Fidelity's online-brokerage services will now allow investors to trade foreign stocks and currencies directly.

Estate is such a nice word. We all have one, in fact we all have three. They are Gross, Taxable and Probate and a goal is to make the first large and the others small!

In the coming months, we are likely to see public debate on regulation of financial services. A part of that will attempt to define and apply a fiduciary standard. Will it impact your adviser relationships? Learn to protect yourself.

Too many brokerage accounts have termination or transfer fees. Why should we pay to end a business relationship that is less than satisfactory?

Beware of advertisements that don’t clearly identify the investment product or strategy being proposed. A lack of disclosure and transparency in an ad should be a red flag when it comes to the financial products and advisers consumers should consider.

As a result of the financial crisis and a weak economy, financial institutions have merged at a frenetic pace. Survival in a post-merger world is difficult, but with the right plan you can be successful.

Now is one of the better times we will see to understand our personal risk tolerance and how it might affect our ability to achieve better returns or undermine our ability to live comfortably with the inevitable risks in our portfolios.

More people are turning to indepedant investment advisors out of a better sense of trust and more brokers are becoming independant advisors as a lucrative career option.

Characteristics of mutual funds that indicate a strong focus on fiduciary management - what to look for when trying to determine if the fund acts in the best interests of the investor.

Although there's definitely a need for reform in the financial industry, isn't there a way to protect investors without trying to make everyone a fiduciary?