINE, Calif. — In an expected move, Wachovia Securities LLC this month launched a client loyalty program called 4front.
Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. is planning to increase the scope of its Indian private banking business, with a focus on providing financial services to that country’s growing wealthy population, according to the Economic Times in India.
WASHINGTON — The possibility of limiting pension fund involvement in hedge funds was raised last week by legislators and hedge fund industry representatives at a hearing on Capitol Hill on how much risk hedge funds pose for financial markets.
Opponents of a merger between the regulatory operations of NASD and the New York Stock Exchange haven’t given up on their efforts to stop the deal.
Continuing its focus on buying small to midsize firms, Royal Alliance Associates Inc. late last month completed a deal to acquire United Securities Alliance Inc.
Intrigued wirehouse executives who are looking for a change are beginning to check out independent-contractor broker-dealers, and what they see interests them more and more, industry executives, consultants and recruiters say.
The growth of the financial planning profession overseas is in the fast lane, though there are some speed bumps, observers say.
State regulators, led by Massachusetts’ William F. Galvin, are stepping up their attacks on financial scam artists who prey on senior citizens.
Industry observers are worried about the potential effect of an NASD proposal to eliminate the definition of “office of supervisory jurisdiction” and in its place create four new branch-office categories.
LPL Financial Services Inc.’s plan to acquire three broker-dealers owned by Pacific Life Insurance Co. came as little surprise to many in the industry, though the deal has raised a few key questions, industry observers and advisers say.
The Financial Services Institute Inc. hopes to bend the ear of the consulting firm chosen by the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider the effect on investors of applying differing regulatory standards to broker-dealers and investment advisers.
After 15 years of serving their common clientele separately, Schwab Institutional and Cambridge Investment Research Inc. are showing those dually registered advisers a united front in recruitment, service and reporting.
NEW YORK — Commonwealth Financial Network of Waltham, Mass., said it is giving pay raises to 400 of its advisers effective April 1, increasing the payout for advisers once they reach $25 million in assets on the firm’s proprietary managed money system.
In a huge survey of its clientele, Schwab Institutional documented what financial advisers have been screaming about for years.
WASHINGTON — The ideas of limiting 401(k) plan options to index funds and requiring all plan administrators to be brought under fiduciary duties were in focus last week at a congressional hearing on 401(k) fees.
Payment for order flow and internalization of retail options orders to affiliated dealers by brokerage firms has become more pervasive, the Securities and Exchange Commission found in a study
The CFA Institute responded with "concern and disappointment" to the mega-insider trading case that was brought to light last week.
