Risk management

Relationships with vendors can make or break an advisor's business; FINRA officials and industry experts discuss best practices.

The broker-dealer watchdog is putting the industry on notice about the latest scheme attempting to extract client information.

Authors add that the asset class can still be a welcome source of diversification for investors who can stomach the risk.

Coverage providers have come to expect that some clients will find fault with their advisors during down markets, whether the blame is warranted or not.

Leading the charge last year were risky leveraged vehicles and funds tracking the digital assets industry. That doesn't mean advisors are any more likely to embrace them.

The broker-dealer industry's self-regulator warns of risks also related to cryptocurrencies and off-channel communications.

Amid high interest rates, publicly traded real estate investment trusts have been pummeled the last two years. Analysts meanwhile think their private cousins are in for further correction.

The broker-dealer self-regulator accused the firm of failing to properly record more than 830,000 transactions, among other violations.

Without inflation adjustments to income and net worth criteria, the number of people who qualify to put their money into sophisticated and risky investments has skyrocketed.

It's cheers for pro bono advisors and people working to diversify the industry, and jeers for planners who defraud the elderly and big firms that let their regulatory responsibilities slip.