Investment Advisor February 2011

Dispatches from the Tax-Efficient Frontier

By David Lau

Back to Basics

By John Sullivan, AdvisorOne

“I went to Harvard Undergrad and got an MBA from the University of Michigan,” Tim Hartch begins, when asked about his investing pedigree.

Resolving Conflict: Eight Steps to Workplace Harmony

By Olivia Mellan

The Necessity of Growth

By Eliza DePardo, Dan Inveen

For the typical advisory firm, revenue and profitability stabilized in 2010 and, in many cases, returned to familiar and very comfortable pre-2008 levels.

A Holiday in Cambodia

By John Sullivan, AdvisorOne

Author and foreign policy expert Ian Bremmer recounts a meeting with a highly-placed Chinese official in the wake of the recent financial crisis in which the official began, “Now that the free market has failed …”

Ryan Reveals GOP Budget Agenda to Investment Advisor

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

The 112th Congress, along with incoming Speaker of the House John Boehner, was officially sworn in last month.

Catching up with… Mark Mettelman

By John Sullivan, AdvisorOne

For such a small firm, Norcross, Ga.-based Triad Advisors is surprisingly flexible.

A Great (and Surprising) Venture Investment Source

By Jeff Joseph

Recently, a wealth manager wrote that he was approached by one of his high-net-worth clients and asked to consider investing in the client’s new Web-based technology startup.

Replication Offers ETF Investors Hedge Fund Exposure

By Vaughan Scully, Standard & Poor's

Asset Allocation: February 2011

By Editorial Staff

Location Dislocation

By Mark Tibergien

Independent advisory firms are beginning to look more like broker-dealers every day.

2011: The Year the Advisors’ Playing Field Fundamentally Changes

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

All eyes this year will be focused on the exchanges that will ensue between lawmakers and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

An Old Dog Learns Some New Tricks

By Bob Clark, AdvisorOne

Give It Away Today

By Lewis Schiff

Advisors to affluent families have often used anecdotes about well-known individuals as a more memorable and persuasive way to discuss different aspects of financial planning.

The Why Factor: Explaining the Revenue-Employee Motivation Link

By Angie Herbers

Having done hundreds of employee recruitments for my advisor clients over the years, I’ve come to the conclusion that hiring the “right” people, or even “good” people, is largely a crap-shoot.

Confusion in the Boomer Space

By Danielle Andrus, AdvisorOne

In a demographic that comprises approximately 78 million people, there's bound to be some disparity in sentiment.

FSI Endorses FINRA as SRO for Investment Advisors

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

The association of independent broker-dealers recommended that the SEC choose FINRA as the SRO for RIAs.

Building an Efficient Document Imaging Strategy

By Dan Skiles

The good news regarding document imaging and management is that most advisors are already storing some of their documents electronically.

2011 Compliance Checklist

By Thomas D. Giachetti

Remember, compliance is not difficult if you understand the rules and how they apply (and more importantly, do not apply) to the firm.

Beating the Odds

By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne

Why Go Global in Choosing Real Estate for Client Portfolios?

By Andy Hyltin

The lessons of the last few years, as painful as they have been, are few and simple.

After the Horse Has Left the Barn

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

An appreciation of history and human behavior leads to the conclusion that internal enemies can be the most damaging to a country’s economic health, and the financial services industry’s well-being.