For the first time, starting in July, Citigroup Inc.'s managed-account platforms will start advising Smith Barney reps and Citi private bankers on when to buy and sell specific money managers and mutual funds for their clients.
Wealth management executives at Citigroup and UBS, two of the financial institutions hardest hit by the subprime loan crisis, are working overtime on damage control to protect their lucrative franchises.
"Rep-as-adviser" programs are gaining interest among brokerage firms as an alternative to the banned fee-based brokerage accounts, according to a report by Cerulli Associates Inc.
Several wirehouse firms have begun pushing their financial advisers to talk to clients in more depth about health care issues in retirement, but at least one firm, UBS Financial Services Inc., is avoiding the topic because of liability concerns.
Legislation is moving forward in the Senate that would allow financial services companies to keep their industrial banks.
Christopher Poch will run the private trust group at the firm.
The Investment Management Consultants Association has been attracting more independent planners and advisers.
If Charles Massimo had it to do all over again, he still would choose to leave Smith Barney and become an independent broker.
Asset management might be at the heart of what drives an individual toward financial advice, but savvy financial planners are realizing that it takes more than asset management to bring lasting value to the advisory relationship.
A stunning $4.6 million award against UBS Financial Services Inc. and two of its brokers late last month revealed how irate the arbitrators were with UBS.
Morgan Stanley is adjusting some of its pay policies to comply with a wage-and-hour lawsuit it settled last year.
I would like to respond to recent comments of Sallie Krawcheck, chief executive of Citigroup Inc.'s global-wealth-management division, as quoted in "Krawcheck: Accept the F[iduciary] word" (InvestmentNews Daily, Nov. 8.).
Some brokers at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and Morgan Stanley have been hesitating to use new advisory options that their firms have deployed as replacements for fee-based brokerage accounts.
Registered investment adviser and independent-contractor-broker-dealer firms looking to attract high-producing wirehouse brokers are increasingly seeking to differentiate themselves in a crowded and competitive marketplace.
As stocks of the large financial services firms get hammered, more brokers could be tempted to leave.
Fund giant's Aa3 rating makes it a low credit risk, but Moody's still worries about transparency.
The firm has upped its subprime-mortgage losses to $27.2 billion, $6.3 billion more than earlier reported.
Brokers at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. of New York are upbeat about the prospects for their company following the departure of chief executive E. Stanley O'Neal last week.
