Wealth management

The number of American workers participating in a retirement plan continued to decrease last year, adding to a trend that began with the recession of 2008 and reaching its lowest level in a decade, according to a new study.

For the second year in a row, monthly Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits for more than 58 million Americans will not automatically increase in 2011, the Social Security Administration said Friday, but Congress will try to pass a law to provide seniors with the extra money anyway.

For the second year in a row, the Social Security Administration is probably not going to provide a cost of living adjustment for Social Security recipients because of the low rate of inflation.

More than three-quarters of companies that froze their pay over the last 18 months have lifted their pay freezes or intend to do so by the end of 2010, according to a survey of some 200 organizations.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a new rule, based on requirements under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that would help those managing their own family's financial portfolios determine whether their “family offices” can continue to be excluded from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued final regulations under a law change that will require reporting of basis and other information by stock brokers and mutual fund companies for most stock purchased in 2011 and all stock purchased in 2012 and later years, making it easier for investors to report their gains and losses next year on their tax returns.

Capital market regulations often have unintended consequences.

PLANNERS PUSH TO EXTEND FIDUCIARY STANDARD

Today, many professional firms have a sobering problem when it comes to older partners. It can be difficult enough to negotiate a sale of an owner’s interest, and finding a way to pay for it is an even greater challenge.

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

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