One of the most pressing issues in the investment industry today is retirement plan fees and expenses. A lot of questions have been raised about them recently, all of which can be answered simply à la college basketball commentator Dick Vitale: “It’s about fiduciary responsibility, baby!”
Worried about giving clients a fair deal and keeping regulators at bay, some brokerage firms are tamping down the commissions on variable annuities that registered representatives and financial advisers sell.
Regulators are turning the spotlight on companies that specialize in using high-pressure marketing tactics to sell financial products and services to older Americans.
Nobody ever accused companies that push annuities on older Americans of being subtle.
State securities regulators are worried that the recent emphasis on making U.S. capital markets more competitive could lead to the pre-emption of their power by federal regulators.
The Securities and Exchange Commission is getting close to bringing a first-of-its-kind privacy case against a broker-dealer for using client data in the account transfer process, and industry attorneys said that the SEC is investigating similar cases against as many as a dozen other firms.
WASHINGTON — The Department of Labor has put the issue of enhanced 401(k) fee disclosure on its agenda, a move that could take some of the wind out of the sails of a legislative threat.
NEW YORK — IBM Corp.’s announcement that it will offer financial planning services to all 127,000 of its U.S. employees is the biggest sign yet that companies are increasingly interested in providing workers with more individual — and effective — counseling on financial topics.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — For asset managers, forecasting whether the Federal Reserve will cut U.S. interest rates for the first time in four years might become a little easier, thanks to a budding derivatives contract.
Merrill Lynch & Co. analysts are mad as hell that people are simultaneously belittling and stealing their investment ideas, according to Crain's New York Business.
OptionsXpress Holdings Inc. announced today that it promoted its chief financial officer to the role of president and its chief operating officer to the role of executive vice-chairman, according to published reports.
Morgan Stanley today posted a 69% increase in first-quarter profits on strong advisory fees from higher trading levels and increased investment banking fees.
IRVINE, Calif. — In an expected move, Wachovia Securities LLC this month launched a client loyalty program called 4front.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The growth of the financial planning profession overseas is in the fast lane, though there are some speed bumps, observers say.
