Not that you asked for one, but you may have a new friend these days. He won't hesitate to text you or send a message on Facebook. Other times, you may get an alert from him on your smartphone. And like a friend with boundary issues, he may even try to give you some financial advice, encouraging you to get more active in the stock market.

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Illustration by Alexandra Compain-Tissier

This friend, of course, is your stockbroker. SmartMoney has been tracking the brokerage industry in our award-winning annual survey for almost 20 years, and we've seen plenty of trends come and go. Right now, it's all about "outreach," with a consistent goal of getting clients who are still skittish from the crash to play the market once more -- and, not coincidentally, to start paying for trades, advice and other services again. In this year's survey ("Text, Tweet, Trade," on page 52), we take a fresh look beyond the gadgets and sales pitches. But, as always, we keep our eyes on the prize, figuring out which brokers are the best -- and the worst -- at their trade.

You figured you would have to help your adult kids in this tough economy. Perhaps a parent or two as well. But what about your sister or brother? In a still-shaky economy, siblings are turning to each other for financial bailouts and, in some cases, creating an unexpected burden for baby boomers, especially those from large families. In the latest of her insightful articles about the boomer generation, senior editor Missy Sullivan explores the phenomenon and shows how wiser siblings are coming up with ways to help out -- but with limits. The story, "The Sibling Sinkhole," begins on page 60.