RJ and Makay

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Less than a quarter of hiring managers plan to add more employees to their company rosters in 2012, according to a recent CareerBuilder survey that polled more than 3,000 human resource and hiring professionals.  23% of survey recipients said that they would add full-time permanent staff, down slightly from 24% who said the same last year.  7% of companies plan to cut staff in 2012, the same percentage as last year.

A new salary survey by the Financial Planning Association (FPA) confirms it: Having those letters after your name makes a difference in how much income you make as a financial advisor. And some designations provide more of an advantage than others.

For example, a senior financial planner with the Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) or Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC) credentials earns 28% to 31% more than a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) certificant, according to the survey. Indeed, median annual compensation for senior planners with a ChFC or CLU was $130,000 to $133,000 compared with $101,000 for those with a CFP. Among sole practitioners, median annual compensation ChFCs and CLUs was $83,000 to $89,000 versus $80,000 for CFPs.

A rule proposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday is central to the ongoing battle against excessive risk-taking on Wall Street. Under the rule, large investment advisors and broker-dealers would have to end compensation programs that promote excessive risk-taking.

The SEC voted 3 to 2 to release an initial draft of the rule, which would require advisory firms and broker-dealers with more than $1 billion in assets to disclose their incentive-based pay programs. If the rule is adopted, it would enable regulators to prohibit compensation that “encourages inappropriate risks” or could lead to substantial financial losses by offering “excessive compensation,” the SEC says.