Jan 5, 2012
By Kristen French
The SEC finally issued loose social media guidelines for investment advisers Wednesday. The regulator has long been criticized for its failure to create any kind of regulatory framework for firms and advisers who want to participate on sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, as many of them feel they need to establish a presence there. ...
Jan 1, 2012
By Matt Oechsli
Staying relevant involves a special combination of the professional and the personal....
Jan 1, 2012
By Kristen French
Women FAs are in greater demand, but wirehouses have their work cut out for them. ...
Dec 21, 2011
By Diana Britton
Study after study has documented how financial advisors are using social media these days, and webinar after webinar purports to show them how to use social media tools to reel in new assets. Really financial advisors are just getting started, and already, the bloom seems to be coming off the rose, Aite Group says....
Dec 1, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
The founder of Wal-Mart has ideas of value to advisors....
Nov 7, 2011
By Kristen French
Generation x and y kids are not too keen on the big wealth management firms, Sallie Krawcheck said Monday, and that is one of the major challenges the wealth management industry faces over the medium term. The former head of wealth management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Krawcheck sat for an interview with Charlie Rose at the SIFMA annual conference in New York....
Nov 3, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
Watch out for high-profile clients. If you make any missteps and they decide to wield their influence, it could really hurt. One financial advisor's tale....
Nov 2, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
Dallas: “I’ve read your book Elite Teams and thought it was full of useful information,” said Tim in a very complimentary tone. He then followed with his question, “I understand the importance of holding an annual retreat, but I’ve never held one. Is it too late to pull one together?” ...
Nov 1, 2011
By Diana Britton
As the retirement plan business becomes more complex and demanding, advisors can no longer dabble in the space. More will specialize, and many broker/dealers are already helping them up their game....
Nov 1, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
A checklist that's not for the faint of heart....
Oct 31, 2011
By Diana Britton
In 2010, David Garff, president of RIA firm Accuvest Global Advisors in Walnut Creek, Calif., hit the five-year track record on his investment strategy that analyzes and ranks countries, rather than stocks. He started off using the strategy in separate accounts and offshore mutual funds, but he wanted to market the strategy to a broader clientele. ...
Oct 26, 2011
By Stephen Boswell and Kevin Nichols
Greensboro: “I start my day with exercise – every day. And I insist that other members of our group take time to stay in shape as well” voiced Sam during one of our Rainmaker Focus Group sessions. This was an interesting comment that sparked a lengthy conversation around the importance of personal fitness when it comes to Rainmaking. ...
Oct 24, 2011
By Diana Britton
Advisors and insurance agents need to focus on building trust with consumers and clients in this environment, one in which the Occupy Wall Street movement dominates headlines, said Bob Baranoff, senior vice president of member benefits at LIMRA, during LIMRA’s annual conference today in New York. ...
Oct 14, 2011
By Joshua M. Brown
You want to know why everyone in this country hates you and wants you dead, you big stupid f#*&@ng bank?
Here's why, pay attention:
...
Oct 12, 2011
By Stephen Boswell & Kevin Nichols
Las Vegas: “I’ve listened to a few of your webinars on social prospecting,” started Shawn, a new advisor at a recent conference. “The concepts make sense and they are all solid ideas, my problem is that I’ve only been at this for a year and some of my prospects don’t feel I have enough experience. They ask tough questions, I fumble, and they all want to ‘think about it’. I don’t really see a way around this. ”...
Oct 11, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
At least two national ad campaigns have been launched this year promoting segments of the financial advisory business, but don’t look for leaders in the broadly diverse industry to collaborate on a unifying campaign a la “Got Milk?” anytime soon. Observers of the business say its competitive nature and balkanized structure make the launch of an overarching national promotion difficult. ...
Oct 4, 2011
By Charles Paikert
In theory, working with professional athletes sounds like a wealth manager’s dream come true. The players are famous, have a lot of money and usually need a lot of help. But be careful what you wish for, say veteran observers: working with professional athletes can also be a nightmare.
...
Oct 1, 2011
By Lauren Barack
Mobility is no longer an option-it's fast becoming a business necessity. ...
Oct 1, 2011
By Anne Field
The first three months of a client relationship are crucial. Every practice should have a set of systems in place to make sure nothing falls through the cracks....
Oct 1, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
Your goals in the last quarter have to be about more than production targets....
Sep 29, 2011
By Anne Field
Five years ago, John Vance was looking for ways to boost revenues at Vance Wealth Group, the Valencia, Calif.-based practice that he’d started two years before. Doing so, he realized, meant introducing more efficient systems and delegating more to his staff. But, as he drilled down further, Vance realized one area was particularly important: his process for handling new clients—specifically, the first three months or so of the relationship. ...
Sep 27, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
The cost of inefficient technology integration at registered investment advisor practices may be more than you would think. A white paper commissioned by NFP Advisor Services Group and prepared by Aite Group says that a primary advisor at an RIA spends 20 percent more time on operations-related tasks (performance reporting, fee billing, and data reconciliation, for example) than on client prospecting and acquisition. But firms that move to fully integrated tech systems can boost their efficiency by an additional half-day per staffer per week, time that can be devoted to more business development, the report says....
Sep 27, 2011
By Joshua Brown
Yesterday, I came across a data-free screed on Registered Rep. lambasting the financial advisory community in general and the way it is compensated specifically. The piece was written by Andrew J. Haigney, Managing Director of El Cap Investment Consultants, and it was very heavy on generalities about how fees for advice equate to “a destruction of value.”...
Sep 26, 2011
By Andrew J. Haigney
Readers of our work know that we’ve been outspoken critics of the investment management industry...
Sep 21, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Every wealth management firm needs new business. Conventional wisdom says the most effective way to get new business is referrals from satisfied clients. But some firms, ranging from large national financial service companies to regional boutiques, have lately gone the route of creating a full-time business development department...
Sep 20, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Focus Financial Partners LLC in New York is one of the largest registered investment advisor aggregators in the country, but Chief Executive and founder Rudy Adolf likes to say that the company is not interested in turning entrepreneurs into employees. The philosophy resonated with the partners at The Colony Group in Boston, one of the oldest RIAs in the country (founded in 1986.) Today Focus announced that it would acquire Colony effective Oct. 1, making it Focus’ fourth deal so far this year. Colony, which has $1.3 billion in assets under management, will make Focus a $45 billion player; not bad for a company that started just five years ago with $3 billion in assets. Adolf hints that more deals are in the works: “We actually believe this is going to be a very good year for us.”...
Sep 6, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Charlotte Beyer has been a trailblazer in the wealth management business before the phrase “wealth management” was even being used.
In 1991, the then 43-year-old financial services executive founded the Institute for Private Investors as a peer-to-peer membership organization for very wealthy individuals and families who wanted unbiased information about investing and a place to confidentially share ideas—and problems.
...
Aug 24, 2011
By Charles Paikert
Families who have most of their wealth tied up in a thriving family business present a classic double-edged sword dilemma for wealth managers. To be sure, the potential market is large and lucrative: Nine out of 10 businesses in the United States are family-owned, and family businesses account for half the country’s gross national product....
Aug 19, 2011
by Kevin Nichols, Director of Marketing at The Oechsli Institute
Ashley is a veteran advisor who has been invited to her company recognition trip with thirty of her fellow top performers. To the others who heard her question, she made a valid point. But they are missing the big picture. Social Media isn’t just a “hip” way to reach clients or prospects; it’s a tool that can be used in the midst of shaky markets for broadening your reach by positioning yourself as a calming presence. ...
Aug 3, 2011
By Charles Paikert
A San Diego wealth management firm has launched a separate practice group staffed by women and targeted at women, specifically high-net-worth women over 45 who own their own businesses, are going through a divorce or have become widows....
Aug 1, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
One goal is achieved, another is established, and the beat goes on....
Jul 27, 2011
By Diana Britton
National Planning Holdings (NPH), the independent broker/dealer network of Lansing, Mich.-based Jackson National Life Insurance Company, plans to roll out a social media initiative this fall, which will allow its 3,563 reps to use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook to communicate with clients. ...
Jul 26, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
New research from Aite Group shows that the online brokerages continue to take market share of wealth management assets from the wirehouse firms—something that surprised Aite Group analysts. ...
Jul 21, 2011
The phrase wealth management is used throughout the financial advisory industry; even asset managers like the sound of it. But the term properly refers to advisors who offer a broad range of financial services in addition to managing money...
Jul 19, 2011
By Charles Paikert
After studying Capgemini’s recently-released 2011 U.S. Metro Wealth Index, wealth management firms who aren’t doing business in the New York or Houston markets may be asking themselves why not....
