Remember when the Internet promised to do everything from clean your teeth to provide high-quality leads that cost very little? Well, the reality is a bit more sobering, but there are a number of online referral services to choose from, as outlined in a recent FAIQ article. Some services deliver a... READ MORE

As expected, a House budget subcommittee denied the SEC’s request for additional funding to hire more examiners so that it can audit more advisors. The full committee is expected to vote on the subcommittee’s proposed budget by the 4th of July. Concerned by SEC performance, House Republicans are... READ MORE

Adding fuel to the fire, an attack on the IRA rollover industry by Bloomberg cites numerous examples of advisors preying on retirees rolling their 401(k) money into IRAs. One expert claims that IRAs are the “Wild West,” with limited oversight and regulation. The report focuses on one advisor who... READ MORE

With RCAP making so much news with its aggressive acquisition strategy — buying five IBDs over the past year, including Cetera and First Allied — LPL was bound to respond. Speaking at a Morgan Stanley Financial conference last week, LPL’s CFO Dan Arnold claimed that RCAP’s acquisition strategy is... READ MORE

Though not directly endorsing the idea of third party audits of RIAs, senior executives at Schwab and TD Ameritrade lobbied Congress last week to consider the idea during the Investment Adviser Association's lobbying day. Currently only 9% of the total of 11,000 RIA firms are examined by the SEC... READ MORE

It may seem strange for the person who coined the term “blind squirrel” to explain not only why blind squirrels are here to stay, but also why they are helpful and even important to the entire DC plan ecosystem. Some might say that plan sponsors and participants would be much better off if every... READ MORE

Speaking at a Municipal Securities Regulator Summit, SEC Commissioner Daniel Gallagher warned that the unfunded pension and health care obligations of states and municipalities could be much worse than people realize. Because of unrealistic estimated returns, the unfunded liabilities range from $1... READ MORE

Some say that size doesn’t matter. Don't tell that to Nicholas Schorsch's RCAP group, which has gone on an acquisition binge in the IBD world over the past year. The firm’s strategy has catapulted it into the second spot overall, trailing only LPL. ThinkAdvisor's list of the top 25 independent BDs... READ MORE

Is the IRA market about to explode? Cerulli, using data on contribution habits of pre-retirees from DC plans, predicts massive outflows in their Evolution of the Retirement Investor 2013 report. Echoing Cerulli’s claims, a Judy Diamond analysis of more than 14,000 plans with 100 or more... READ MORE