Advisor News

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OPINION FEB 19, 2007
Advisers best defense against misuse of ETFs

By ewilliams
FINTECH FEB 19, 2007
Canadian SRO pressuring gadfly on complaint data

OTTAWA — A tussle has erupted over what to do with complaints against more than 2,000 brokers that the Investment Dealers Association of Canada inadvertently posted on its website.

By Bloomberg
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 12, 2007
VA industry unveiling electronic processing

A trade group for the variable annuity industry today announced a technology initiative intended to save time and money for VA distributors through streamlining and standardization.

By Bloomberg
FINTECH FEB 12, 2007
Mass. hedge fund scrutiny called a ‘sting operation’

Hedge fund manager Phillip Goldstein, who has been accused of marketing alternative-class investments to a non-qualified investor through his firm’s website, is crying foul by drawing attention to what he described as a “sting operation” aimed at him and his company.

By Bloomberg
INDEPENDENT BROKER DEALERS FEB 12, 2007
Co-founder of ING firm jumps to NFP

One of the founders of Financial Network Investment Corp., the largest independent-contractor broker-dealer in the ING Advisors Network Inc., walked out the door last month and joined NFP Securities Inc., leaving some observers to wonder how many registered representatives affiliated with FNIC eventually could follow.

By Bloomberg
OPINION FEB 12, 2007
SEC’s latest proposal makes no sense

The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to forge ahead in its quest to wrap some kind of regulatory lasso around the $1.2 trillion hedge fund industry. Why it is doing so isn’t entirely clear.

By ewilliams
FINTECH FEB 12, 2007
Microsoft’s Vista hits advisers in their pocketbooks

SAN FRANCISCO — The biggest software company in the world may be forcing financial advisers to purchase expensive hardware in the wake of its recent upgrade.

By Bloomberg
MUTUAL FUNDS FEB 12, 2007
For fund investors, it pays to read the fine print

BOSTON — Just because the Enron Corp. and market-timing scandals have led to greater disclosure requirements doesn’t mean that some mutual fund companies aren’t still burying some doozies in their regulatory filings, according to Russel Kinnel, director of mutual fund research for Morningstar Inc.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 12, 2007
Cost basis reporting not as simple as it appears

WASHINGTON — Be careful what you wish for with regard to cost basis reporting, as it might cause a headache of colossal proportions.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 12, 2007
SEC backing off on B share cases?

Regulators are backing off their aggressive pursuit of B share cases. In the clearest indication yet that enforcers have changed their tune, the SEC late last month dropped a prominent B share case against former Prudential Securities Inc. broker Robert Ostrowski.

By Bloomberg
WIREHOUSES FEB 12, 2007
Wirehouses warm to fiduciary status

In an effort to prevent top brokers from bolting, wirehouses quietly are backing down from their tough stance against allowing advisers to act as fiduciaries to employee retirement plans.

By Bloomberg
LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES FEB 05, 2007
Lawmaker changes horses on income stream comments

A congressman who raised eyebrows last month when he seemed to imply that annuities are the answer to the need for lifetime retirement income claims he was misunderstood.

By Bloomberg
WIREHOUSES FEB 05, 2007
Merrill pads its lead in race for assets

Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. continues to lead the wirehouse race for net new client assets.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 05, 2007
Calif. court: State can sue American Funds

A California court ruling late last month may make it easier for states to sue financial firms, according to legal experts.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 05, 2007
NASAA: Reform arbitration or add court option

The securities arbitration system should be reformed or else investors should be given the option of taking their disputes to court, according to a group that represents state securities regulators.

By Bloomberg
RETIREMENT PLANNING FEB 05, 2007
Labor Dept. targets 401(k) fee disclosure

As the Department of Labor puts pressure on advisers to make 401(k) fees more transparent, some financial advisers are refunding fees to participants that they are being paid from mutual fund companies.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 05, 2007
Canada’s reg reform project is on tap

OTTAWA — After much consultation, the Canadian Securities Administrators’ Regulation Reform Project is about to surface, though exactly when isn’t clear.

By Bloomberg
REGULATION AND LEGISLATION FEB 05, 2007
New report boosts idea of federal regulation of insurers

WASHINGTON — Proponents of allowing insurers to be federally regulated are taking heart in the inclusion of that proposal in a report recently issued by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

By Bloomberg
OPINION FEB 05, 2007
Home Depot makes the right moves

Corporate America received a dose of common sense when The Home Depot Inc. said that its new chief executive, Frank Blake, would be paid a fraction of what his predecessor was taking home.

By ewilliams
FINTECH FEB 05, 2007
Online options trading is getting cheaper

NEW YORK — The online options trading arena is rapidly expanding, as the cost to trade such investments has fallen significantly.

By Bloomberg