Dec 1, 2011
By Kristen French
Distance from the crisis and improved asset flows gave a little kick to advisor satisfaction this year, according to Registered Rep's Broker Report Card. But the ratings are mixed. ...
Nov 30, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
Philadelphia—“I just spent an hour solving a problem for a very low-revenue client, embarrassingly low, especially when I discovered he no longer worked for the company whose owner is a good client,” mused Michael. He confessed, “I know what I should do, but these people need my help.”...
Nov 30, 2011
By John Aidan Byrne
Financial advisors at UBS Wealth Management Americas (WMA) are about to go more mobile -- in a far-reaching pilot program that enables them to use an extensive array of UBS tools and other applications. At the heart of the technology is an application engineered by a Silicon Valley startup. ...
Nov 29, 2011
By Diana Britton
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority continues its crackdown on the sale of troubled private placements, filing sanctions against eight firms and 10 individuals Tuesday and ordering them to pay restitution to investors. According to FINRA, the firms failed to conduct adequate due diligence, and did not have reasonable grounds for recommending the securities. ...
Nov 29, 2011
By Charles Paikert
During bad times advisors usually pay more attention to practice management gurus. And with gyrating global markets wreaking havoc on investors’ portfolios and confidence, wealth managers need all the help they can get....
Nov 28, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
A huge demand among mass affluent investors for retirement income products is building, but industry response to the trend is still in its infancy, the author of a new Aite Group report on the subject says. Greg Cherry, a senior analyst at Aite’s Wealth Management practice, says he’s seen estimates of 7,000 to 10,000 people who are retiring daily as the baby boomer generation moves into its later years....
Nov 28, 2011
By Matthew T. McClintock and Jonathan A. Mintz
WealthCounsel and Trusts & Estates unveiled the preliminary results of their annual electronic survey to identify trends in the industry and to probe the mindset of professional advisors regarding the impact of the economy on their clients. The results indicate that estate-planning professionals aren’t optimistic about the nation’s economy and cite partisan gridlock on Capitol Hill. ...
Nov 25, 2011
By Diana Britton
In May, Ron Carson, long the No. 1 on Registered Rep.'s Top 100 IBD advisor list, announced plans to leave LPL Financial (Nasdaq: LPLA) to become an independent registered investment advisor and start his own broker/dealer. The firm made the RIA conversion in July, but days before Carson’s b/d was to be approved, he pulled the plug and decided to keep his 5 percent of brokerage assets with LPL. Carson sat down with Registered Rep. to talk about the move. ...
Nov 22, 2011
By Charles Paikert
In addition to wealth managers’ concerns about retaining the children of their clients as customers, evidence continues to pile up that parents remain highly concerned that their children won’t even be able to hold on to their inheritance in the first place....
Nov 22, 2011
By Diana Britton
Amid the recent market fluctuations, non-traded real estate investment trusts have been popular among investors searching for yield and asset classes with low correlations to equities. ...
Nov 21, 2011
By Liz O’Shaughnessy
Roughly two-thirds of college students borrow money for college. The average college graduate leaves school with about $25,000 worth of debt.
Is $25,000 a reasonable amount of student loans? It really depends on where students are turning for money.
...
Nov 17, 2011
By Joshua Brown
I am very fortunate as a financial advisor to have an amazing group of clients I work with each day. I consider it an honor to have been given this responsibility by the households I am responsible for; helping people invest for the future is my life’s work and the relationships I have now with clients mean a lot to me both professionally and personally. But it was not always thus....
Nov 17, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
In the managed account market, what difference can fees make? This week Wealthcare Capital Management, an RIA and provider of wealth management advisory services in Richmond, Va., announced its new Unified Managed Household program will charge about 50 basis points less than other managed account platforms. ...
Nov 16, 2011
By Diana Britton
Over the last year or so, advisors have been struggling to get their clients out of cash, but how much cash are your clients really holding? Investors say they’re holding 27 percent of their investable assets in cash, according to an MFS Investment Management survey of 929 investors. Generation Y investors lead the pack, allocating 33 percent to cash, up from 30 percent in February. ...
Nov 16, 2011
By Matt Oechsli
Chicago—“I just finished listening to a panel of our top producers talk about their service models, and it sounds wonderful. But then I find myself wondering, ‘Is this realistic?’ ” mused John. “I’m not even sure these advisors really do everything they’re saying.”
By the tone of John’s comments, it was obvious that he’d just exposed his Achilles’ heel—he wasn’t able to listen to this “best practices” discussion and make the connection between his professional world and these top producers. I got the sense that he’d rather complain than try to identify a handful of items applicable to his situation.
...
Nov 15, 2011
By Charles Paikert
An outspoken fixture in the wealth management industry for over two decades, Convergent Wealth Advisors chief executive Steve Lockshin is in the headlines again, embracing a new role as a contrarian...
Nov 15, 2011
By David Trainer
As one financial scandal follows another, it seems the good guys are having a tougher time catching the bad guys. Recent revelations about MF Global’s bankruptcy are reminders of how our regulatory and oversight systems seem to let whales pass through their nets...
Nov 15, 2011
By Alan Lavine
What do you get when you splice together a life insurance policy and an immediate annuity?
A reversionary annuity. Yes, that’s a mouthful, but it carries some of the advantages of each and is ideal for certain kinds of clients.
...
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....
Nov 14, 2011
By Susan Konig
Joseph L., a 60-year-old veteran rep in New York says, for years, he had planned to retire at 63, soon after his youngest child finished college. Alas, the market pummel took a beating beginning in 2007 and his 401(k) plan took one along with it. Joseph has awakened to the fact that he could still be working at the ripe age 70...
Nov 11, 2011
By David Trainer
Two of the three stocks added to our large/mid cap Most Dangerous stocks list for November are from the energy sector. Those stocks are Energy XXI (Bermuda) Ltd. (EXXI) and Superior Energy Services (SPN) – both get my very dangerous rating as do all of the Most Dangerous stocks. Notably, Dynergy (DYN) also had my very dangerous rating when it announced bankruptcy might be in its future in late June of this year....
Nov 10, 2011
By Mark Miller
A fee-only financial advisor for both retirement plans and individuals, Roger Wohlner worries that target date funds—which invest in a mix of assets with the aim of reducing equity exposure as participants approach retirement—just can't do as good a job as professional advisors managing client funds. ...
Nov 9, 2011
By Jerry Gleeson
Two recent deals by aggregators for sizable registered investment advisors show how both sides can benefit from such mergers. Late Tuesday Focus Financial Partners said it had signed up Sapient Private Wealth Management of Eugene, Ore., a practice with more than $500 million in assets under management that was formed just a year ago by three former Morgan Stanley Smith Barney advisors....
Nov 9, 2011
By Diana Britton
With the chances of a recession increasing, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has dialed back on risk assets in its portfolio, underweighting global equities, commodities and REITs, and boosting allocations to safe havens, such as cash, bonds and managed futures, the firm said during a press briefing Wednesday morning. ...
Nov 9, 2011
By Stephen Boswell and Kevin Nichols
Chicago: “I read over and over in your research that ‘personal introductions’ are the number one marketing activity for advisors,” started Jim after our presentation to a group of new advisors. He continued, “I struggle with how the process works for newer advisors. I think it’s a lot easier for veterans. Can you break it down for me?” ...
