Shifting emphasis at mutual fund distributors

The rising importance of fund selection units at broker/dealers (B/Ds) was reflected in the June 23 NICSA General Membership Meeting‘s panel on “The Distribution Road Ahead and Back,” chaired by Marty Griffin, director of sales operations for Pioneer Funds Distributor. Mutual fund distributors are ramping up their efforts to satisfy those units. For example, two-and-a-half […]

One millionth CFA exam

The CFA Institute has administered its one millionth CFA exam, according to a recent email from its president. About 119,000 registered to take the exam on June 7. The CFA Institute’s reach sure has expanded since I took the exam. My CFA candidate number is under 12,000.  

Your website’s "About Us" page could make the sale

The company information in your website’s “About Us” page could make the difference between winning or losing a new client. “Although it might not solely make a purchase, a bad ‘About Us’ page can definitely stop a purchase from happening,” according to “Why You Must Pay More Attention to Your ‘About Us’ Page” on the […]

"Lazy Bastards: How We Read Online"

“Lazy Bastards: How We Read Online,” Michael Agger’s article on Slate.com, gives some good tips for grabbing your online readers’ attention. He reinforces points I often make, including the value of using: White space Bullet points Informative subheadings Agger also sends you over to “Long vs. Short Articles as Content Strategy” by website usability guru […]

Annuities keep gaining respectability as a retirement solution

Your 401(k) plan would be annuitized for two years upon retirement, if the authors of “Increasing Annuitization of 401(k) Plans with Automatic Trial Income” have their way. “Workers could opt-out at retirement or after those 24 months. But the authors expect that few would,” said the Tax Policy Center’s Howard Gleckman in “A New Annuity […]