High-net-worth women use their wealth to offer others opportunities and to support their communities, according to a study by RBC Wealth Management and The Economist Intelligence Unit. Respondents cite education, investment and technology as main contributors to wealth generation.

Learn how to better support your retirement clients with practical tools and techniques for your practice by attending the Retirement Management Forum. Don't miss the latest from the nation's top retirement-management leaders, Dec. 3-4, at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, Fla. Early bird ends Nov. 2. Register today.

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Attend Focus on the Great Wealth Transfer, a one-day seminar, Nov. 15, in Phoenix. Join industry experts as they share a framework for advisors to handle the upcoming generational wealth transfer as a new generation of investors bring new attitudes and expectations. Early bird special pricing ends Nov. 1. Don't wait, register now.

Investments & Wealth Institute launched a new Exceptional Advisor Podcast series this week. The series, hosted by Jamie Green, former editor of Investment Advisor and ThinkAdvisor.com, features interviews with top practitioners and industry experts. Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or SoundCloud. Listen now.

Focus on Advising the Great Wealth Transfer, Phoenix, Nov. 15, 2018
Retirement Management Forum, Amelia Island, Fla., Dec. 3-4, 2018
Investment Advisor Forum, New York City, Feb. 11-12, 2019
Annual Conference Experience—ACE Las Vegas, May 5-8, 2019

A report by Jersey Finance offers 10 suggestions for coordinating succession plans to support the next generation of wealthy clients. Among the first things an advisor can do to prepare new wealth holders is to create a trust-structure summary to help them get a handle on their roles and responsibilities, as well as current investments.

Estate planner Scott Weinberg discusses a case in which an irrevocable trust that created three trust shares had fundamental errors that caught the attention of the IRS. This case "should serve as a warning to all practitioners to review their trust language carefully," Weinberg writes.

Accountants from EY look at legislative and regulatory developments affecting estate and gift taxes that occurred from June 2017 to May 2018. In addition to the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, they look at court decisions and actions by the Internal Revenue Service.

Baby boomers control more investable assets than millennials or members of Generation X, and this situation is expected to continue for a decade or more, data show. The key takeaway is that advisors cannot afford to neglect the needs of baby boomers as they prepare to serve other groups.

A survey of 311 family offices found that respondents' hedge fund allocations have been declining and now amount to less than 6% of their portfolios on average, UBS said. Private equity, meanwhile, is poised to get more of the family offices' allocations after the asset class contributed to a 15.5% increase in their investments' value last year, the survey found.

A traditional approach to referrals doesn't work, especially with high-net-worth prospects, writes financial advisor Kerry Johnson. She offers a five-step approach to securing an appointment that includes adding a personal touch and "bridging" by asking questions.

Advisors can connect with high-net-worth clients by learning about their passions, such as exotic and vintage cars, suggests Mitchell Katz of Premier Financial Services. For instance, he notes that a "basic understanding of exotic and vintage car financing" could "provide a wealth advisor with greater insight than their HNW client currently possesses."

In 2017, the number of investment advisors who registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission for the first time increased 20% compared with the previous year, a report from Schwab Advisor Services says. There are now more than 13,000 registered investment advisors, according to testimony given to a House Financial Services subcommittee.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has posted an increase in enforcement activity for fiscal 2018, boosted by cryptocurrency and spoofing cases, while the Securities and Exchange Commission is expected to report a decrease in fines.