Wealth management

Asset allocation - dividing resources among different investment categories - is a way to lessen the risk of losses in a financial portfolio. Over the past decade, it has become increasingly critical to advisory firms seeking to better serve their clients, particularly high-net-worth clients. This roundup focuses on nine solutions for asset allocation, ranging from the simple and most basic to the most sophisticated. Each is designed to meet the needs of a different size of advisor, and each has a significant presence among accounting firms engaged in financial planning and wealth management.

Helping clients manage their investments isn't easy even in the best of times - and the last few years have certainly not been the best of times for investment portfolios.

Just four weeks after announcing his retirement as the head football coach at the University of Alabama, the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant collapsed and died at the age of 69 despite having passed a routine physical the day before.

The lame duck session slated to begin in mid-November leaves Congress a massive amount of unfinished business.

Super-regional CPA and business advisory firm BKD has launched www.financialreforminsights.com, an interactive portal to help guide financial institutions through the sweeping regulations under legislation such as the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

Sixty percent of high net worth individuals say they will never retire, according to a new survey that has spotted a trend of the “nevertiree.”

The Investment Program Association, a trade association for the direct investment industry, and the American College, an educational resource for financial advisors, have introduced the first in a planned series of e-learning continuing education courses for financial advisors and financial wholesalers to expand their understanding of direct investments.

Guiding clients on estate planning issues has been highly frustrating to most CPAs for the past year, thanks to the failure of Congress to resolve fundamental questions about the federal estate tax. Unfortunately, the next several months may involve more of the same - but CPAs can still guide clients during this era of uncertainty.

It's all but expected in Boston (and maybe anywhere other than New York) that baseball fans hate the Yankees.

AUTOMATIC IRA BILL ON HILL

NEW YORK

IMGCAP(1)]One of the most popular investment activities that has experienced dramatic growth in the past five years is retail foreign exchange trading.

The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has released a free “Consumer Guide to Financial Self-Defense” to help the public spot any red flags that could signal that they’re working with a crooked financial advisor.

A majority of state and local government workers are not certain if they have enough money set aside for their retirement, according to a new study.

EISI RELEASES NEW APP

After two years of a financial roller-coaster ride, I’m sure you’re searching for something new to say to clients to keep them seated in the cart, no matter what direction the market seems to be flying toward (or sinking into) at the moment. While I wish I knew the magic words, the best I can do is share the thoughts I’ve been mulling over lately.

Kelli S. Lewis, a principal in the tax and business services department at CPA firm Stone Carlie & Company, has been certified as an Accredited Estate Planner by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.

The Treasury Department is soliciting comments on a draft version of its national strategy for financial literacy.

The Obama administration said that nearly 2,000 employers and unions have been accepted in the first round of the $5 billion Early Retiree Reinsurance Program created under the health care reform bill.

The Financial Planning Coalition has asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to extend the fiduciary standard of care to broker-dealers and other financial professionals who provide personalized investment advice to retail customers.