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Who Are Wall Street’s Top Operational Executives?
No trade settles and no payment gets made without this critical behind-the-scenes talent. Usually, you only hear about them, when things go wrong. But they make their organizations tick. Here are profiles of eight of the best.
Who Are Wall Street’s Top Operational Executives?
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7 ETFs for Advisors Looking to Play Facebook
Many of your clients have probably inquired about buying shares of the social networking giant one way or another. Here’s how and when you can oblige.
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10 Easy, Actionable Marketing Tips for Advisors
Creating a successful marketing plan is a daunting challenge for any wealth manager. Here are 10 ideas to help get you headed in the right direction.
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5 Tips to Steer Older Clients Away From Social Media Traps
Before your older clients act on an investment tip that they “like,” make sure you share these five important tips to keep them from falling prey to online scams.
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10 Obstacles to Women’s Retirement Goals
For Mother’s Day, millions of American women could use the gift of solid retirement planning. Here are 10 of the biggest challenges wealth advisors can help them resolve.
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Top 10 Undervalued, Dividend-Paying Stocks
Everyone loves dividend-paying stocks that deliver healthy returns with little risk. Here are 10 "cheap" ones to jump-start your clients' portfolios.
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10 Gigantic Mistakes That Can Cripple Your Clients' ETF Portfolios
ETFs are wildly popular these days but far too many advisors are making one or more of these 10 common, portfolio-sapping mistakes. Are you?
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6 Simple (But Important) ETF Trading Tips
ETFs are all the rage these days but some inexperienced investors have lost their shirts. Here's what you need to know to avoid getting burned.
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10 Critical Social Media Tips for Advisors
Advisors want to use social media, but many remain overwhelmed about where to start and how to succeed. Matthew Halloran, one of the industry's top advisor coaches, offers some simple solutions. Join him as he uncover how producers can use social media and digital marketing to grow their businesses confidently, compliantly and conveniently.
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10 Dividend-Paying Stocks Your Clients Will Want in 2012
Here are 10 stocks that are on track to deliver the largest dividends to investors in 2012.
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5 Critical Financial Planning Tips for 20-Somethings
Here’s an interactive slide show counting down five things 20-somethings can do today to ensure they have the means to retire in the style when the time comes.
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5 Ways to Boost Clients' Monthly Retirement Income
Nearly four-in-10 (38%) retiree households say they don’t have enough income to cover their monthly expenses. Here’s an interactive slide show highlighting five things retirees and pre-retirees can do now to improve their monthly retirement income.
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5 Top Insurance Tips For Retirees
Here's an interactive slide show with five tips from ACE Private Risk Services on maintaining adequate coverage into the retirement years.
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Cashing In On 5 Top Latin American Markets
Here is an interactive slide show that details the Strategic Latin America Fund's top five countries by percentage of the portfolio allocated to each:
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5 Ways to Better Manage Clients' Risk Tolerance, Expectations
Here’s an interactive slide show detailing 5 things you can do to effectively manage client expectations and risk tolerance, enhance relationships and protect your firm's value.
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Meet the Tweets: 9 Advisors With Vast Twitter Followings
Here's an interactive slide show featuring nine advisors who have found ways to connect with thousands of people on Twitter.
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5 Top Practice Management Tips
In this interactive slide show, five planning industry executives discuss everything from the best ways to explain the value of your advice to clients to how to attract — and keep — good employees.
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Job Satisfaction: The Independent B-D Scorecard
Here’s an interactive slide show featuring the six firms who scored about the national average of 774 points in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2012 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction Study.
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Meet the Tweets: 7 Advisors With Vast Twitter Followings
Here's an interactive slide show featuring seven advisors who have found ways to connect with thousands of people on Twitter.
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The Art of Conversation: 8 Tips for Successful Advisors
Being a good conversationalist is a skill that many advisors seem to forget when they are with prospective clients. Here are 8 tips to make sure it doesn’t happen to you.
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5 Top Problems—and Solutions—for Retirees
Here’s an interactive slide show that delves into five of the most common problems – and some solutions – for clients who are already retired.
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5 Things Advisors Need to Know About Actively Managed ETFs
Here’s an interactive slide show highlighting five facts advisors and investors need to know about actively managed ETFs.
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Chicken and Egg: How to Grow Your RIA Practice From Scratch
Here's an interactive slide show about how to deal with the numerous it-takes-money-to-make-money types of paradoxes you run into when trying to start up your own RIA firm.
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9 Ways to Keep Clients From Overspending in Retirement
Here’s an interactive slide show detailing nine ways advisors can keep their clients from overspending throughout their retirements.
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7 Advisors' Best Investment Ideas For This Election Year
Here’s an interactive slide show detailing the best investment ideas for this election year from seven financial advisors practicing throughout the country.
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Slide Show: 2012 T3 Technology Tools for Today Conference
Here's a compilation of images from this month's T3 Technology Tools for Today Conference in Dallas.
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Busted: 5 Financial Advisors Who Couldn't Outrun the SEC
Here’s an interactive slide show detailing five advisors who have already found themselves in the SEC’s crosshairs this year.
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7 Top-Rated Investing Advice Books
Here's a slideshow highlighting the top seven investing advice books on Amazon, sorted by reader reviews.
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10 Global Investment Predictions For Advisors, Investors
Here’s an interactive slide show detailing 10 bold global investment predictions for the remainder of 2012 from Neuberger Berman, an independent money management firm overseeing more than $193 billion in assets invested in equities, fixed income and alternative strategies for individuals and institutional clients.
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7 Roadblocks to Early Retirement
These days, investors of all ages are understandably concerned about socking away enough income and making the best investments today to ensure a comfortable retirement later in life.
Only 20 years ago, more than half of all American workers said they were on track to retire before they reached the age of 65. Today, only about 23% of Americans say they’ll be able to retire by that age.
But for those investors – and the financial planners they rely upon – who still plan to retire early – maybe in their 50s or early 60s – here’s an interactive slide show featuring seven of the largest obstacles standing in their way.
Source: RetirementEgg.com
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Top 10 Corporate Actions Impacting Advisors, Investors
The number and complexity of corporate events persist, even three years after the 2008 financial crisis. Here's a rundown, from Wolters Kluwers Financial Services.
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TGIF: Top 10 Traits Firms Want From New Advisor Hires
Financial planning, when it’s done right, requires a lot of different skill sets. So what exactly are firms looking for when it’s time to bring someone new aboard?
Rather than rely on some think tank or consulting firm, Financial Planning queried principals at more than 50 advisory firms to find out from the people who actually make the personnel decisions what qualities they value the most.
Turns out, many of these attributes aren’t found on candidates’ resumes.
Here’s an interactive slide show featuring the Top 10 traits advisory firms want to see from a prospective new hire.
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The 5 Biggest Threats to Your Clients' Retirement Nest Eggs
Financial planners know all too well how difficult it can be to get their clients motivated enough to make the sacrifices and investment decisions that are necessary to ensure a comfortable retirement.
In fact, according to a recent ING Retirement Research Institute study, 71% of Americans – regardless of age – still lack a formal investment plan to help them reach their retirement goals. And the latest Retirement Confidence Survey from the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that more than half of all respondents are either “not at all” or “not too confident” that they’ll be able to afford the retirement and lifestyle they desire once they’re done working.
This reality is keeping far too many Americans up at night, worrying about an uncertain economic future at a time when they’re living longer, retiring later and – most disturbing for many – have seen the value of their homes plummet virtually overnight.
But what about those clients who have done everything right?
They’ve been working with a financial planner, contributing to their 401(k)s, maybe have a pension in the offing, are saving money at a decent clip and are following the sound investment advice offered by the professionals but, according to Fidelity Investments, they’re still a good chance they might not have enough put aside to live out their golden years in style.
Here’s an interactive slide show detailing five of the biggest threats to even the most well-prepared investors’ retirement plan.
Source: Fidelity Investments
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10 Mind Tricks That Keep Your Clients In The Red
How investors go about making decisions in uncertain and volatile markets can have long-lasting implications, especially when bias and emotion enter in. The field of behavioral finance has shown that human beings can’t be presumed to take the most logical, rational approach to investing. So if not logic, just what is affecting our decisions?
A recent report from Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Private Wealth Management Research team outlines psychological and social factors that affect how we make financial decisions.
Be aware of these factors to help you avoid some psychological pitfalls that regularly affect professional and amateur investors alike. Source: Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Private Wealth Management Research
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10 M&A Deals That Shaped RIAs in 2011
2011 may be remembered for its Walls Street thrills and spills, but the merger and acquisition deals made a huge mark on Main Street and the RIA business.
National aggregator and private equity firms accounted for a vast majority of the top deals.
Here’s a look at 10 of the most significant deals in the RIA sector in the past year.
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6 Year-End Gifting Rules Every Investor Needs to Know
The principle behind the annual gift tax exclusion is to shelter gifts commonly made on birthdays, holidays, weddings and other special occasions. However, many high-net-worth individuals may also utilize the annual gift tax exclusion as a strategy to mitigate the impact of future estate taxes.
According to Richard Behrendt, director of estate planning for Baird’s Private Wealth Management, the timing of making year-end gifts is important because a transfer of property is treated as a completed gift for federal gift tax purposes only after the donor has unconditionally relinquished all dominion and control over the transferred property.
Even if the donor has no intention of revoking (taking back) the gift, simply retaining the ability to revoke the gift through the end of the year could shift the completion of the gift into the next calendar year.
Under the Internal Revenue Code, individuals may give up to $13,000 to an unlimited number of non-charitable beneficiaries in each calendar year. Married couples may double-up and make combined gifts of up to $26,000 to children, grandchildren, or other non-charitable beneficiaries.
Here are six rules investors need to consider before making any year-end gifts.
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12 Terrifying Retirement Facts Keeping Boomers – And Their Advisors – Up at Night
Americans, particularly Baby Boomers, are more nervous about and unprepared for their retirement than at any time in history. Survey after survey has found that people are delaying their retirements, planning to work during their retirement and scaling back expectations for their golden years.
Here are 12 not-so-cheery facts about that Baby Boomers and their financial advisors need to appreciate and address in the coming year.
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10 Steps to Twitter Success for Financial Advisors
The time for watching and waiting is over. Twitter is a culture phenomenon and more and more financial advisors are setting up Twitter profiles and testing the waters to connect with existing clients, promote their services to potential new clients and share industry news and insight with their peers.
Whether you are new to Twitter or seasoned vet, here are 10 tips provided by TJ Gilsenan, Web-Savvy Advisor, to help financial advisors get the most out of the platform:
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4 Critical End-of-Year Financial Planning Tasks for Advisors, Clients
Before putting a bow on 2011, advisors and their clients should take the time to nail down these four key aspects of their finances to ensure financial planning success in 2012, according to M&I, a part of the BMO Financial Group.
Everyone wants to save money and prepare themselves and their families for the future. But that can only happen if clients establish well-defined goals and take the necessary steps to put advisors’ strategic advice to work.
Here are the Top 4 end-of-year financial planning tasks every client needs to complete:
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Top 12 Financial Planning Strategies for 2012
2011 is winding to a close and financial planners and their clients are already making adjustments to their portfolios and plotting the strategies they intend to deploy to increase their wealth and buffer their retirement savings.
To this end, the Financial Planning Association of San Francisco has offered up its Top 12 Financial Planning Strategies for 2012.
Take a gander at this interactive slideshow detailing the best tactics for you and your clients next year.
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Top 10 Cyber Security Threats in 2012 – And What Advisory Firms Can Do About Them
The average price tag for a data breach now is $7.2 million. How are you supposed to value the loss when your crown jewels – trading algorithms – get put on data sticks or uploaded to remote servers, as happened to Goldman Sachs? And if you're a financial advisor or smaller advisory firm, how do you safeguard data while also taking advantage of social media and mobile devices to service your clients? Here's what you need to know and do to protect your firm and your clients. Here are the Top 10 Financial Services Cyber Security Trends to act on in 2012 and recommendations on what to do about them, from senior vice president Bill Wansley.
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10 Steps to a Disaster Recovery Plan for Advisory Firms
It seems more and more common lately that when you turn on the T.V. or open your Internet browser there is breaking news of some sort of disaster. From direct financial disasters such as market volatilities to weather related disasters like floods, tornados and fires, to even more large-scale disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and nuclear crisis; disasters are unavoidable.
But how prepared are you to deal with a major disaster, or other unexpected events that can trigger change?
Here are 10 steps that should help you and your firm build a disaster recovery plan so you can be prepared should the unimaginable arise:
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5 Business Imperatives for Successful Wealth Management Firms
Asset management firms recorded average profitability of 28% through 2010 and the first half of 2011, according to a new McKinsey report, and independent asset managers will control two-thirds of all assets under management by 2015.
Here are five business imperatives successful wealth management firms will need to heed over the next three years:
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Financial Planning Education 101: 10 Standout Schools
Every recognized profession has its top colleges. Medical and law schools in the U.S. date back to the 18th century. As a much more recent profession, financial planning has spent much of the last four decades developing its own system of education and professional certification. As many of the current crop of planners near retirement, they don't have to look too far to figure out where the next generation will come from. The answer is in all the schools. Not only has the number of programs been on the rise - up 15% since the past year and a half, according to the CFP Board - but enrollment in the programs themselves has generally been increasing, too. With so many CFP Board-registered programs out there, Financial Planning focused on 10 worthy institutions. We talked to veteran planners and industry leaders to get a sense of which 10 programs belonged in an overview. Our list is not a ranking. Like this survey itself, the information we've gathered is just a starting point. Think of it as Financial Planning Education 101, an introduction.
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7 Key Components for Every Advisor’s Social Media Plan
Getting started in social media is a lot like getting started in investing. It pays to have a plan. And, much like investment planning, TJ Gilsenan, the Web Savvy Advisor, says social media planning involves assessing where you are now, determining where you want to go, and establishing a plan to get there. If you are like most advisors, you’re probably just getting started. For you less is more. When it comes to your social media plan, start with the big picture. Focus on broad subject matter areas first, then zero in on the details. Here are seven broad components to include in your social media plan:
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The Planner Behind Cain’s 9-9-9 Plan
Wells Fargo’s Rich Lowrie helped craft the tax proposal that’s driving political debate. Here’s a closer look at the financial planner and the rationale behind GOP presidential hopeful Herman Cain’s 9-9-9 tax proposal.
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7 Marketing Techniques Used By Elite Financial Advisors
What is the difference between elite practices and other firms? One hint: Seminars are not what they used to be.
Cetera Financial Group found out that it’s really more about a firm’s overall approach to marketing. The El Segundo, Calif.-based broker-dealer recently partnered with The Oechsli Institute to survey 352 financial professionals, including elites, in the report “Marketing Tactics of Elite Advisors”.
Here are seven marketing tips that will boost your firm’s profile and assets under management.
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SLIDESHOW: Financial Planning’s 2011 ‘Influencers’
In our second annual Influencer Awards, Financial Planning honors six advisors whose innovative ideas and wide-reaching work are forging new paths for the planning industry.
When the editors of Financial Planning sat down to decide which nominees deserved to win in each category in the magazine's second annual Influencer Awards, we found we had far too many worthy contenders. That was only natural: The financial planning community has consistently turned out smart individuals who strive to bring their best to clients and the profession as a whole.
Here’s a look at this year’s honorees:
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Five Largest RIA Mergers of 2011
Last week’s deal between The Colony Group and Focus Financial Partners is just the latest in what’s turned out to be a very busy merger and acquisition period for registered independent advisor firms.
At Financial Planning’s request, Pershing Advisor Solutions and FA Insight have a provided a list of the five-largest M&A deals involving RIAs by assets under management.
Here’s a look at the five largest RIA deals consummated so far this year:
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7 Ways Bernie Madoff’s Scam Forever Changed Advisors’ Lives
To many, the Bernard Madoff scandal is fast becoming a distant memory. After all, the jaw-dropping news of his arrest in December of 2008 has since been overshadowed by everything from Japan’s nuclear disaster to the near-default of the United States.
But financial advisors are continually reminded of Madoff as they deal with everything from added compliance responsibilities to increased mistrust from the public. Here’s a look at seven ways the scandal -- and other smaller ones, including the Allen Stanford scandal -- have impacted life for financial advisors.
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8 Ways Financial Advisors Can Boost Client Referrals
It’s no secret that client referrals are essential to an advisor’s growth. The hard part is implementing an effective strategy. Indeed, only one in five financial advisors say that seeking a referral is a “regular routine and a key reason for my success,” according to a recent SEI survey. Moreover, nearly half say they’ve asked just a “small percentage” of their clients for a referral.
John Anderson, head of Practice Management Solutions for the SEI Advisor Network, says he was only partly surprised by the survey’s findings. “Asking a client to refer you to someone can be uncomfortable and if you often hear ‘I don’t have anyone in mind right now’ or ‘I’ll let you know’ it’s easy to get discouraged.” Too often, advisors rely on passive, or unsolicited, referrals from clients.”
If that sounds like you, here are 8 ways for you to boost your referral-acquiring skills:
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Hurricane Irene: What Financial Services Firms Can Do Now to Prepare
Hurricane Irene is expected to make landfall Saturday in coastal North Carolina before making its way up the coast to New York City sometime this weekend. The storm is shaping up to be the strongest to hit the East Coast in 20 years and financial firms are scrambling to minimize the impact on their technology and operations.
Click through this interactive slideshow for a preparedness checklist so you know what you and your firm can do now before Irene arrives.
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Six Things Advisors, Firms Need to Know Before Making Any Acquisition
Six Things Advisors, Firms Need to Know Before Making Any Acquisition
More than half of fee-based financial advisors plan to sell their businesses prior to retirement, according to Tiburon Strategic Advisors, in Tiburon, Calif. That means there is ample opportunity for other firms to quickly add scale through acquisitions.
Here are six things every advisor and firm needs to know before investing the time, money and effort required to complete a successful acquisition:
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8 Ways for Financial Advisors to Break Through the Growth Barrier
8 Ways for Financial Advisors to Break Through the Growth Barrier
Breaking through the growth barrier is a concept that's all too familiar to most advisory firms at one point or another in their development. The principals have founded the business, then scratched and clawed to get it to the point of viability. But at some point, even though the firm may have gathered a respectable amount of assets, the growth just seems to plateau. Many advisors aren’t quite sure why it happens, but experts say the keys to pushing through and increasing sales and assets under management begin with setting clear priorities and sharpening your focus.<.br> Here are eight tips to help push your firm over and through the growth barrier:
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6 Succession Planning Tips Every Financial Advisor Needs to Know
Financial planners become successful through a fierce commitment to building their practices. But too few principals proactively plan for when -- and how -- they will one move on. To avoid being unprepared when the time comes, here are some of the key steps in the succession planning process.
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8 Critical Tips for Advisors Looking to Build an Online Presence
If you’re an advisor, you probably have a website. And you may belong to a social network such as LinkedIn or FaceBook. But to really make your website and social media efforts pay off, you’ll need to do more, experts say. Here are eight tips for financial advisors to build a compelling online presence:
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Seven Books for Every Advisors' Summer Reading List
With Memorial Day Weekend approaching, check out some must-reads (and why your fellow advisors are recommending them.)
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Looking Back: On Wall Street's 20 Years in Covers
On Wall Street Magazine is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Take a look at how the magazine has evolved over the past two decades.
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Five Ways To Capitalize On The New Estate Laws For 2011
According to Brian Ullmann, a financial consultant at Fresno, Calif.-based Ford Financial Group, new changes in estate planning and tax laws in 2011 will give investors and their families more options and flexibility to move around and share large sums of cash without incurring -- or saddling heirs -- with a stiff bill. Check out five essential things to consider that could help your clients as they consider the new regulations.
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Who Are Wall Street’s Top Operational Executives?
Who Are Wall Street’s Top Operational Executives?
No trade settles and no payment gets made without this critical behind-the-scenes talent. Usually, you only hear about them, when things go wrong. But they make their organizations tick. Here are profiles of eight of the best.
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Who Are the Industry's Top Branch Managers
They are problem-solvers. They are cheerleaders. And they roll up their sleeves to work alongside their advisors these Top 10 Branch Managers for 2010.
Check out On Wall Street's and MainStay Investment's/New York Life's 4th Annual Branch Managers of the Year Awards
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Snapshots from the 2011 Peak Advisor Alliance Excell Meeting
Over 400 independent advisors met in Chandler, Ariz., to discuss strategies to expand their business. Check out a variety of images from the four-day event.
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A Closer Look: The Top 20 Bank Program Managers
While we spend most of the year covering the advisors, we set aside the May issue of Bank Investment Consultant to celebrate their bosses. Check out our list of the top 20 and find out what puts the top managers on top.
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Repercussions and Lessons: Examining the Flash Crash a Year Later
A year ago, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 998 points almost out of nowhere in the middle of a seemingly normal May afternoon. Here’s what the market looked like going into that day, and what the industry has done to make sure it doesn't happen again.
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Eight Questions for Developing Your Marketing Plan
Financial advisors usually decide to develop or revisit their marketing plan because revenue growth has not met their expectations. According to Kirk Hulett, a senior vice president of strategy and practice management for Securities America, often they look at marketing tactics, such as advertising and public relations, long before they consider the cause of the problem.
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5 Mistakes Advisors Make in Their Marketing
Advisors can choose from a variety of marketing approaches, from drip direct mail to syndicated radio, but finding what works can be a long, frustrating and expensive search. Kirk Hulett of Securities America identified five common mistakes that advisors make in their marketing. Addressing these before they happen can help ensure you get the most from your marketing budget.
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Seven Tips to Help Your Clients Negotiate with the IRS
With the federal tax deadline upon us, what can your clients do when they find themselves at odds with the IRS? Don't despair. The IRS has set up a channels for people to pay what they can, when they can. Your clients can improve their chances of getting a better deal for themselves by following some simple tips.
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Mobile Apps 101: 10 Must-Have Applications for Every Advisor
Financial advisors may have initially been slow to embrace mobile apps, but a flurry of new applications are making it easier than ever for money managers to help themselves (and their clients) from any mobile device. Here's a look at 10 must-have mobile apps for financial advisors in 2011.
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Tax Planning at the Midnight Hour: 7 Tips to Help Your Clients Beat the Deadline
With the April 18 tax filing deadline fast approaching, Grant Thornton wants to assure American taxpayers that there’s no need to panic. Check out seven last-minute tax tips for your clients that may be procrastinating.
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Execution Time: The Ten Steps in a Trade
Trading is the heartbeat of the financial planning industry. All told, sell-side firms will spend $14 billion this year to speed up how fast they can execute orders, according to Tabb Group. At stake: Millions of dollars in trading profits, on an annual basis. Per millisecond. Check out a step-by-step look at what goes into high-performance execution of a trade, in every fraction of a second.
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Nine Simple Steps to Avoiding a CFP Rule Violation
Tired of the admonitions, suspensions, and fines? Check out some simple tips to avoid getting red flagged by the CFP Board
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Is Advisor Compensation Surging?
Advisors in general are back in the pink, making more money, gathering more assets under management and generally feeling upbeat about their prospects.
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What Can Advisors Do If Their Clients Safety Nets Are Ripping?
"Between the rising costs of healthcare and the unpredictability of the market, financial planning for retirement is now more important than ever," says Scott Loochtan of Retirement Planning Group. What can planners do to help their clients prepare.
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Power Givers: Philanthropic Women Helping Women
With 61% of wealth now in the hands of women, and the majority of the world’s poor being women, it makes sense that wealthy women are giving powerfully. Some of the women on our list are big names, while others are rising stars.
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Financial Fumbles: How the Economic Crisis Sacked 10 Pro Athletes
From Hall of Famers to Super Bowl champions, here’s a look at ten current and former professional athletes and how their wallets were impacted by the financial turmoil of the past five years.
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Eight Long-Term Care Traps
If your clients are considering long-term-care insurance, you might want to steer them clear of the following typical mistakes.
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101 Client and Referral Event Ideas
If your client and referral events seem a little stale, freshen them up with these creative ideas for activities, themes and locations.
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What Are the Ten Best Tax Prep Software for Advisors?
Tax time is fast approaching; April 15 is less than 6 weeks away, and the IRS waits for no one. You can fork out a few hundred dollars to your tax accountant, or you can try it yourself with tax software and save big dollars.
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11 Tips For Refreshing Your Website
11 Tips For Refreshing Your Website
Think of your website as your virtual storefront - a reflection of how you do business. Take the time now to do some maintenance and refresh your website. Think of it as a spring-cleaning ritual.
These tips come from Kirk Hulett, senior vice president of Strategy & Practice Management for Securities America (www.securitiesamerica.com). He is the author of two books on human resources issues for financial planners and investment professionals, Hiring to Grow: A Practical Workbook and Managing for Performance: The Cycle of Success.
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Trial & Heirs: Top 10 List of Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes
Trial & Heirs: Top 10 List of Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes
These mistakes in estate planning are drawn from Trial & Heirs: Famous Fortune Fights! (www.TrialandHeirs.com) by Andrew W. Mayoras & Danielle B. Mayoras. The Mayoras are both husband-and-wife as well as legacy expert attorneys.
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BUILDING A PLANNING BUSINESS
Around 350 attendees gathered at the FPA Business Solutions 2011 conference in Boston March 3-5, 2011. New England weather did not dampen the event.
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Don't Friend Your Enemies: The Insecurity of Social Media
Financial firms are still trying to develop coherent social media strategies. But don’t race into it: the risks are not well understood.
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Snapshots from the 2011 BISA Conference
For three days, 650 bank investment advisors assembled in Hollywood, Fla., for insights and ideas on the industry. Check out some of the images in this photo gallery.
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Top 10 Books to Motivate Your Team
Searching for a little inspiration? Maybe something to push your team a little harder? Check out the list created by Impact Books.
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10 Ways for Advisors to Use UMAs to Build a Stronger Business
Advisors face two major challenges in today’s environment: intense competition for client assets and pressures on profitability. Kelly Coughlin of GlobalBridge says unified managed accounts have evolved to provide a solution to both challenges at once. But how can advisors use these products to grow their business?
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What Are the Five Top Fines Brokers Face?
According to a study of FINRA enforcement actions, brokers collectively paid 1,310 fines valued at $45 million in 2010, or roughly $35,000 a fine. But what activities should advisors avoid to avert the wrath of regulators?
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Six Cautions About Roth IRA Conversion
With tax season upon us, most advisors are looking for ways to help clients maximize their tax savings. But with some converting to Roth IRAs, the folks at Allianz offered some cautions to help navigate rocky conditions.
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Retirement Crisis Checklist
Americans held $15.6 trillion in retirement assets at the end of the third quarter of 2009, according to the ICI, but as we emerge from the Great Recession, advisors and investors want to know what they need to do to retain and grow assets from here. UCLA's Shlomo Benartzi provided some insights.
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Top 10 Activities of Million-Dollar Producers
A study of million-dollar producers conducted by Peak Advisor Alliance indicated that 10 key activities accounted for approximately 75% of their average week. Check out the countdown!
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5 Questions Brokers Face From SEC Audits
Broker-dealers had better be prepared to handle some tough questions on their procedures and controls to mitigate risk and can no longer pass the burdens of meeting SEC requirements to junior managers.
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An Advisor’s Photo Essay from the T3 Conference
For three days, almost 500 advisors and 75 exhibitors came to Weston, Fla., for the T3 Conference. Mike Byrnes of Byrnes Consulting sent some images highlighting the event (including looks at his favorite talks, one booth’s crazy attire and the best evening party.)
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10 Ways for Advisors to Use Email Marketing More Effectively
A recent study indicates that 49% of consumers share content online at least once a week, with 86% being shared through email. Email sharing even beat out Facebook (49%) and Twitter (4%). By marketing your content via email, you tap into a great opportunity to create valuable content that your recipients will want to share. Our new technology blogger, T.J. Gilsenan examine how.
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Seven Tips for New Advisors
The financial services industry can be a great career choice but unfortunately, a lot of new advisors never make it past the first couple of years. And as anyone who’s been in the business just a few years can tell you, getting past the licensing requirements is the easy part. Advisor Keith Weber offers seven to help new advisors to turn a job into a career.
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11 Ways Brokers Need to Protect Themselves from FINRA
The Financial Industry Regulatory Agency will begin formally examining the operations of broker-dealers this year. Here are 11 holes to plug, based on a FINRA letter to chief compliance officers on Feb. 8.
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Snapshots from the TD Ameritrade Conference
Advisors braved bad weather to attend TD Ameritrade Institutional Conference in San Diego. Check out some images from different folks that attended the event.
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