So far in this young century, the brokerage industry seems to have successfully endured its run down the gauntlet. Let's see, there was that embarrassing tech collapse, in which securities firms and asset managers sure did look, well, greedy and...

Wall Street's titans made a terrible mess with their bets on the sub-prime mortgage market, and now they're paying for it dearly. Most of the major U.S. banks and brokerage firms recorded massive write-downs of sub-prime and CDO (collateralized...

What are the chances that one of your funds will return 100 percent (or more) next year? Slim extremely slim. Funds rarely double in a 12-month period; and when they do, one wonders: To sell or not to sell? Well, recently, just such a rarity has...

We all know what a lousy third-quarter Merrill Lynch had it reported the worst loss in its 93-year history (a $2.3 billion net loss along with a staggering $8.4 billion in bond write-downs). As a result, CEO Stan O'Neal was forced into retirement...

One would think a client's collection of 50 cars, let alone 50 Corvettes, would be hard for a team of financial advisors and estate planners to ignore.

Financial Advisors may discuss charitable giving with clients for the same reason that most people choose to give in the first place: It's the right thing to do. But you can use that discussion to clean up your client's portfolio and simplify your...

As the Dow Jones Industrial Average blasted to record highs recently, everyone but the short-sellers celebrated the accomplishment. While the day-traders danced amid confetti, older shareholders with a longer-term relationship to their stocks...

Here's one way to evaluate equity research: Measure the impact it has on stock prices. Bespoke Investment Group, a financial research firm, did just that, and apparently, Robert W. Baird takes top honors. Out of 16 firms, Baird's upgrades impacted...

For decades, most financial advisors have clung to a central belief about asset allocation: The older you are, the more fixed income you should hold. Retirees should gradually shift away from equities, and into bonds, the thinking goes. That way...

Most clients wouldn't question the superiority of a 10-percent return over a 5 percent one. Or would they? For some accounts, it's not so much where they end up, but how they got there. Reporting gross returns even when they're not so gross gives...