Entries from February 2010
Fiduciary No More
Congress has dealt an obscure but signficant blow to consumer protection in financial services.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - February 24-28, 2010
As you'll see in a minute, I'm extremely skeptical of one of the contributed articles in this month's issue of the Journal of Financial Planning, the more so because the assumptions for its conclusions are never provided, the even more so because its conclusions are at odds with what I regard as common sense and most other analyses. But if you want to sell variable annuities, articles like this provide support and cover.
Meanwhile, there's an excellent article on incorporating a psychologist into your client interactions, and a pretty interesting study of an investment strategy that would require a LOT more study before you should attempt it on behalf of clients. See for yourself. [Read more »]
Meanwhile, there's an excellent article on incorporating a psychologist into your client interactions, and a pretty interesting study of an investment strategy that would require a LOT more study before you should attempt it on behalf of clients. See for yourself. [Read more »]
Bob Veres E-Column: Thousand percent ROIs
How do you calculate the return on your technology investment?
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Savings Limits
Let's not take for granted our right to save for the future.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - February 16-23, 2010
Do you have a software tool that specifically calculates Roth conversions? Do you know how to ruin the new young employee you just hired? How to lead clients through the grieving process and deal with them wherever they happen to be? How to find one of the best paperless office systems?
All this, plus Roy Diliberto's manifesto for ethical treatment of clients can be found in the highly-rated articles in this month's Financial Advisor magazine.
Have a great weekend; I hope you get a chance to catch some of the Olympics on TV. [Read more »]
All this, plus Roy Diliberto's manifesto for ethical treatment of clients can be found in the highly-rated articles in this month's Financial Advisor magazine.
Have a great weekend; I hope you get a chance to catch some of the Olympics on TV. [Read more »]
Budget Alarms
Why Greece is a warning to the U.S.
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LOOKING AHEAD, BACKWARDS
Some of my readers think this is the last year of the 2000s, and that January 1, 2011 properly begins the new decade. So we are either in the last or the first year of a decade; either way, I think it might be a good time to assess the changes we and the profession have experienced over the past ten years, and spend a moment thinking about the things which are obvious now which were not so obvious then.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - February 8-15, 2010
I have a feeling you're looking at a snapshot of two important trends here: Capital Analysts creating a flat fee model for advisors who affiliate with its BD platform (see the Marion Asnes article below), and the deferred annuity concept, where you put a little money into an annuity that will pay an adequate income at age 80 and for life thereafter, turning the whole retirement plan into a period-certain calculation. (The article by Ilana Polyak failed to mention that Symetra, Inc. has a similar product out.)
Meanwhile, you get good practice management insight from the article by Stephanie Bogan, and I applaud the editorial staff at Financial Planning for putting a picture of the writer on the cover. I hope this starts a trend, and that it eventually extends to columnists... [Read more »]
Meanwhile, you get good practice management insight from the article by Stephanie Bogan, and I applaud the editorial staff at Financial Planning for putting a picture of the writer on the cover. I hope this starts a trend, and that it eventually extends to columnists... [Read more »]
At-Risk or Loyal?
A compendium of 6,000 advisor clients shows that fewer of them are at-risk to jump to another advisor than some of the statistics you may have read.
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MIDDLE MARKET MODEL
Here's an advisor who appears to have figured out how to serve middle-market clients under a revenue model that many advisors will find attractive. How does he do it? By sticking to basics, simplifying the service and office procedures, and following the same formula in his own life as he preaches to his clients.
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Good Company?
Who else is running a budget deficit these days? Everybody.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - February 1-7, 2010
Either the magazines are getting better or I'm getting mellower in my rating system, because once again I've found a higher-than-usual number of articles to give a "high" relevance rating to. But in this issue of Investment Advisor, some of those uprated articles are more FYI than substance; for example, the insurance industry is suddenly lobbying against fiduciary, when there is no indication the standards would even apply to them. (Can you see the brokerage firms putting them up to it?) The profile of Ben Marks is notable only because this breakaway broker seems to believe that he invented independent, unbiased advice--telling us how little the brokerage community knows about a business model that has been around since the Carter Administration. The article about Ray Sclafani is pretty thin, but he's going to be a columnist in future issues of IA, so it's good to get a quick look at what he thinks.
The more substantive offerings are the cover story insights into the Hispanic world of potential clients, Mark Tibergien's suggestion on how to evaluate and interview prospective new hires, and Angie Herbers recommending that you rethink your compensation structure. [Read more »]
The more substantive offerings are the cover story insights into the Hispanic world of potential clients, Mark Tibergien's suggestion on how to evaluate and interview prospective new hires, and Angie Herbers recommending that you rethink your compensation structure. [Read more »]
Inside Information - February 2010
Download the February 2010 edition of Inside Information below.
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Roth and More
This is a writeup of the more technical sessions at the AICPA PFP Conference in Orlando, with notable sessions on Roth conversions and highly-complex estate planning strategies.
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