“Merrill Lynch, with Wal-Mart’s blessing, was choosing mutual funds based on payments that the funds would make to Merrill Lynch,” says Braden attorney Derek Loeser of Keller Rohrback in Seattle, Wash. “This explains the anomaly of a $10 billion plan ending up with off-the-shelf retail funds that just so happen to share revenue.” Forbes magazine [...]

by Tamar Frankel Historically securities brokers have been viewed as salespeople with special legal responsibilities:  Treat customers fairly, follow special rules regarding the customers’ money and securities, and recommend to customers only suitable investments.  Brokers offered liquidity by creating markets in certain securities, actions also subject to special rules designed to ensure customers were treated [...]

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has fined five bank broker-dealers a total of $1.65 million for deficient supervision and procedures related to variable annuity (VA), mutual fund or unit investment trust (UIT) transactions. Brokers at each of the firms operated out of branches of affiliated banks, selling VAs, mutual funds or UITs to bank [...]

Ken French The answer depends on why stockholders want to leave the market. During the financial crisis, some investors discovered that their tolerance for risk is lower than they thought, so it might make sense for them to permanently reduce their exposure to equities. Investors who wish to avoid the price impact of the recession, [...]

A significant point for investors is whether or not your advisor is a fiduciary. This story is one indicator of what can happen when your advisor is not a fiduciary but simply required to meet a “suitability” standard. Ameriprise Financial has agreed to pay $17.3 million to settle charges that it received millions of dollars [...]

It seems that every few days or weeks this question comes up again – following some “change” in the financial environment. What if “Cap and Trade” passes? What if our healthcare system is Nationalized? The major banks have been taken over by the government as well as GM’s and Chrysler’s difficulties, what should we do [...]

Omaha, Neb. June 29, 2009 – A new survey of independent registered investment advisors (RIAs) released today by TD AMERITRADE Institutional, a division of TD AMERITRADE Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: AMTD), shows RIAs surveyed continue to report strong growth as investors move their money from wirehouses to independent advisors. More than 80 percent of RIAs surveyed [...]

Professor Ken French speaks to the age old investing question of buy and hold vs market timing on tech|ticker. Buy and Hold vs. Timing the Market @ Yahoo! Video __________ “Investor Education for Main Street America” FacebookTwitter

In the most recent news from Wall Street, securities fraud has affected individual investors, pensions and charitable organizations. Here are four key safety tips that may help you prevent this from happening to you. 1. Know your advisor. Investment Advisors are registered with government organizations. You can research registrations and review any past complaints with [...]

A common theme among new investors is “Dollar Cost Averaging”. Is this a good idea? Well, if it is the only way for you to get invested, than I t hink I would say, “Yes.” But what if you have a sum of money, say $10,000, that is available for investment and your goal for [...]