Managing client expectations about investment performance remains independent advisers' biggest challenge, but they are regaining confidence in the economy and directing more investments to equities and away from cash and bonds, according to The Charles Schwab Corp.'s semiannual Independent Advisor Outlook Study.
The worst of the recession may be over, but the financial system still faces risks, Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of Pacific Investment Management Co., and Laurence Fink, chief executive at BlackRock, warned financial advisers at an industry event.
One year after the fall of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the start of the financial meltdown, investors still appear to be anxious that a market collapse could happen again — and they're changing how they invest as a result.
The stock market downturn has led to a significant reshuffling of the Russell 2000 Index, loading the benchmark with the smallest companies it has seen since 1993.
James Kroeker, the chief economist at the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the financial crisis "has highlighted for us the importance of global solutions, even on an accounting front, to complex issues."
Although the economy appears to be brightening, the insurance sector in North America will remain on a negative outlook, according to a report from Standard and Poor's Ratings Services.
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has charged CapitalStreet Financial LLC, a foreign exchange trading firm in Denver, N.C., with operating a Ponzi scheme in which at least 69 customers were allegedly bilked out of an estimated $1.3 million.
Advisers are wary of President Obama's financial-regulation plans despite his warning today against a return “to the days of reckless behavior and unchecked excess.”
If there is one lesson that financial advisers and their clients have learned since the financial world cratered in mid-September 2008, it is that black swans can be as numerous and messy as Canada geese.
With gold hovering around the psychologically significant $1,000-an-ounce mark and silver making its own impressive ascent this year, the theories naturally abound about whether now is the time to get in or out of precious metals.
A year after the onset of the financial crisis, advisers remain wary of insurers' financial health when recommending products, according to the <i>InvestmentNews</i> 2009 Insurance Product Survey.
In the lexicon of regulatory reform, “harmonization” is a key word.
The Securities and Exchange Commission's inspector general, David Kotz, rightfully excoriated the agency for its failure to expose the Madoff scheme during its investigations of the firm.
With tax reform high on the administration's agenda for next year, the life insurance industry is pushing for preferential treatment for annuities.
Schwab Charitable Fund today launched a service that helps organizations determine if they want to convert from a private foundation to a donor-advised fund.
Sheryl J. Moore is mad as hell at the media, and she's not going to take it anymore.
The chief lobbying official for the Financial Planning Association is stepping down this month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained almost 50% since its March low, but for those who prefer to cry about how far the stock market fell before March, there is nothing quite like the Dow Jones handkerchief.
In what may be a first, a Native American tribe is buying a broker-dealer and money manager, with a plan to win business by using its status as a minority-owned firm to appeal to Native American investors.
