Practice management

So, you are working in a wirehouse now, how does independence look for you if you launch your own RIA?

Just as the cobbler's children go without shoes, two-thirds of independent advisors ignore succession planning. Such advisors could fall into an “annuity trap,” watching the value of their business degrade as they near the exit from their practice.

President Obama said Friday he is asking the bipartisan leadership of the Senate and House of Representatives to come to the White House next week to begin negotiations to avert a set of tax increases and spending cuts that will automatically take effect in January if Congress fails to act.

It may be some time before Congress and the Obama administration decide what to do about the tax rates for next year, so it’s a good idea to plan for various alternative scenarios just in case.

With the election over, when members of Congress return to Washington next week, the task awaiting them will be to hammer out what has been an elusive compromise on taxes and expenditures to avert the so-called fiscal cliff, a combination of tax increases and deep spending cuts set to take effect in January should lawmakers fail to act.

“Advisors talk about Black Swan events and tail risk – you didn’t hear retail planners talking about tail risk 10 years ago, or if you did it was the top 1% of the group. Now, it’s the new nomenclature,” said Jeff Montgomery, head of AFAM/Innealta Capital.

56% said that it is “challenging” to “very challenging” to discuss such information.

Among investors aged 21 to 50, 72% report that saving for retirement is their top financial goal, a priority applauded by T. Rowe Price’s resident retirement guru, senior financial planner Christine Fahlund, but most investors are unwilling to take on the necessary risk to improve their retirement savings.

PIEtech, Inc., maker of the popular planning software product MoneyGuidePro, has settled a patent infringement lawsuit brought against it and UBS Financial Services by its competitor, Wealthcare Capital Management.

Benjamin Franklin said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” Franklin was right. While it may seem obvious that business growth is central to any advisor’s ultimate success, in today’s highly complex and competitive marketplace, the importance of growth cannot be overstated.

Expect more financial regulatory changes, Schwab executives suggested Thursday -- and be wary of a new recession if Congress and the new administration don’t take steps to keep the country from going all the way over the so-called fiscal cliff

President Barack Obama’s re-election means his administration will push to let tax cuts enacted during the George W. Bush era expire for high earners, as scheduled, at year-end. Obama wants to increase the top federal income tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent, boost rates on long-term capital gains to as much as 23.8 percent, and shrink exemptions from estate-and-gift taxes.

The firm has hired Harold Langer, a three-decade industry veteran, to be senior vice president at the Tucson branch.

If there is a constant in the investment advisory landscape, it’s change. And few things are changing faster than the independent sphere.

As advisors scramble to make an impression on prospective clients, one valuable tool is becoming increasingly apparent – blogging.

Advisors can calm clients who wanted a Romney victory.

With four more years of the Obama administration, members of the financial advisory industry share their perspectives on what the win means for the industry and the clients they serve.

As the balance of power in Washington is upheld, advisors prepare for tax increases in 2013

Buying high and selling low isn’t a portfolio-damaging behavior that only investors struggle with.

President Barack Obama’s victory positions him to claim a mandate for pushing a proposal through Congress that would let tax cuts expire for top earners and avert $1.2 trillion in automatic spending reductions.