Rachel F. Elson

Seniors are increasingly vulnerable to financial abuse. Advisors have a growing role to play in helping stop it.

While the biggest independent B-Ds have been fairly quiet, the deal-making has shifted to other players. See who's in focus now.

For advisors whose clients want some of their assets in real property, the current rebound creates both opportunities and challenges. Want to understand these clients a little better? A recent survey took a deep look at investment real estate buyers and identified several characteristics that set them apart.

Higher valuations, shakier bets: Advisors whose clients want real estate holdings face a new set of challenges.

Advisors who are helping clients prepare themselves financially for retirement are only doing part of the job needed.

About a quarter of fee-only advisory firms we surveyed in February said they had changed their fee structure in the past year (as did 20% of all independent firms). So what did they do? We combed through respondents' individual comments to identify several of the changes firms have made.

Psychological experiments at the University of Georgia offer a pair of clear takeaways for advisors facing prospects.