Financial Planning

U.S. Tax Court Judge Elizabeth Paris handed the taxpayers a victory last Thursday involving a powerful estate tax planning tool: private annuities.

Kayla J. Gillan, a former deputy chief of staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission and founding member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, has been tapped to lead PricewaterhouseCoopers’ new Investors’ Resource Institute.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a consultation report offering recommendations regarding the protection of client assets, to help regulators improve the supervision of intermediaries holding client assets in the aftermath of scandals at MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group.

For taxpayers who scrambled to make last-minute gifts at the end of 2012 to take advantage of the gift tax exemption and lower tax rate, it was a good thing to do despite the fact that within 23 hours of year’s end, legislation passed averting the return to the old-law $1 million exemption and 55 percent maximum tax rate.

The chief executives and CFOs of companies accused of backdating stock options for their top executives were likely to lose their jobs and have trouble finding another one, according to a new study.

Highlights from the world of financial planning

The toolkit that I recommend does not exist in a toolbox anywhere, regardless of how consultants and associations try to market their package and products as a "turn-key" practice management system in a box.

A new poll of small business owners finds they want to see tougher rules imposed on Wall Street firms and other financial companies.

Most former NFL players are bankrupt or under financial stress within two years of retirement. So why aren’t more athletes using financial advisors? A former Pittsburgh Steeler says ego and fear are often to blame, but there are ways for players and advisors to make a winning connection.

Tales of professional athletes facing financial ruin are all too common. Whether it’s squandering millions or getting swindled by shady business and investment consultants, some athletes’ wealth falls as quickly as it rises.