Financial Planning Magazine - February 2017

Why advisers need to pay close attention to technology vendor contracts.

Who’s responsible for a digital problem caused by a third-party program? Not the vendor.

High-value targets include client names and account numbers. Protecting the information can also protect an advisory practice from regulatory penalties.

Planners act on expectations of pro-business, anti-trade initiatives by the incoming administration.

That's just one solution among several that will help prepare your firm for success now and in the future, columnist Bob Veres says.

Here are the moves advisers can make to serve larger, wealthier and more-profitable clients.

With cybercrime an increasing threat to small financial firms, it’s important to have a comprehensive defensive program in place.

Many small advisories struggle to create a coherent plan for developing their talent. Here’s how to overcome that obstacle.

The model for financial advice "is primed and ready for change," says Cetera CEO Robert Moore.

Exclusive: Advice Period, the newest RIA platform model, offers star power and IBD qualities. Is it enough?

Arbitrators also rejected the former adviser's counterclaims for $51 million in damages.

Adviser Zaneilia Harris seeks out clients who resemble a former version of herself — young, single, African-American women struggling to make wise choices — and keeps them by structuring compensation in an atypical way.

Policy owners who take out loans may need a rescue — but not all life preservers are created equal.

One of the major aims of asset allocation is to craft a portfolio with ingredients that don’t all behave in exactly the same way to protect against all assets heading south at the same time. But, of course, that downside protection can be a double-edged sword.

When advisers are deeply involved in clients’ charitable plans, both families and firms may find real gratification.