Financial Planning

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• Features

• What We Learned from the Market Collapse

  By Carl Richards and Financial Planning staff

  This month is the one-year anniversary of the fall of Lehman Brothers—and a good point to start reflecting on the lessons of the alarming Fall of 2008. Financial Planning asked leading minds in the industry to share what they learned during the past year. Read on, and share with us online: What did the past year teach you?

• The Athletic Portfolio

  By Suzanne McGee

  Advisors are seeking out ways to squeeze extra performance out of clients' assets with efficiency, agility and a minimum of fuss and drama. And no steroids.

• What's Next

  By Marie Swift

  As the economy stabilizes (we hope), the best advisors are priming their practices for growth. Here's what they're doing.

• Columns

Business Consultant

• A Sense of Urgency

  By Glenn G. Kautt

  Successful firms must fight complacency if they want to position themselves for growth in an uncertain marketplace.

Industry Insight

• Outsourcing Change

  By Bob Veres

  In a period as tumultuous as this one, the best thing you can do for your practice may be to hire a coach.

The Elite Advisor

• Get Centered

  By John J. Bowen Jr.

  Want to learn more about your target market? Interview the people who know the most about it.

• Industry

• Flying High

  By Marion Asnes

  Jim McCool talks about taking the helm at Schwab Institutional.

Fund Manager

• Evasive Action

  By Ilana Polyak

  Steve Romick of FPA Crescent is covering his bases in case the market has little room left to run.

• Departments

My Word

• Referral Time

  By Edmond Walters

  Money is in motion—make sure it comes your way.

The Portfolio

• Calling All Angels

  By Donald Jay Korn

  Affluent clients can now take a 75% tax exclusion for investing in small businesses, but there are complications.

• Upper-Left Quadrant

  By Craig L. Israelsen

  The best portfolios lie in this part of the risk/reward spectrum.

• Not Without Risk

  By Geoff Considine

  People who think strategic asset allocation failed have misunderstood its true value. diversification may smooth volatility but doesn't eliminate it.

The Practice

• The Missing Piece

  By Brian S. Hamburger and Alan N. Walter

  Without a succession plan in place, advisors fail to recognize all the value from their businesses.

• Staying Alive

  By Stacy Schultz

  As the dust settles, some advisors may face a fate of insolvency. Before filing, they should know how bankruptcy will affect their business.

• Fiduciary Facts

  By Donald B. Trone

  Washington may still be working out the details of the fiduciary standard, but you need answers now. Here's what we know.

The Client

• Pink-Slip Blues

  By Chanie Schwartz

  When your client gets laid off, are you prepared to make the right recommendations about benefits and taxes?

• Income from Where?

  By Paul Menchaca

  The market crash and recession have led many advisors to pursue new strategies for building retirement income.

• Taking It Back

  By Ed Slott

  If your clients want to recharacterize their 2008 Roth conversions to catch a tax break, it's now or never.

• Roth Revolution

  By Donald Jay Korn

  Starting next year, any client at any income level can convert traditional IRAs to Roths. Now's the time to start strategizing.

Data

• Change Has Come

  By Frank O'Connor

  As new sales of VA's dropped in the first quarter, the industry saw a bevy of changes in the products.

• High Net Worth

Estate Planning

• Trust Poker

  By Martin M. Shenkman

  Think of estate planning as a poker match: sometimes you just need a simple hand, and sometimes only a full house will do.

Practice Profile

• The Multinationals

  By Jim Grote

  Jennifer Patterson helps her clients pay the bills in two or more worlds.