Wealth Think

Ed Slott, Your Ira Expert, examines timing an IRA conversion and moving an IRA when your beneficiaries are outside of the United States.

Ask a room full of financial advisors if they have thought about business planning, and most will say yes. Ask that same group of advisors if they have actually taken the time to create a written business plan and more importantly, follow it, and the majority of that room will most likely say no.

Independent business owners associated with broker-dealers have a real chance today to capitalize on the frustrations that wirehouse advisors are experiencing with regard to increasing compliance burdens, lack of support and compensation limitations. Mindy Diamond says that a big problem, however, is that most of the firms these principals represent are not positioned properly to benefit from this unique opportunity.

Flexibility, the ability to customize one’s practice and the entrepreneurial nature of being an advisor make the financial planning profession a great career for women, according to participants of a roundtable discussion held by Guardian Life Insurance.

Everyone has deeply personal emotions, ties, commitments to political parties, religions, lifestyles, sports teams, etc. that we all judge, right or wrong. Ned Van Riper says advisors have to be cautious about what they say (and display) so as not to offend a potential client.

Whitney Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, and sister-in-law, Marion Houston, filed a request in court to change the terms of Whitney Houston’s will. They want to delay when Bobbi Kristina receives her inheritance in order to protect her. The will created a “testamentary trust” for Bobbi Kristina. Andy and Danielle Mayoras explain what a testamentary trust is (and how you could use it with your clients.)

PerTrac, a provider of analytics, reporting and communications software for investment professionals, released a new report this week detailing the success of hedge funds during years in which the entire sector posted negative performance results.

LearnVest Live is arguably LearnVest’s biggest success so far: getting people, particularly young women, excited about (and engaged with) their finances. “Apparently every good-looking, successful, young working woman in Manhattan is at [LearnVest Live] right now…In case guys were wondering,” attendee Alana Taylor, tweeted from the event.

Even with a law separating commercial banking from investment banking and insurance, Editor Lee Conrad doesn't believe we’re prepared to leave the big, systemically important companies out in the cold in times of trouble.

Ed Slott, Your IRA Expert, examines IRA rollover and when a trust is named an IRA beneficiary.