We use two data sets, one from a large brokerage and another from a major bank, to ask: (i) whether financial advisors tend to be matched with poorer, uninformed investors or with richer, experienced but presumably busy investors; (ii) how advised accounts actually perform relative to...

The introduction of a common currency as well as the harmonization of rules and regulationsin Europe has significantly reduced distance in all its guises. With shrunken costs ofovercoming space, this emphasizes centripetal forces and it should foster consolidation offinancial activity. In a...