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Industry Insight by Bob Veres

Financial Planning's Industry Insight columnist, Bob Veres, provides an inside look at trends in the industry.

Veres is the publisher of Inside Information, which keeps advisors on the cutting edge of practice management, marketing and client service issues around the profession.

Contact Financial Planning's Industry Insight columnist Bob Veres.


  • Chicken and Egg

    February 1, 2012

    Don't let a simple maze of paradoxes slow down the growth of your RIA practice.

  • True Cost of Tactical Management

    January 1, 2012

    As advisors abandon buy-and-hold strategies, they must analyze data and make predictions. They could be spectacularly wrong.

  • Regulatory Armageddon

    December 1, 2011

    Advisors need to understand what could happen if FINRA becomes their regulator.

  • The FPA's Dilemma

    November 1, 2011

    Why has the association's membership been slipping the past 11 years? More important, what can we do about it?

  • Fiduciary for All

    October 1, 2011

    As long as regulators know a cushy brokerage or law firm job is waiting for them, they will be in no rush to push a fiduciary standard.

  • Goodbye, Old Theory

    September 1, 2011

    Is modern portfolio theory due for an upgrade? Sixty years of real-world input is spawning new ideas from industry thinkers.

  • Adventures in Twitterland

    August 1, 2011

    Facebook, LinkedIn and tweets are making all of our business relationships more personal.

  • Lessons for Success

    July 1, 2011

    If you want an extraordinary career, embrace your errors and stop procrastinating.

  • Things I Just Don't Understand

    June 1, 2011

    Maybe you can help me figure out why the financial services world is as it is - one perplexing question at a time.

  • To the World of 2020

    May 1, 2011

    An open letter to the financial community, investors, regulators and legislators of the not-so-distant future.

  • Betting the Market

    April 1, 2011

    The difference between investing and gambling offers some interesting insights into our professional debates.

  • Gold Into Straw

    March 1, 2011

    The SEC's recommendations to "harmonize" two regulatory structures reveal more than the agency intended.

  • The Producer's Lament

    February 1, 2011

    Is it possible that the fiduciary standard should only apply to an elite few in the profession?

  • Professional Adventures

    January 1, 2011

    What if the SEC regulated the medical profession instead of financial services?

  • Borrowing Insight

    December 1, 2010

    Your clients want you to wear a new hat: macro-economist. Here's how to meet their expectations.

  • The Constraint That Matters

    November 1, 2010

    Having intelligence and skill are terrific, but there's one quality that trumps them when it comes to getting the most out of your life and practice.

  • Lessons to Practice By

    October 1, 2010

    Here are three of the most important practice management ideas I've learned so far this year.

  • What's Next for Planners

    October 1, 2010

    Opening our special report: the new business models, technology and client expectations that will shape the future of your business.

  • All for Show

    September 1, 2010

    People ask me what will happen now that Congress has directed the SEC to study (and maybe enforce) the fiduciary issue. This is my best answer.

  • The Equity Problem

    August 1, 2010

    A controversial new white paper by Mark Hurley suggests that most financial planning practices are less valuable than their founders think.

  • The Change Equation

    July 1, 2010

    How do you convince clients to act in their own financial best interest? Behavioral finance research has (finally) come up with some practical ideas.

  • Wheel of Competence

    June 1, 2010

    When looking to transition to retirement, advisors should reach for the skills they have accumulated over time-for working with both clients and staff.

  • In Their Own Words

    May 1, 2010

    If everyone were already operating under a fiduciary standard, no one would have to be told to stop selling so hard.

  • A Profession Comes Of Age

    May 1, 2010

    The financial planning industry enters its fifth decade tested by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And yes-adversity has made the industry stronger, in some surprising ways.

  • Deja Vu All Over Again

    April 1, 2010

    Just as modern portfolio theory emerged from the ashes of Black Monday, the Great Recession might spur the development of new tools and strategies.

  • Successful Conferencing

    March 1, 2010

    Advisors who regularly attend national conferences are on the fast track in this profession. The tricky part is taking that first leap of faith.