Investment returns

Amid high interest rates, publicly traded real estate investment trusts have been pummeled the last two years. Analysts meanwhile think their private cousins are in for further correction.

Without inflation adjustments to income and net worth criteria, the number of people who qualify to put their money into sophisticated and risky investments has skyrocketed.

Finance gurus see the coming 12 months as a time to dilute concentrations in cash and large firms' stock and consider emerging markets and small caps.

Electronic messaging, Reg BI, crypto and fraud all appeared at the top of regulators' agenda this past year.

The plaintiff in the class-action suit notes that returns at rival institutions rose when inflation started driving prices up last year. Her rates did not.

Some think lending to businesses outside the banking system can reap outsize rewards for advisors who are willing to do their homework.

The broker-dealer regulator's proposal would fall in line with similar leeway granted to advisors under the SEC's marketing rule.

With interest rates likely to level off, wealth managers who leave their clients in cash could miss out substantial long-term gains.

The inquiry into Wells Fargo comes at a time when clients can often secure much better rates of return through money markets and certificates of deposit.

The firm's total advisor headcount holds steady while its assets under management swell to $816 billion.