Financial planning

From veteran advisors battling to keep clients away from financial danger, to some of the top schools grooming the next generation of advisors, 2012 has been a year of both growth and opportunity for the financial advisory sector.

After a round of changes this year in the financial advice industry, some big players found themselves in diminished circumstances by year’s end. Here’s a look at some of the people, organizations and ideas that ended the year in a downturn.

With the financial advice industry going through a period of change, we took a look at the past year to see how the players shook out. Here’s a look at some of the people, organizations and ideas that ended the year in a sweeter position than they began it.

Regardless of gender, advisors are always looking for ways to find new clients, manage their pratice, improve their technology, meet special sets of client needs, and more. On Monday, more than 100 advisors descended on the Women Advisors Forum in Boston Monday to hear speakers from throughout the profession offer important advice. Check out six smart things we heard.

As clients get into the holiday spirit, too many are not making smart decisions about the gifts they purchase. Many clients see gift-giving as a chore, and as a result, are hasty in making purchases. While this may be natural in a task-oriented society, clients should consider transforming their giving from just stuff – opened today, forgotten tomorrow – to gifts that benefit the recipients and themselves long after the tinsel and bows have been swept away.

With the impending fiscal cliff only weeks away, Washington still has not reached a compromise. Yet a recent Gallup survey found that eight in 10 Americans consider achieving resolution to avoid the fiscal cliff extremely or very important. For businesses and individuals, this means a difficult task in year-end tax planning.

The end of the year is a time that is dominated by goal setting and making projections. While this is an important process for advisors and clients alike as they head into the New Year, many plan and set goals the wrong way.

Gen Y clients may have high standards and a different way of doing business, but they may also very well become the clients who will sustain an advisor’s company. For one, these younger consumers have more capital invested in the stock market through retirement savings plans than any prior generation did at the same age, according to Vanguard Investment Counseling & Research Group.

Starting Dec. 31, U.K. advisors will be required to make changes in their practice based on new regulations. These rules, which deal with the advice given and the way advisors charge, have not been implemented in the U.S. yet, but leading advisors should consider applying the changes to their own businesses.

Getting introductions from current clients is the most important way to generate new clients, but too many advisors do not regularly reach out to their clients to ask for these crucial introductions. How can you make it happen.

Some planners offer all of their clients concierge services, while others help only top clients with special projects. No matter the details, concierge services help advisors strengthen existing client relationships and attract new ones.

In an industry where everyone seems to have an opinion, these financial services veterans have learned to leverage Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media to their advantage.

With high levels of volatility in the markets and a financial environment that remains risk-adverse, lower returns on traditional financial investments are driving more high-net-worth clients toward niche alternatives. Independent television documentary director Elena Mannes highlights some of these exotic assets – including trees and violins – and the underlying risk their attractive returns hold.

With yields low and the uncertainty of retirement looming in the minds of Baby Boomers and current retirees, maximizing social security benefits become ever-more important. Unfortunately not all retirees are doing that.

This year’s survey provides insights into advisors’ changing relationship with the technology they use each day. To improve the accuracy of results, single-use links to thousands of readers were implemented making the survey the most scientifically accurate version the magazine has ever done.

Here it is, our annual list of the top advisors in the bank channel.

Many advisory firms are suffering capacity constraints at a time where macro forces, like Boomer retirement, are driving growth their way. Advisors can take advantage of this growth curve by implementing the “Starbucks Experience," which will allow them to scale businesses for growth and provide a better client service experience.

Social media marketing may be a foreign language that some advisors stumble with, but becoming a master of it is only a matter of time. Craig Faulkner, chief executive officer of FMG Suite and the company’s social marketing guru identifies some of the more common mistakes that can trip up advisors.

Here’s a sampling of bank reps who were recently promoted or moved to new organizations to assume roles of greater responsibility.

In On Wall Street's sixth annual ranking, the young hotshots of The Street talk clients and strategy. Here's how this year's top 40 advisors under 40 conquered a tough market.