Finding The Next Emerging Economies

It looks as if the BRICs have seen their best days, but what's next?

Change Versus Growth for Advisors and Their Firms

Growth -- the kind measured in revenue and profits -- is the ultimate goal for the entire brokerage industry. As On Wall Street editor-in-chief Frances McMorris points out, figuring out how to achieve these goals while dealing with constant change is what firms like Raymond James and its competitors are now learning to do on the fly.

Finding Strength in the U.S. Economy

While there may be investing opportunities in the markets, the weak housing market and unemployment hovering just above 9% are the issues that concern the nation and that are depressing the president’s poll numbers. And, voters -- including those without jobs and those who want to look for better ones --are getting mighty impatient.

Finding Strength in the U.S. Economy

While there may be investing opportunities in the markets, the weak housing market and unemployment hovering just above 9% are the issues that concern the nation and that are depressing the president’s poll numbers. And, voters -- including those without jobs and those who want to look for better ones --are getting mighty impatient.

The Jobs Picture Improves Ever So Slightly

I hate mixed messages but it seems there is finally some good news on the employment front. According to the Department of Labor this morning, non-farm payroll employment added 244,000 jobs in April, with the private sector seeing job growth of 268,000. While that figure exceeded expectations, the unemployment rate rose to 9%. Some experts explained that increase to the people who weren’t looking for jobs now resuming their job-hunt. …

The Day We Got Bin Laden

For the financial services industry, for Wall Street, the impact has special meaning.

Tough Love For The Mutual Fund Industry

Vanguard's Jack Bogle argues for more competition.

Managers Making It Work

Motivating staff and building relationships lead to success

The Rich But Unsophisticated Athlete/Client

It’s not all Super Bowl rings when you advise star athletes on financial matters.

Positioning LPL

Bill Dwyer, the independent giant’s president of sales and national marketing, talks about his firm’s progress.

The Bad Client

Whose needs come first?

The Ethical Advisor

What’s a wirehouse advisor to do in this uncomfortable situation? And there’s more on the fiduciary standard.

Being Clutch in the Clutch

Why do some people excel under pressure and others don’t?

How Does a Uniform Fiduciary Standard Help the Confused Investor?

The SEC study is only the first step in the path to a uniform fiduciary standard.

The Advisor’s New Essential Skill

Public speaking is a skill that every advisor must master to be successful in a media-rich society.

How to Build a First-Rate Brand

There are steps to take right now to improve your business in 2011

Lessons Learned from the Top 40 Advisors Under 40

Advisors should be building on their strengths, their interests and, of course, their talents. The best and the brightest advisors have one thing in common: Each one has found his or her specialty or strength and constructed a platform for success.

The Smart Advisor: Dealing with Bad News

Just when the advisory community was hoping that it had put Bernie Madoff behind it, federal authorities announced that two of the disgraced financier’s lieutenants have been indicted on criminal charges and are also facing a civil complaint from the Securities and Exchange Commission. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service announced earlier this week that it has withdrawn the John Doe summons in the UBS AG scandal in which the U.S. demanded that the company hand over…

Dissecting the Possibility of Regulating Broker Pay

Just when branch managers thought their jobs couldn’t get any more complicated, Mary Schapiro says that her agency is looking at regulating broker pay.

Will the Republican Wave Rock the Fiduciary Debate?

The Republicans rule the House now and all signs show that they can’t wait to make their mark on financial regulatory reform—if they can.

The Financial Blows of Illness

If a client’s spouse has been diagnosed with cancer, how does everything change? How do you talk to the client, the spouse and perhaps other family members?

Realizing Advisors Are Free Agents

The president of Raymond James & Associates and the chairman of RJFS talks about recruiting, retention and valuing the control advisors have over their books of business.

What Does It Take to Create a Successful Financial Advisory Team?

There is a 20-year age difference between Shelly Church and Ilona Sawin, yet they have found enough common ground to form their own financial advisory team at Raymond James & Associates.

Wirehouse Brokerage Under Attack

As the battle rages over harmonizing regulation under fiduciary standard, are more rules really the answer?

The Other Side of the Street

At a gala fundraiser, Wall Street shows that money isn’t its only concern but that it can show generosity and patriotism in helping the children of fallen soldiers and wounded warriors.

Why Should Wall Street Care About Senate’s Small Business Bill?

Poverty is sky-high and unemployment remains relentless. Is the new small business bill just a band-aid that can't stop the bleeding?

Was the Economic Collapse an “Inside Job”?

If money is the root of all evil, then Wall Street certainly provides the tree and branches—at least that appears to be the perspective of filmmaker Charles Ferguson.

What Could a New Fiduciary Standard Mean for Advisors?

A closer look at the comments streaming in to the SEC regarding a new fiduciary standard.

The UBS Fallout

So for UBS, the worst is over because the IRS is ending its case against the firm and only a data dump remains. But what's next?