Charles Schwab’s efforts to expand its advisory services have evidently paid off, as they experienced a 17% profit increase, bringing them to $290 million for Q3 2013. Walt Bettinger of Charles Schwab explains: “These client results supported double-digit percentage increases in all three of our... READ MORE

According to research from academics at the University of Colorado, the University of Virginia and Catholic University, financial education and training has a 0.1% effect on behavior. Analyzing 168 papers and 201 studies, the professors found little correlation between financial education and how... READ MORE

UBS released “80 is the new 60,” an interesting study analyzing people’s views about retirement. Today people do not feel old at 62, which was not true a generation ago when that age was close to retirement. In fact, how people feel about age is not based on a number — for many people, retirement... READ MORE

Fidelity Investments has launched its “Plan for Life” program, an initiative designed to help workplace retirement plan participants plan for achievement of their retirement goals in a holistic manner tailored to their individual needs. The Plan for Life program takes into account the complex needs... READ MORE

In another move toward divesting its U.S. holdings, ING Group has filed an amended S1 registration that would reduce its stake in ING U.S. from 71% to 60%. As part of a deal with the Dutch government after it received money during the financial crisis, ING agreed to divest all of its U.S.... READ MORE

In study about how IRA holders reacted to the Great Recession, the ICI — using data from the IRS and SIFMA — found that traditional IRAs, or those with a consistent balance from 2007-2011, weathered the storm with relative calm. Analyzing 5.8 million accounts, the study found that there was little... READ MORE

DB plans with tens of billions in assets are waiting to transfer the risk to third-party insurance companies when interest rates rise, according to a report by P&I. De-risking has been light this year: Only $1 billion of deals were done, compared with $37 billion in 2012, a year that included... READ MORE

Is there any constitutional right, state or federal, that is absolute? This issue was considered last week by a bankruptcy judge in Michigan who is hearing arguments in the Detroit Chapter 9 filing. Union workers and municipal pensioners argued that the Michigan state constitution guarantees their... READ MORE

In last week’s Reader Poll we asked, "What percentage of your team/company income comes from rollovers and wealth management?" Here are the results of the voting, expressed in percentages:None: 22%Less than 10%: 39%10-25%: 11%25-50%: 6%More than 50: 22%That’s an interesting spread — heavy on the... READ MORE

OppenheimerFunds has unveiled a new website for advisors featuring practice management resources, an advisor-only discussion forum and fund performance data. With the growing competition for advisors’ attention and business, their goal was to create an innovative and unique user experience that... READ MORE

A number of mayors from cities in California like Anaheim, San Bernardino, San Jose and Santa Ana have banded together to create the Coalition for Fair and Sustainable Pensions to address state pension plans that they call “unsustainable.” A statewide ballot initiative the group is pushing would... READ MORE