On Wednesday, I had the pleasure of moderating a panel discussion at the annual MFEA STAR awards in Chicago focusing on social media within the asset management industry. It was a lively discussion and a topic that is clearly on the minds of fund executives. Over the course of the day, there were a few recurring themes and issues, which I thought I’d highlight here as they are relevant to any financial firm exploring the social media waters: Continue Reading »

Fidelity Investments expanded its online brokerage platform today by offering international trading in 12 global markets. Currently, global trading is only open to the firm’s active investors segment – clients with Gold Commission Level – 120+ trades/year and $25,000 assets or $1 million in assets. Clients can trade directly from their brokerage accounts using U.S. Dollars; a separate global trading account is not required. Alternatively, clients can also trade using eight different local currencies. All listed foreign stocks and ETFs includes real-time quotes data and related research, all free.

Continue Reading »

Last Friday, PlanAdviser.com posted a story about a consumer survey conducted in June 2009 by market research firm Mintel Comperemedia. It addressed the issue of financial education. The firm found that three-fourths of online survey respondents are trying to improve their financial knowledge in response to the current economic crisis. Thirty-eight percent say they are turning to financial advisers for help, or plan to do so soon. But what about people that don’t have the assets to work with a financial advisor, or that prefer to manage their own finances? Where are they to turn for help? Probably the same place millions turn for the latest news and information everyday, the World Wide Web.

Continue Reading »

TD Bank finally launched their revamped website after hinting and making announcements about an upcoming change for several weeks. The new website features better navigational menus and updated product information; more significantly, the firm now lets users apply for accounts online. Previously, the old TD Bank site provided a general list of the firm’s product offerings, requiring prospective account holders to complete an application request form before they could apply for an account.

Continue Reading »

In February of 2007, TIAA-CREF introduced a beta version of their retirement-focused online community, MyRetirement.org, to a select group of clients. Recently the firm rolled the site out to its broader client base through an email invitation.

MyRetirement.org provides a unique outlet for the firm’s clients to discuss a number of topics, including investment and saving strategies, travel and leisure plans, even health and fitness tips. This broad range of financial- and lifestyle-focused content should appeal to the interests of the firm’s unique customer base, i.e., those with backgrounds in the academic, research, medical and cultural fields. Continue Reading »

BlackRock added a 529 plan section to the Products tab. The new CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan section is divided into three education tabs, similar in design to the firm’s Retirement Plan Solutions tab. The three tabs – Overview, Investment Options and Getting Started – consist of downloadable resources, forms and a new Morningstar College Savings tool. The new section emphasizes the need for parents to establish a 529 Plan and markets a number of different 529 Plan strategies offered by the firm.

This is a good addition by Blackrock and reduces the number of firms that we track in Mutual Fund Monitor Advisor without 529 plans to three: Evergreen, Federated, and iShares.

If you are interested in learning more on 529 Plan Kits, click here to read an abstract of a May 2008 Mutual Fund -Advisor Report.

The big news for September revolves around Roth conversions. In the advisor realm, there was an influx of promotions surrounding the 2010 Roth conversion opportunity. A number of firms in our coverage groups are now supplying their advisors and brokers with new online marketing materials to help get ahead of the competition.

Continue Reading »

One of the forerunners to TD Bank in the northeast was Commerce Bank, a firm that built a reputation for excellent customer service and wide open, inviting branch locations. This week, that reputation for customer relations has been put to the test due to problems consolidating the legacy TD Banknorth and Commerce Bank backend computer systems. Continue Reading »