Clarification for indie advisers: Time to raise your benchmarks
Note to independent advisers: It's time to measure yourselves against a bigger stick.
Broker-dealers dumbfounded by private-placement subpoenas
Earlier this week, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth William Galvin sent subpoenas to six firms, requesting info on high-risk offerings. Execs at several of the firms still aren't exactly sure why they were contacted
<b>Incite</b>: Pimco’s loss is Wall Street’s gain
Congress has decided to protect fraudsters from investors. It's supposed to be the other way around.
Estate battles of the stars
Few things are as certain in estate planning as this: Celebrity deaths are sure to generate plenty of business for lawyers.
Tax-credit proposal would buy homebuyers more time
The clock is running down on home purchasers looking to qualify for a hefty tax break. But a new proposal in Congress would cut these buyers -- and those who lend to them -- a little slack.
Coming: Clarity on alternative investments?
In an age of automation, broker-dealers interested in alternative investments -- hedge funds, LLPs,, non-traded REITs and the like -- still rely on phone calls and faxes to conduct transactions. A new platform could change all that.
Federal prosecutors probing Goldman: Sources
It's been a tough week for the Wall Street giant. On Tuesday, the bank's executives were pilloried by a Senate subcommittee. Now, sources claim the U.S. attorney in New York is looking into transactions conducted by the firm.
Time is right to invest in sectors that do well as interest rates rise
With interest rates at historic lows and no place to go but up, it behooves investors to have a strategy in place ahead of a rate hike cycle that is likely to begin this year.
Indictment, emails reveal disturbing details in alleged muni bond bid-rigging scheme
For three years, the Justice Department has been probing a purported massive conspiracy in the muni bond market. An inside look at the government's investigation reveals how banks, traders, advisers and brokers allegedly cheated towns and taxpayers out of billions of dollars.
401(k) fee disclosure rule: Dagger to brokers
Brokers who work with retirement plans may soon lose clients to registered investment advisers, thanks to a rule that the Labor Department is expected to approve this summer.
Finra expels Provident broker-dealer over private placements
The financial industry watchdog says this may be just be the begining in a crackdown on private placements
Dodd’s financial reform bill leaves state regulators on the bubble
Local regulators gain a little, lose a little, in their battle with the SEC over who regulates private placements
Thirty-year scam paid for adviser’s ‘sordid’ secret life
Clients say adviser Roberto Heckscher was a modest guy. His small practice was located over a flower shop in a quiet neighborhood. He drove a Saturn. What outsiders didn't know: Heckscher led a secret life as a casino high roller -- a double life he financed by scamming clients for decades.
Ken Starr indicted; clients’ estimated losses double
Kenneth Ira Starr, the New York investment adviser who represented actors Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes, was indicted for stealing at least $59 million from clients, almost double the amount previously thought. Starr studded: Adviser's celebrity client list
Ken Starr denies fraud charges; feds allege he stole $59 million ‘and counting’
Less than 24 hours after federal prosecutors revised their estimate of Kenneth Ira Starr's alleged theft to at least twice as large as their original figure of $30 million, the financial adviser to the stars denied any wrongdoing in a brief court appearance.
Ken Starr denies charges of $59M fraud
Kenneth Ira Starr, the New York investment adviser who faces federal charges that he defrauded his celebrity and socialite clients, denied wrongdoing today in a brief court appearance.
The Starr treatment: How celeb adviser allegedly got away with it
The publicity surrounding Kenneth Starr's arrest constitutes another black eye for the financial advice business. A look at the details of the case reveals something many advisers already know: custody mattersGallery: Kenneth Starr's A-list roster of clients
Starr’s alleged star victims: The search goes on
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara (above) said that investigators were searching Ken Starr's office and are trying to freeze 23 bank accounts as they search for more high-profile victims of the financial adviser, who was arrested for fraud yesterday. A-List: A look at Kenneth Starr's famous clients
Ken Starr, financial adviser to the stars, charged with fraud
Kenneth Ira Starr, whose advisory firm manages $700 million -- including the assets of scores of celebrities -- was charged by the U.S. with defrauding clients.A-List: A look at Kenneth Starr's famous clients
Advisers hang on for next market dip
With the S&P 500 up 80% since March 2009 and the specter of a correction looming, financial advisers are scrambling to keep clients calm and to make key adjustments to their portfolios.
