Investment Advisor July 2007
Cover Story
Protect Yourself
When it comes to protecting themselves from disgruntled clients and the long arm of regulators, advisors and their broker/dealers have to be on the ball....
Features
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Therapeutic Finance
A while ago, I took part in a committee retreat about teaching communication and counseling-related skills to financial planners. The discussion was sponsored by the...
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Birth of a Profession
The independent adviser profession--or "investment counseling," as it was originally called--owes its existence to a convergence of events and influences in the first quarter of...
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A Long-Short Story
Thinking about an absolute return strategy during a period where some major market indexes are at, or near, all-time highs may not sound intuitive, but...
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Like Father, Like Daughter
There are almost as many different types of financial planning firms as there are individual financial planners. There are firms consisting of multiple generations of...
Beginnings
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Shame, Shame on Us All!
That was a very nice puff piece about Mary Schapiro (Investment Advisor May 2007 Cover Story, "At the Helm"). Sadly, her stated goals will never...
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Asset Allocation, July 2007
To learn this month's recommended asset allocations of Investment Advisor's panel of distinguished economists and money managers, click here.
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Overlay Uses 101
Separation of alpha and beta appears to be the mantra du jour in portfolio management, though long-time observers are aware that the concept is hardly...
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Travel The World, While Staying Home
Global equity funds differ from international stock funds in that they have the latitude to invest in U.S. stocks as well as foreign companies. Indeed,...
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Focus on the Optimal Client
"I think the leaders of investment firms don't understand mortality tables," joked Jim Ware, a CFA and consultant speaking at Pershing's ninth annual Insite conference...
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CFP Board Adds Fiduciary Requirement
The Board of the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards adopted on May 24 a revised version of its code of ethics, adding new...
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TD Ameritrade to Acquire Fiserv's Advisor Unit
On May 24, TD Ameritrade said it had signed an agreement to acquire Fiserv Inc.'s Fiserv Investment Support Services (ISS) operation, which Fiserv says manages...
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McWhinney Out, Goldman In
Deborah McWhinney, president of Schwab Institutional (SI) since 2001, resigned her position on May 18, and has been succeeded by Charles Goldman, SI's COO. As...
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Group Think
The Financial Planning Association (FPA) told the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on June 1 that although it does not oppose the...
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Changes
Shawn Dreffein, president of National Planning Corporation (NPC) and CEO of the National Planning Holdings broker/dealer network of Jackson National Life, has retired from those...
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Upgrades
Standard & Poor's is adding an index for Muslims who want to participate in the markets, while still conforming to Shariah, or Islamic law. The...
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Moving On Up
A number of your clients were busy in 2006, swiftly climbing the ladder of success. According to a new report from Spectrem Group--"Affluent Market Insights...
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To Market! To Market!
Some people define genius as having original, unique thoughts. I think of geniuses as people who look at the same information as everyone else, but...
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Change a' Comin'!
I've been married to my wife for 21 years, and while we've grown comfortable with each other, I can still be surprised, delighted, and impressed...
Columns
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High Performance Collaboration
As we examined last month, private wealth specialists can help you with those special cases where you require more comprehensive analysis using a higher level...
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People Who Need People
At a time when advisory firms are experiencing unprecedented demand for professional advice, many do not have the physical capacity to capitalize on the opportunity....
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A Fund of Your Own
It's no secret that with overhead, compliance, and professional costs rising, advisory practice margins are being squeezed like never before. Neither is there any mystery...
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Guiding New Grads
Good news! Employers intend to hire 19.2% more new college graduates in 2007 than they did last year, according to a recent poll by the...
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Gen Xers: The Optimal Client?
The best new clients for advisors may be high-net-worth Gen Xers, but the trick will be luring these young millionaires away from the banks. That's...
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Investing in Your Own Future
Last month, I sat on a panel about attracting and retaining professional talent at the FPA Northern California Conference in San Francisco. As if often...
Conclusions
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Stable Value or Not?
As the Department of Labor prepares to finalize its proposed regulation on qualified default investment alternatives (QDIAs) in 401(k) plans, the debate rages on as...
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Retirement Redefined
It seems retirement has been redefined, and the new definition includes part-time work. This change from the traditional retirement vision of sitting on a porch...
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NEWS & PRODUCTS, JULY 2007
A new group has been formed to help independent third-party recordkeepers' voices be heard on Capitol Hill. The Council of Independent 401(k) Recordkeepers (CIKR), a...
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Getting Your Affairs in Order
Death. No one likes to confront it, but Wynne Whitman is in the business of serving clients who must face it, and is now trying...
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Going Private
Hear that? It's the sound of a very big door opening into the elite, large, 144A private securities marketplace. Not only will companies that want...
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NEWS & PRODUCTS, JULY 2007
Wachovia announced May 31 that it will acquire A. G. Edwards and fold it into Wachovia Securities, LLC, creating what Wachovia called the "second largest...
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A Long-Term Problem?
Last month we looked at the public outcry over long-term care insurance and the resulting repercussions throughout the industry, as companies strove to overcome a...
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B/Ds in the Year 2010
In dusting off our crystal ball, we thought of taking a prophetic approach to what lies ahead for our industry, attempting to answer such vexing...
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"A Piece of Paper or a Place to Live?"
When it comes to long term care insurance, the three most often asked questions by clients are: "What is it?"; "Do we need it?"; and...
Sidebar Stories
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Extending the Brand
It's not an item found at a ship's chandler nor a fashion icon. Pershing's iNautix (USA) is a new business unit that provides, according to...
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Helping Therapists Get Over Moneyphobia
The vast majority of psychotherapists are money avoiders. If a client brings up the subject of money, therapists often (consciously or unconsciously) deflect the discussion...
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Behind the Numbers, with Sam Stovall
Sam Stovall, S&P's chief economic strategist, has maintained a high percentage of assets allocated to stocks this month. Within that percentage, Stovall recommends underweighting U.S....
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About the Manager
R.H. Dillon is CIO of Columbus, Ohio-based Diamond Hill Investments, and CEO and president of its publicly traded parent, Diamond Hill Investment Group Inc. (DHIL)....
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Getting Over Therapyphobia
For a number of advisors, even the mention of "therapy" or "therapeutic" evokes a negative reaction. This resistance is often due to concern that they...
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Sayonara to Insurance B/Ds?
Insurance companies selling off broker/dealers has been a growing trend that is likely to accelerate into 2010. In 2000, for instance, Fortis sold off its...
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Reviewing the Situation
The National associAtIon of Insurance Commissioners is taking other actions with regard to the reports of LTC insurance abuses. While NAIC President-Elect Sandy Praeger, insurance...
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Compliance Crisis
Brokers are losing much valuable time to compliance issues each week, according to a new study by Katherine Vessenes of Vestment Advisors, Inc. of Minneapolis....
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Tips for the Newly Employed
Carry cash--without a credit card, there's no temptation to buy beyond your means. Know where your money is going--keep track of purchases by making...
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A New College Planning Tool
ChannelMining Solutions, a Boston-based strategic consultant to the financial services industry, recently launched a Web-based college-planning tool that advisors can use to help clients map...
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Performance Anxiety
Investors and their advisors have enjoyed a pretty good relationship over the past few years, helped by a steady bull market that has seen investors'...
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For More Information . . .
Barry Duncan's What's Right With You: Debunking Dysfunction and Changing Your Life (HCI, 2005) shows readers how to tap into their inner resilience and...
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William M. Topkis
Topkis Financial Advisors 910 Foulk Road, Suite 100 Wilmington, Delaware 19803 Phone: 302-654-4444 Web site: www.topkisfinancial.com Year practice started: 1994 AUM: $50 million Number of advisors in firm: two Number of clients: 100 Compensation:...
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Really, a Life Planner
Bill Topkis talks about making the transition from a career in the insurance business to one as a fee-based financial advisor: "In '94, when I walked...
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The B/D Exemption Rule Is Gone, What's Next?
Now that the Broker/Dealer Exemption Rule 202(a)(11)-1 which exempted brokers from regulation as an investment advisor even when they were being paid fees for investment...
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Ferdinand Pecora: Crusading Investigator
Facing him in the dock were some of America's most influential men, whose names were synonymous with power, privilege, and great wealth. But Ferdinand J....
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Finding the Best Healthcare Options
The news about the cost of healthcare is scary for most Americans, but healthy young students probably think it's one of their lowest priorities. Nearly...
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Depression-Era Financial Reforms
Glass-Steagall Act of 1933: Prohibited most securities activities by commercial banks. Separated commercial banking from investment banking. Securities Act of 1933: Regulated the issuance of...
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