Investment Advisor February 2013
Cover Story
Double Think: Winning the Battle Over Your Clients’ Two Brains
It’s impossible to read minds, but an understanding of how people’s brains work can help you better serve clients.
Features
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Southern Charm in the Small-Cap Space
Don’t let the easygoing, good ol’ boy charm fool you. Raise the topic of investment management, particularly in small caps, and Mark Travis' “aw-shucks” attitude quickly fades.
Beginnings
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Tragedy and Time
Mark Travis is a helluva guy.
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Fiscal Cliff Deal: ‘A Missed Opportunity’
While the fiscal cliff deal that was approved by the House and Senate on Jan. 1 was good news in that it sent the markets soaring and includes some changes that make financial planning easier, critics of the deal say that it fails to remedy the fiscal challenges that lie...
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How to Grab Fee Revenue You Didn’t Know You Had
A practice management change netted Asset Preservation Strategies an extra $10 million in its fee-based accounts.
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Equity Income ETFs: Incognito Sector Funds?
Over the past few years, as retail investors have fled en masse from equity funds to bond funds, dividend strategies have been one of the few categories of equity ETFs to consistently attract net inflows.
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Managed Futures: Strategy or Asset Class?
My answer to investment professionals, who probably won't be satisfied, is that managed futures are both.
Columns
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The Human Capital Dilemma
Only 22% of the advisor population is under the age of 40, and with the average age of advisors in their 50s, the business is suffering from a growing cultural gap between advisors and clients, as well as a significant age gap between advisors and others in the business.
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Emboldened Borzi Is Back
Bolstered by another four years in her position under a re-elected Obama administration, Phyllis Borzi is adamant that EBSA’s fiduciary rule will see the light of day this year.
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Talking ‘Bout My Generation
Some 20 years ago, financial editor and writer Joe Nocera (now an op-ed columnist for The New York Times) explained to a group of us editors at Worth Magazine why our baby boom generation had gotten a bad rap for being such profligate spenders: “We grew up during the 1970s,...
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Growing Your Own Successor
Owner/advisors need to accept an essential element of their jobs: teaching young advisors to be great advisors, then teaching them to be great owners.
Conclusions
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How to Measure Your Firm’s Overall Efficiency
Advisors are very good at conducting this type of work for their clients. They build a financial plan, then measure on a consistent basis how the plan is doing. How well do you employ the same process for measuring the efficiency of your firm?
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The 2013 Compliance To-Do List
Let’s make 2013 the year that advisory firms finally take internal control of their compliance obligations, rather than relying on unrelated parties to do so.
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That Which Seems Intuitive Is Often Wrong
One of my summertime readings was John Stossel’s book, “No They Can’t: Why Government Fails—But Individuals Succeed.”
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Don’t Fall Off a Compliance Cliff in 2013
The U.S. avoided one fiscal cliff, but without proper books and records, state- and SEC-registered investment advisors can teeter on a cliff of their own making. One advisory firm's cautionary tale.
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Why Monetary Easing Won’t Help Japan
Japan’s new leader, Shinzo Abe, will take the helm of a country in recession, with business confidence near three-month lows and the highest debt-to-GDP ratio in the OECD.
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Storm Warning
Just a few days before Hurricane Sandy barreled up the East Coast, German reinsurance giant Munich Re issued a new report titled “Severe Weather in North America” revealing that weather disasters have hit North America far harder than they have the rest of the world.
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For 403(b) Success, Combine Monitoring and Management
For advisors who specialize in the ever-changing 403(b) and 457 retirement plan marketplace, knowing the distinction between portfolio monitoring and portfolio management is critical.
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The End of History?
Here’s a recent piece of research that has direct application to how you work with clients.
Sidebar Stories
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More Food for Thought: Your Brain Behavior Reading List
Check out more literature about brain behavior
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Investment Decisions: Men’s Brains Are From Mars, Women’s Are From Venus
Financial decision-making is also influenced by gender differences, according to psychology professor Paul Greenberg.
Sponsor
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Actionable insights to help you make better global investment decisions.
Event Spotlight
Retirement Income Symposium
October 10-11, 2013
Hyatt Regency, Boston, MA
The symposium provides practical, innovative solutions to current industry challenges and provides advisors clear, actionable strategies that they can utilize to address their clients' needs.
Resource Library
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Breaking up is hard to do
Love being a financial advisor? Not getting what you need from your current firm? Hear...
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This advice is based on industry research and the practical observations of other advisors who...
Complimentary Informational Brochure on Ameritas Life and Annuities
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Find out the four crucial steps you need to follow to choose the right technology...
Complimentary White Paper: "Alternative Investments in the Mainstream "
In this white paper you will learn how to earn more referrals and grow your...
Complimentary White Paper: "Define Your Independence: Building Your Future"
It's time to take a closer look at new opportunities. Download this free white paper...
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