Mar 9, 2012
By Jerry Gleeson
There’s always a bit of anxiety in the air when financial advisors study for the rigorous Certified Financial Planner exam, but the version of the test that’s coming next week may be accompanied by more than the usual share of worrying....
Jan 23, 2012
By Diana Britton
A majority of advisors are marketing themselves as financial “planners,” even though they really don’t provide comprehensive planning services, according to a recent Cerulli Associates report. By adopting the nomenclature, they are hoping they can stay competitive amid the growing trend towards more holistic, one-stop-shops of financial services. ...
Nov 14, 2011
By Diana Britton
Raymond James recently launched a two-year, mentor-type training program for new advisors, and it hopes the program will be more conducive to attracting and retaining women, although the program is not solely targeting women. Raymond James’ entire advisor force is about 17 percent women, but the inaugural class of the Advisor Mastery Program is already 34 percent female....
Aug 17, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards has decided that applicants for the coveted CFP mark must take a controversial 45-hour “capstone” course, starting next year, before being allowed to sit for the certification exam. Now there are signs that applicants for the designation are starting to crowd into the program in order to be grandfathered out of taking the course.
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May 1, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards is coming to a cable TV channel, magazine, and website near you. The board last month launched the first wave in a four-year marketing campaign to promote the CFP brand to the public, at a cost of nearly $40 million...
Feb 1, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
A short interview with Edward Mora, chairman, Certified, Financial Planner Board of Standards' Disciplinary and Ethics Commission....
Jan 12, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Of all the categories of conduct that will land a certified financial planner before the CFP Board of Standards’ Disciplinary and Ethics Commission, bankruptcy currently ranks number one. And the number of bankrupt CFPs who come before the commission is increasing. ...
Dec 1, 2010
By David A. Geracioti Editor-In-Chief
Our Broker Report Card Survey has turned 20 years old with the publication of the report online (RegisteredRep.com) on Dec. 1. Twenty years is a long...
Nov 1, 2010
By Vic Preisser
The heirs of wealthy clients fire their parents' financial advisors 70 percent of the time. Prepare heirs and not just estates. ...
Oct 6, 2010
By Jerry Gleeson
A sluggish economy dampens prices; why should professional examinations be an exception? The Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards recently lopped $100 off the $595 price of its notoriously rigorous certification exam for applicants who were planning to take the test for a second time (or more)....
Sep 1, 2010
By Halah Touryalai
When the 7 becomes more of a burden than a benefit....
Jun 1, 2009
By Anne Field
One practice owner wants to hire junior advisors with an entrepreneurial spirit to bring in new business, but our experts say he’s looking for the impossible....
Oct 1, 2008
By Christina Mucciolo
Okay, maybe that is unkind. How about compliance helpers or specialists?...
Oct 1, 2008
By Christina Mucciolo
Diane Strickland says she got her first job in the financial services industry because she knew how to handle rejection over the phone....
Oct 1, 2008
By Christina Mucciolo
When the branch manager, operations manager, administrator and one of the sales assistants left a Bloomington, Minn., Smith Barney branch at the same time, Donna Klicka stepped up to the plate...
Oct 1, 2008
By Christina Mucciolo
Kathy Albach doesn't take messages or transfer calls as much as she used to when she first started out as a sales assistant...
Oct 1, 2008
By Halah Touryalai
If you shadowed Betsy Smith during a typical day at her Raymond James office, you'd probably have a tough time figuring out what she actually does...
May 17, 2007
By Halah Touryalai
This week Massachusetts fired a round in the new regulatory war waged by state securities regulators against the use of senior designations to commit senior fraud. The Massachusetts State Securities Division adopted the nation’s first regulation requiring advisors to advertise only accredited credentials, or credentials that can clearly demonstrate that they call for meaningful expertise, when offering financial advice to elderly clients....
May 1, 2007
Kevin Burke
The acronyms just keep on comin'. Morgan Stanley recently approved five new professional designations for its reps. The new designations cover areas ranging from trusts and retirement planning to alternative investments and divorce....
Mar 9, 2007
By Christina Mucciolo
Financial planners who hold the Certified Financial Planning designation have been tussling with the CFP Board, which controls the CFP designation, over the designation’s ethical standards. Well, it looks like the tussling will continue....
Nov 1, 2006
Halah Touryalai
Sarah Teslik, CEO of the Certified Financial Planner Board, which monitors and supports the widely used CFP designation, announced in mid-October that...
May 1, 2006
By Jennifer Popovec
Advisors who add a real estate license to their portfolio of skills may stand a better chance of keeping clients happy at home...
May 1, 2006
By Barry Rehfeld
Professional designations are proliferating. Too many seem more devoted to marketing than anything else....
May 1, 2005
By Kristen French
Financial advisor Eric Park loves learning, and his clients love him for it. ...
Mar 1, 2005
By Will Leitch
A.G. Edwards is not the first brokerage firm to encourage its brokers to continue their educations, but the firm has come up with a novel twist: Its continuing education classes now qualify for college credits....
Oct 1, 2004
By Matt Oechsli
To advisors who would ask, Do I need a personal coach? I respond, Michael Jordan had one, and Tiger Woods employs one. Even the best financial advisor...
Jun 1, 2004
BY ALLEN PLUMMER
There's one big problem with being on top, and the organization that administers the Certified Financial Planner designation is in the process of learning...
May 1, 2004
John Churchill
Reps now have another designation to pin to their names, and it couldn't come at a better time. As the U.S. population continues to age, the American...
Jan 1, 2003
By David A. Gaffen and David A. Geracioti
For James Gorman, head of Merrill Lynch's U.S. and global private client group, the largest brokerage operation in the world, the question of what financial...
Nov 1, 2002
By Michelle Leder
It hasn't been an easy introduction to the brokerage business for Jody Carmack, let alone any of his classmates who started training at Edward Jones in...
May 1, 2002
By David A. Gaffen
Putting CFP, CIMA, ChFC, AEP etc. after your name may not matter for the book you have, but it matters for the book you want....
