Making Success Personal 

Apr 1, 2008,

By Matt Oechsli

A few weeks ago I had one of those blinding glimpses of the obvious. It dawned on me that despite the grinding intensity with which some advisors focus...

RBC's Buying Spree 

Mar 1, 2008,

Halah Touryalai

RBC Dain Rauscher continued its recent streak of acquisitions in February, announcing plans to acquire Ferris, Baker, Watts (FWB), a full-service broker/dealer...

Across the Pond 

Mar 1, 2008,

Halah Touryalai

Deal making in the wealth-management space has been rampant lately, and some holding companies and individual RIAs are beginning to see opportunities...

PLAIN ENGLISH: THE COST OF COMPLIANCE 

Mar 1, 2008,

John Churchill

The SEC voted in February to propose changes to the structure of the Form ADV, the disclosure document that all investment advisors must complete. Instead...

FIX ADVISOR LAWS! 

Mar 1, 2008,

By John Churchill

One more time: Retail investors your clients are confused about the definition of a financial advisor. That is, they don't understand the difference between...

SOVEREIGN WEALTH: IT COULD BE GOOD FOR YOU 

Mar 1, 2008,

By Christopher C. L. Anderson

Kuwait. Singapore. Russia. China. The government investment funds of these countries, and several others, may have saved our financial system from severe...

THE FEVER FOR STRUCTURED PRODUCTS 

Mar 1, 2008,

BY BRIAN WARGO

Long a Favorite of Investors in Europe, structured products are rapidly gaining popularity in the United States. Last year, $114 billion in structured...

Ph.D. In Sales Required 

Mar 1, 2008,

By Matt Oechsli

Something is wrong with this picture. Consider the following: When talking about the state of the financial advisory industry with many veteran advisors...

A Goal Pit-Stop 

Feb 1, 2008,

By Matt Oechsli

Business - purposeful activity. Plan - a method for achieving an end. Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary In the early months of a new year, I have always...

The Magnetic Salesman 

Jan 1, 2008,

By Matt Oechsli

Let's review three irrefutable truths: The affluent do not like sales people. Too many veteran advisors have neglected their sales skills. Advisors possessing...

Understanding The Affluent 

Dec 1, 2007,

By Matt Oechsli

Are you targeting the affluent? Are you interested in acquiring clients with larger pools of assets? Of course you are. Every financial advisor is aiming...

Thinking Like The Affluent 

Nov 1, 2007,

By Matt Oechsli

There is such a thing as the affluent touch: It's a matter of attitude and approach. In fact, this quality is often the very thing that makes one financial...

Moving Markets: Robert W. Baird 

Nov 1, 2007,

Christina Mucciolo

Here's one way to evaluate equity research: Measure the impact it has on stock prices. Bespoke Investment Group, a financial research firm, did just that,...

Time To Bottom Fish For Small Banks? 

Oct 1, 2007,

By Jonathan Moreland

Financial stocks have understandably led the market down during the recent credit-related correction. But the group has also recently led in another area:...

Getting a Thumbs Up From the Wealthy 

Oct 1, 2007,

By Matt Oechsli

Think for a moment about your affluent clients and their centers-of-influence. As you scroll through these images in the theater of your mind, try to...

Meet The New Panic, Just Like the Old Panic 

Oct 1, 2007,

By David A. Geracioti

About the current credit market turmoil, Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in early September, The behavior in what we are observing...

Hedge Fund Hots 

Sep 1, 2007,

Halah Touryalai

Despite mounting sub-prime mortgage woes, hedge funds are doing better than ever. In fact, the second quarter of 2007 saw hedge funds accumulate net new...

Teaming Up For High Performance 

Sep 1, 2007,

By Matt Oechsli

Many years ago our research on the affluent led us to investigate wealth management teams. We turned our focus to teams simply because it became obvious...

Market Yourself 

Aug 1, 2007,

By Matt Oechsli

The applause was loud and lasting in a ballroom packed with over 250 senior financial advisors who were being treated to a preview of their firm's new...

The Everyman's Advisor 

Aug 1, 2007,

By Kevin Burke

Most financial advisors lust after rich people. Lust is perhaps an arresting choice of words, but it does accurately describe the intensity of desire...

Balancing Act 

Aug 1, 2007,

By Anne Field

Two years ago, Tom Lydon, a small independent advisor running an 11-year-old practice, launched a blog about Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). Now, he's wondering...

How to Cover Your Clients 

Jul 1, 2007,

By Matt Oechsli

Tampa: I feel that we're continually asked to cull the bottom of our book, says Sean. But what do you consider to be the ideal number of clients for a...

Morals Beat the Market 

Jul 1, 2007,

Christina Mucciolo

What does integrity have to do with superior portfolio performance? A lot, say researchers in a study released in May, which found that advisors who demonstrate...

Shopping for Dog Food and Stocks? 

Jul 1, 2007,

Christie Matheson

It is no secret that Wal-Mart has an insatiable appetite for expanding the reach of the products and services it offers. But now, behold, the behemoth...

The New Big Brother 

Jun 1, 2007,

BY JOHN CHURCHILL

Client communications protocol has become so restrictive as to be absurd, registered reps say. How reps are handling it....