Investment Advisor May 2009

After the Fraud

By David A. Lifson, CPA

By now most of the globe knows something about Bernard L. Madoff, who made off with billions of dollars investor's funds. In spite of Madoff's...

Walk On

By Kelli Cruz

The trend of wirehouse advisors joining the independent RIA channel has ramped up significantly in the last several years, and is only increasing in the...

Asset Allocation

By Robert F. Keane

Behind the Numbers, with Gail Dudack In the April 8 release of Direct from Dudack, her intermittent one-page report on economic events, Gail Dudack asked, "When...

Venture Populist: Chaos = Opportunity (Oh, please)

By Jeff Joseph

How often will we have to hear this nonsense from pontificating pundits and portfolio managers out ballyhooing the pending stock buying opportunity of a lifetime?...

The ETF Advisor: Energy Edge

By Vaughan Scully, Standard & Poor's

The nearly $100 per barrel plunge in oil prices since last summer, coupled with the credit crisis and stock market decline, hit the nascent biofuels...

For Firms in the United Capital Fold, a New Platform

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

United Capital Financial Advisers has partnered with FundQuest to build a suite of Web-based tools for UCFA advisors and their clients that cover the waterfront...

Group Think

By Staff Writer

? The Financial Planning Association (FPA) is currently accepting nominations for its 2010 Board of Directors through July 16, 2009. Members of the FPA's 2009...

Changes

By Staff Writer

? Derek Bruton has been named national sales manager for LPL Financial Independent Advisor Services while still retaining his position as CEO for the LPL...

Upgrades

By Staff Writer

What Sam Stovall calls a "mega-meltdown" and others call a recession is likely to end by the fourth quarter of 2009, and while it won't...

Numerology: No One Way

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

DC Research and Practical Perspectives, two research companies headed, respectively, by Dennis Gallant and Howard Schneider, released in April their most recent findings--"Examining Best Practices...

Danger & Opportunity: The SEC Reformation

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

Financial services regulatory reform has been bandied about for some time now, but we got a taste of what the Obama Administration and the Securities...

Danger & Opportunity: Raising the Bar

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

If you were asked to nominate a single representative who personifies reason and insight when it comes to investing, combined with integrity and a career-long...

Danger & Oppoprtunity: Why Set Goals?

By Joni Youngwirth

Years ago, I got my private pilot's license. Nothing can beat the experience of viewing the horizon while feeling the exhilaration of making constant decisions...

Catching Up With: Jeff Montgomery

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

Jeff Montgomery has seen the advisory business from multiple angles in his career, which is serving him well at Al Frank Asset Management, where he...

Editor's Note: Talking to the Enemy

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

The silver-haired estate planning attorney slipped into the seat next to me and snarled when the speaker began to speculate about tax policy in the...

The Affluentialist: Why The Affluent Need LTC Insurance

By Lewis Schiff

Surprising economic times can reveal fault lines in previously solid assumptions. The conventional wisdom was that the wealthy would pay for long-term nursing care out-of-pocket...

The Green Advisor: A Triad of Values

By Robert F. Keane

In this space last month we wrote that while green investing and socially responsible investing (SRI) have much in common, they are not always the...

Formulas for Success: Are You Overpaid?

By Mark Tibergien

Several months of populist outrage over the sins of Wall Street have stunned the financial community. With every action comes a louder reaction. The proposed...

Clark at Large: Creationism

By Bob Clark, AdvisorOne, Bob Clark, AdvisorOne

Mary Schapiro has a problem. Sure, as President Obama's appointee to chair the SEC she headed the list of the most influential women in wealth...

The Psychology of Advice: The Madding Crowd

By Olivia Mellan

When bad things are happening to people all over the world, stress reactions start to run the show. Panic, rage, conspiracy theories, and other forms...

The Fast Track: Coming of Age

By Angie Herbers

Recently, one of my clients, who shall remain nameless, made a big mistake. We agreed that firm finances required she lay off two of her...

Retirement Planning: Estate Tax Up for Debate

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

One issue that will be a big debate in Congress this year is the estate tax. Congress must take some action on the estate tax...

Confidence Builders

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

"There may have been a loss of confidence in the American economy," said Rep. Robert Andrews (D-New Jersey), "but that doesn't translate into a loss...

New IRS DB Funding Rules

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued regulatory guidance on defined benefit pension plans that provides some needed relief for DB plan sponsors. Citing the...

Retirement News & Products

By Melanie Waddell, AdvisorOne

Recent research by Cerulli Associates focuses on what the Boston-based research firm calls the "bookends" of the 401(k) market--large and mega-plans and micro- and small...

Broker/Dealer Briefing: John Simmers of ING

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

John Simmers, who in his 30-year career helped consolidate ING's roster of broker/dealers into the four B/Ds that comprise the ING Advisors Network, has retired from the...

Growth Strategy

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

B/D News & Products

By Staff Writer

The U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation in early April that would tie pay to performance at companies that have received direct capital investments under...

Changing Climate

By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne

Joel Ario, Pennsylvania insurance commissioner and chairman of the NAIC Climate Change and Global Warming Task Force, says that how NAIC addresses climate change in...

Insurance Update: Out in the Open

By Marlene Y. Satter, AdvisorOne

On March 17, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) approved a compromise version of the climate change survey sent out for comments in 2008....

Expert's Corner: Stage Fright

By Nick Giacoumakis

I write this as we enter the fifteenth month of the bear market, when keeping our clients calm and focused on their financial planning goals...

Soapbox: A Modest Proposal for Wealth Managers

By Staff Writer

In "A Modest Proposal," written in 1729, the noted Anglo-Irish satirist Jonathan Swift suggested that the impoverished Irish could ease their economic troubles by selling...

Pershing Service for RIAs at B/Ds

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

Responding to the growth of dually registered representatives, Pershing LLC introduced April 16 a new service for its affiliated broker/dealer firms called RIA Complete, which...

How Things Are Changing

By James J. Green, AdvisorOne

Bill Crager has a unique vantage point from which to watch the investing mindset of advisors. As president and co-founder of Envestnet, which provides front-...

Let the Sun Shine In

By Angie Herbers

In difficult times like the current environment, it's important to divulge as much about your firm's finances as you feel comfortable for two reasons. First, making...

Women of Infulence

By Bob Clark, AdvisorOne, Bob Clark, AdvisorOne

In a field where they make up barely 25% of practitioners, women in wealth management are changing the style and tone of the profession. Securities...