Inside Information - Financial Advisor

MEDIA REVIEWS - August 24-31, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:27:21 -0400

Roy Diliberto puts his finger directly on several of this reviewer's own pet peeves, so naturally I think his column is highly relevant and worth reading in this month's issue of Financial Advisor, although I had to subtract points because he found a way to express them better than I do. Joel Bruckenstein offers a review of the newest features in Morningstar WorkStation, and the magazine's cover article tells you how a former CEO of U.S. Trust has created an interesting financial services firm--chiefly by raiding his old place of employment.

I've also reviewed several articles from The Economist. One tells us that the recessionary trough in the U.S. economy was deeper than anybody realized at the time, which may be why the fiscal stimulus wasn't quite as effective as economists were expecting. The magazine also says that Britain is embarking on a huge restructuring of its government, slashing the size of the government's bureaucracy, decentralizing how things are managed, and generally offering an experiment for the rest of the world to watch closely. And in another cover article, the magazine warns that many federal governments around the world are dipping their hands deeply into the workings of their economies, trying to stimulate job growth by taking over, propping up or otherwise investing in various industries. The article does a decent job of showing why this might not be a great idea.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - July 8-15, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 10:20:02 -0400

Mike Martin is a very thoughtful advisor who has been writing some pretty pessimistic assessments of the global economic scene and the investment opportunity set. He's one of those people who foresaw the meltdown in 2008, which may or may not recommend him now, but I think his analyses are always well-intentioned, thoughtful, and a good addition to the Financial Advisor article lineup. I also liked Bernie Clark's writeup of his/Schwab's latest poll of advisors, who (on average) spend 30% of their time on operational issues in the office.

I've also included articles from The Economist on the turmoil in Central Asia (conclusion: it's not going away soon), on the future (or lack thereof) of the European Union, and on the prospects of gold based on a pretty detailed supply and demand analysis. The gold article is something you could share with your most conservative (or frightened) clients.

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MEDIA REVIEWS - June 1-7, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 00:24:10 -0400

If your only mission as an advisor is to collect as many assets under management as you can get your hands on, you might want to skip Roy Diliberto's column in this month's Financial Advisor. He argues, persuasively, that there is a fine balance between saving too much and spending too much, and many clients are kind of extreme in either direction. Advisors who are working hard for their clients have to rein in overspending, and may have to point out the lost opportunities that come with oversaving. Deciding when to tell clients to spend more of their portfolios (when your revenues may be affected) is yet another conflict of interest that advisors have to face.

Elsewhere in this issue, Joni Youngwirth offers some advice on often-overlooked issues that come up when you're transferring your business, Joel Bruckenstein reviews one of the few planning programs that can be used in conjunction with your clients, and Eric Reiner offers some insights into the new taxes connected with the health care reform package. If you're interested, this issue also offers the broker-dealer rankings, one of three magazines now that collects data and offers rankings.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - May 1-7, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Sat, 01 May 2010 00:01:00 -0400

It looks like the grantor-retained annuity trust (GRAT) did its job too well in the perfect environment of late 2008; this issue of Financial Advisor says that a new bill in Congress would change the rules perhaps dramatically enough to render the usual estate-tax-saving strategy almost obsolete, not that we have to worry about estate taxes at this very moment...

In The Economist, we get an analysis of the volcano in Iceland and a warning that a much, MUCH bigger one could be in store before long--which is something to remember if you plan to travel to Europe. It also offers two articles which seem like a pair, one on upward mobility in the U.S., the other on a similar issue in China. And The Economist offers a look at the Greek political situation amid the rescue.

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MEDIA REVIEWS - April 16-23, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 15:31:00 -0400

Yes, but what's the point of life planning? What do you DO with this "relationship with money" information that you collect? Roy Diliberto suggests that clients who reach their own Aha! moments can become better clients, better consumers, more functional people--which ultimately benefits the planning process without a lot of interference on your part. Meanwhile, this month's FA cover story points out that smaller advisory firms have thrived despite dire predictions to the contrary; technology and a willingness to work out of your home contribute to the success of microfirms--and they're not likely to go away.

There's also an article on managed payout funds--how they came to market at exactly the wrong time, and are now digging their way out of exactly the worst-case scenario for retirees: a disastrous first year of making scheduled distributions. Meanwhile, I was just about to think the housing crisis was over (prices appear to be rising here in San Diego) when my son sent me notice of a beautiful estate in a ski resort area in North Carolina which was foreclosed on by a local bank at almost $2 million, that is now on the market for $700,000. The higher end of the market clearly has some recovering to do...
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MEDIA REVIEWS - March 16-23, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:14:00 -0400

FA magazine tends to do technology about as well as anybody; between Andy Gluck and Joel Bruckenstein, you get a pretty good idea of the basic trends--including here, where we hear about a social network investing system, and issues to consider if you want to market yourself using social networking tools. And I really liked Mitch Anthony's column on how to help clients avoid the worst consequences of getting older. He reminds us that sometimes how we age has to do with the choices we make and what we allow ourselves to believe we can accomplish.

For the very first time, I filled out one of those NCAA tournament bracket predictions, using what I consider a foolproof method: which uniform colors do I like, and which mascots do I think would win in a fair contest. In a future issue, I'll let you know if this beats actually knowing something about the teams.
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MEDIA REVIEWS - March 16-23, 2010

nospam@example.com (Admin) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:17:00 -0400

MEDIA REVIEWS - February 16-23, 2010

nospam@example.com (Bob Veres) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 00:19:15 -0500

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.
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Media Reviews - January 8-15, 2010

nospam@example.com (Bob Veres) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 14:45:00 -0500

How should you invest if the U.S. and its markets are moving into long-term decline? What kind of people are entering the profession today? How are advisory firms structuring the transfer of their practices? Any magazine issues that answers those three questions is a pretty good one--if you can sort through everything else to get to that important information.
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