Our regulatory system is failing us not once but twice.
Continue reading "Too Much AND Too Little"

TradePMR was created to be a reliable steward of your clients' money. It has evolved into something much more ambitious.
Continue reading "Hybrid Platform"

How can you prepare for the Next Big Shift in the advisor environment?
Continue reading "Decision Point"

It's time to consider an alternative SRO in case Congress grants FINRA's regulatory desires. As it happens, we already have something to work with.
Continue reading "PLAN B"

In the end, all the drama of 2011 was, from a portfolio standpoint, much ado about nothing.
Continue reading "A Turbulent Year in Review"

This last reviewed issue of 2011 actually contains one of the best articles of the year, maybe THE best research report, oddly enough, on the subject of tactical asset allocation and whether it can be done effectively. As you'll see, it takes a very conservative position and defends it, to my mind effectively. As I say in the review, from now on, after this article, the discussion in the profession won't be on whether it is possible to add value through tactical shifts, but whether it can be done under broader, more common circumstances. It's going to be an interesting debate.
Continue reading "MEDIA REVIEWS - December 24-31, 2011"

The real story behind the fight over payroll tax cuts in Congress.
Continue reading "Wrangling Over a Phantom Stimulus"

The FPA is losing members. The question here is: WHICH members.
Continue reading "WHO'S LEAVING, WHO'S STAYING?"

The Financial Planning Coalition and Investment Advisers Association have issued a devastating analysis of the cost of FINRA regulation compared with the SEC. But also notice the SEC's remarkable lack of staff productivity.
Continue reading "Cost-Benefit Regulation"

I kind of like the concept of emotional alpha, offered by a column in this issue of Financial Advisor magazine. In fact, I can envision other alphas: the added peace of mind you would provide, the enhanced possibilities of life, an alpha related to a higher savings rate--perhaps someday we'll have a way of measuring all these things.

Meanwhile, Roy Diliberto offers a reminder that we need to constantly be aware of trends, which usually force the advisory firm to provide ever-more-comprehensive and better service and expertise. Static equals losing market share and maybe your business as well. And Scott MacKillop offers a similar message relevant to the investment markets; a lot of times we assume that something is true without carefully examining the assumptions behind it. The more we learn, the more we have to evolve.

Continue reading "MEDIA REVIEWS - December 16-23, 2011"

What are you missing if you try to avoid short-term market losses?
Continue reading "Timing out of Gains"

The European Union is still mired in financial crisis. The U.S. has been following a different policy.
Continue reading "Two Directions"

I've tried to summarize the cover story of this month's issue of Financial Planning magazine, which is the largest software survey in the history of the advisory profession. But with all the charts and graphs and tables and comments, it would be a lot better to read the original than to go with my cliff notes.

This is also a good time to figure out how you're going to handle the cost basis reporting process with your back office. And my own column looks not only at the brokerage industry's efforts to use FINRA regulation to kill the RIA competition, but how Mary Schapiro has consistently been at the center of its initiatives. Maybe it's just a coincidence...
Continue reading "MEDIA REVIEWS - December 8-15, 2011"