Advisor Sales Strategies

Consumers' confidence in August dropped almost 15 points to the lowest level since April 2009 as worries about the economy fueled the wildest stock market swings since the financial meltdown in 2008.

More U.S. pension plans seem to be using some alternative investments, but fewer plans seem to be using alternative investments a lot.

While financial advisors agree that client referrals are critical to a firms growth, nearly half say theyve asked only a small percentage of their clients for a referral, according to an SEI Quick Poll released Monday.

Beginning in 2012, the SEC will require all participant-directed retirement plans to provide a detailed quarterly breakdown of all plan cost that participants pay.

U.S. stocks rose Monday after Tropical Storm Irene wound up being less severe than many analysts anticipated.

Tropical Storm Irene's trek up the East Coast caused less damage than many had feared, a bit of reassuring news for a fragile economy.