On Wall Street - Breaking News

Putnam To Help Calculate Health Care Costs in Retirement

Thu, 31 May 2012 15:23:54 EDT

The new feature will allow Putnam 401(k) plan sponsors to provide their participants with a customized estimate of future health care costs.

Morgan Stanley to Buy Additional Stake in MSSB

Thu, 31 May 2012 14:06:22 EDT

Morgan Stanley announced Thursday it has advised Citigroup Inc. that on Friday it intends to give notice it is exercising its right to purchase the additional stake in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney.

Ultra Wealthy Households To Grow Globally

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:30:49 EDT

Ultra high net worth households saw the largest amount of growth in 2011, and that segment is expected to grow at the fastest clip in the next five years at a projected compound annual growth rate of 8%, according to Boston Consulting Group's 2012 Global Wealth Report released on Thursday.

Advisors More Focused on Risk, Compliance Than Client Service

Thu, 31 May 2012 12:28:44 EDT

Fidelity's latest poll offers some surprising answers: advisors are spending less time on client service and more thin on risk and compliance.

Merrill Aims Services at Advisors with Special Needs Clients

Thu, 31 May 2012 10:50:40 EDT

Bank of America's Merrill Edge program has added a new service to help families with special needs children.

LGBT More Confident About Retirement Savings

Thu, 31 May 2012 09:03:53 EDT

61% of LGBT individuals surveyed believe they will have enough saved by the time they retire to live comfortably, while only 53% of non-LGBT members surveyed believe the same, according to a Wells Fargo survey.

Fidelity Introduces Two Bond Funds

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:56:50 EDT

Fidelity Investments today unveiled its Fidelity Global Bond Fund and Fidelity International Bond Fund, available directly to investors, as well as through financial advisors.

Mutual Funds Bleed $4.9B

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:55:26 EDT

Total estimated outflows from long-term mutual funds were $4.92 billion for the week ended Wednesday, May 23, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.

The Hartford Seeing "Fruits of Change"

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:54:28 EDT

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. last September put the brakes on its effort to sell its mutual-fund unit to private equity shop Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC after banks cut back on lending for leveraged buyouts.

MSRB Launches 'Investor Toolkit' Online Guide to Aid Retail Buyers

Thu, 31 May 2012 08:52:54 EDT

The Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board has launched an online guide designed to help retail investors better understand the municipal bond market and the roles and responsibilities of muni bond brokers.

Janney Montgomery Scott Nabs Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Advisor

Wed, 30 May 2012 15:11:45 EDT

The hiring of Thomas Graham as a senior vice president of wealth management in Jannye's Washington, D.C. branch marks the 15th advisor to join the company this year.

Dynasty Adds Two to Wealth Platform

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:55:15 EDT

The New York-based company hired Austin J. Philbin as a senior consultant of RIA services and Monique Miller as director of business management.

How Can RIAs Improve Efficiency?

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:33:11 EDT

Principals of RIA firms need to pay closer attention to workflow and operational issues at their firms, especially if they want to stay viable amid rising operational costs, Pershing Advisor Solutions said.

Colony Group, Mintz Levin to Merge

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:01:38 EDT

The newly combined Boston-based RIA will have $2.5 billion of client assets.

Advisors Root for Romney

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:01:23 EDT

A majority of financial advisors expect President Barack Obama to win the 2012 election even though they are rooting for Mitt Romney, according to an SEI Quick Poll.

Citi Shakes Up Wealth Management Unit

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:52:49 EDT

Financial behemoth names new heads for Citigold Wealth Management and Citi Personal Wealth Management units.

Wealthy Investors' Confidence Sags – Again

Wed, 30 May 2012 11:28:54 EDT

A new survey from Spectrem Group finds that affluent investors – particularly millionaires – are becoming more and more pessimistic about the U.S. economy's erratic recovery despite the Dow Jones Industrial Average's strong start to the year.

Wells Fargo Advisors Names New Head of First Clearing Unit

Wed, 30 May 2012 09:14:32 EDT

Wells Fargo Advisors promoted John Peluso to president of First Clearing Correspondent Services, a registered broker-dealer and a non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Co.

Is the Alternative Hype Fading?

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:50:37 EDT

Morningstar released some sobering news about the alternative mutual fund space.

Schwab Offers Advice on Spending Habits

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:47:42 EDT

Charles Schwab has launched a new video series to help investors curtail impulse spending.

JPMorgan Launches Retirement Plan Designer

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:46:20 EDT

J.P. Morgan Asset Management has introduced a new tool for retirement plan advisors to facilitate 401(k) plan design conversations and enhance plan sponsor decisions.

As E-Brokerage Expands, MSRB Looks Out for Retail Buyers

Wed, 30 May 2012 08:44:24 EDT

The increasing popularity of electronic brokerage has led the MSRB to examine whether retail investors who trade municipal securities through broker-dealers' online systems have adequate protection under its rules.

Wells Fargo Hires Father-Son UBS Advisor Team

Tue, 29 May 2012 18:16:30 EDT

The Deleons have been registered with Wells Fargo since May 25.

Global Investor Confidence Continues to Slump

Tue, 29 May 2012 14:31:47 EDT

Despite a surge in confidence among Asian investors, confidence globally declined 0.7 points to 86.4, according to data from State Street Global Markets.

National Financial Adds Trust Services to Broker Workstation

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:40:32 EDT

Anticipated demand for personal trust services has prompted National Financial — the clearing and custody business of Fidelity Investments — to incorporate personal trust services into its broker workstation used by nearly 280 broker-dealer firms.

FSI, FINRA Turn up the Heat on Invesment Advisor SRO Discussions

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:00:43 EDT

The Financial Services Institute issued a letter arguing an SRO modeled after FINRA is the best of all alternatives, and FINRA rebutted criticism of its cost estimates for an investment advisor regulator.

Stuck in the Middle: Boomers Delaying Retirement to Help Kids, Parents

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:37:42 EDT

A new Amerprise study finds that far too many baby boomers are sacrificing their retirement goals and plans to help ease some of the short-term economic pain facing their children and their own parents.

Broker to Pay $10K Fine For Allegations of Mislabeling Trades

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:35:37 EDT

A broker has consented to pay a $10,000 fine and take a suspension of 15 business days in response to allegations that he incorrectly marked trades and prevented his firm's compliance department from accurately monitoring the transactions.

U.S. Trust Offers Eldercare Planning Services

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:29:18 EDT

The new services will include organizational tools to help family members organize vital information, paper files, electronic records and digital passwords.

BNY Mellon Strengthens Tampa Wealth Management Team

Tue, 29 May 2012 11:06:05 EDT

BNY Mellon hires two more pros in its Tampa office, which has seen double-digit growth since it opened in 2008.

Houston RIA Adds Three

Tue, 29 May 2012 10:56:29 EDT

Linscomb & Williams, which has $2.7 billion in assets under management, hired Abigail C. Gunderson, Ryan L. Patterson and Lauren J. Bain.

Leuthold Shuts Down Hedged Equity Fund

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:42:26 EDT

Minneapolis-based Leuthold Weeden Capital Management's Board of Directors of the Leuthold Hedged Equity Fund has decided to liquidate the underperforming fund.

Hancock Funds' CEO Steps Down

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:41:17 EDT

Keith Hartstein, president and CEO of John Hancock Funds, will be retiring in September 2012 after 22 years at the firm.

Fund Giants Discuss Money Market Reforms With Schapiro

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:39:58 EDT

Executives from BlackRock, Vanguard, JPMorgan Chase, and Invesco met with SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro to talk about money market reforms.

RS Investments Preps Income Fund Launch

Tue, 29 May 2012 08:37:38 EDT

San Francisco-based RS Investments has filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch the RS Equity Income Fund.

Wells Fargo Names Banking Chief to Run Ultra HNW Business

Fri, 25 May 2012 14:25:26 EDT

Wells Fargo has named investment banking veteran Joseph Colianni head of banking of Abbot Downing, the company's newly launched business catering to America's wealthiest households.

Dear Jamie: Executives Offer JPM Crisis-Management Advice

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:35:55 EDT

Bank industry experts this week offered several suggestions for how Jamie Dimon should go about repairing JPMorgan Chase's reputation, after a London trader's bets lost the bank at least $2 billion.

SEC Bars Stanford Defender For One Year

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:32:42 EDT

The former SEC enforcement lawyer who later tried to defend convicted Ponzi scheme operator Allen Stanford has been blocked from practicing before the commission.

Bond Funds Experience Inflows

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:30:39 EDT

Equity funds? Not so much. Total estimated inflows to long-term mutual funds were $3.90 billion for the week ended Wednesday, May 16, according to data from the Investment Company Institute.