Investment Advisor September 2009
Cover Story
Chosen: 2009 Broker/Dealers of the Year
These are interesting times. If you think you have it tough as an independent advisor, imagine for a moment that you are running an independent...
Features
-
Win-Win
The natural state of a true investment advisory firm is a privately owned partnership that is fully controlled by the professionals who are actively involved...
-
Media Star
When watching the business news channels on cable television many advisors seeing an "expert" pontificating about the latest financial crisis are likely to think, "I...
-
Way Up
There are many different approaches advisors utilize when managing money for clients. Some adopt a passive strategy buying only the indexes while others pursue alpha...
Beginnings
-
Asset Allocation
Behind the Numbers, with Sam Stovall Inflation should not be a major concern of the economy in the current environment, noted Sam Stovall, S&P's chief investment...
-
Not So Fast
Over the past few months there has been, at least anecdotally, a rush of wirehouse brokers moving to the independent space, either as employees in...
-
Alternative Uptick Rule
The SEC announced August 17 that it is seeking public comment on an alternative approach to short selling price test restrictions that the Commission says...
-
Fiduciary Committee Huddles with SEC
The Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, which includes WealthManagerWeb.com Editor in Chief Kate McBride, held face-to-face-meetings with two SEC Commissioners, Congressional staffers, and a Treasury...
-
Group Think
? The American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance has launched an online LTC Learning, Marketing & Sales Center as part of its Producer's Resource Center....
-
Changes
? Sallie Krawchek, most recently CEO of Global Wealth Management at Citigroup, has joined Bank of America to run Global Wealth and Investment Management and...
-
Upgrades
Fidelity Investments has followed up the announcement of its partnership with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts under which Fidelity's retail and institutional brokerage have access to IPOs...
-
Numerology: Kids Ain't Cheap
Those same friendly people who brought you the Food Pyramid have been tracking the cost of raising a child since 1960, and not surprisingly, it's...
-
The ETF Advisor: Pick a Country, Any Country
The rally in foreign and emerging market stocks during the first half of 2009 has awakened within U.S. investors an apparently long slumbering desire to...
-
Venture Populist: Variable Liquidity
In last month's column, I posited that private investments in venture and early-stage companies are ideally characterized by their potential for positive asymmetrical outcomes (PAO),...
-
Danger & Opportunity: Stitching Together Healthcare Reform
The healthcare debate moved outside the beltway in August, as members of Congress headed back home to face, in many cases, angry mobs of constituents...
-
SEC Bulks Up Enforcement
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is moving at a rapid pace to repair its sullied reputation after being lambasted by Congress for failing to...
-
Danger & Opportunity: Can Life Planners Save The World?
As I've pondered the state of the world and the many problems we face not just in the United States but across the globe, my...
-
Danger & Opportunity: Futures Education
You've all heard the common wisdom about investing in 2008, and perhaps you've even said it yourself: Diversification didn't work in 2008, because in that...
-
Catching Up With: Kim Wright-Violich
Schwab Charitable, the donor advised fund from Charles Schwab & Co., announced in early August that it had expanded the underlying investment options in its...
-
Mightier Than The Sword
If we needed any more proof of the power of the language, I present as Exhibit A the townhall meetings on healthcare reform. Full of...
Columns
-
The Affluentialist: Building Retirement Portfolios Now
In my June column we examined how retirement planning specialists with a significant list of near- and post-retirement clients deliver their services. These advisors,...
-
The Green Advisor: The Wave Is Rising
Environmentally-conscious investing is still a minuscule part of the overall financial services universe, but it's a segment that edges closer and closer to the mainstream...
-
Formulas for Success: In The Absence of Value
Traditional business wisdom holds that pricing becomes a factor when value comes into question. A combination of economic drivers has created a challenge for the...
-
Clark at Large: These Guys Are Good
Did you ever get the haunting feeling that something was going too well? That's how I'm starting to feel about the reregulation of the advisory...
-
The Psychology of Advice: Betrayal of Trust
It seems sometimes that we're living in an era of betrayal. Renowned money managers, senior elected officials, and Fortune 500 corporate leaders seem to betray...
-
The Fast Track: All The King's Men
In recent columns, I've written about how we emphasized three unique strengths--extreme delegation, niche focus, and operational efficiency--to build three extremely successful advisory practices. Now,...
Conclusions
-
Retirement Planning: Time for Non-Traded REITs?
Finding an asset class in the midst of a recession that will provide retiree and pre-retiree clients with exactly what they need--a steady stream of...
-
Pensions, Social Security Face Challenges
Pension plans' funded status and the outlook for Social Security continue to appear bleak. A new study by global consulting firm Mercer has found that after...
-
Retirement News
According to an analysis of Federal Reserve data published recently by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), median asset levels in defined contribution (401(k) and...
-
B/D Briefing: Ramping Up Technology
As the financial services landscape reshapes itself, the largest clearing firms have been working to enhance their offerings to broker/dealers on a number of fronts,...
-
Suits Against Financial Firms Driving Litigation Activity
While federal securities class action activity declined in the first half of 2009, with a particularly significant decline in the second quarter, suits against financial...
-
Broker/Dealer News
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced a settlement August 3 against Bank of America for misleading investors about billions of dollars in bonuses that were...
-
Insurance Update: An Asset to Planning
A specialized insurance product that offers long-term care coverage in addition to life insurance is gaining in popularity, according to the American Association for Long-Term...
-
Expert's Corner: It Beats Getting Sued
In connection with the recent economic and market meltdown, we have seen a significant increase in arbitration claims filed against fee-based investment advisors. So, what...
-
Soapbox: Forget the Benchmarks
For years, many investors and advisors have measured success by whether they "beat the benchmarks." However, last year's market collapse revealed the stark pitfalls of...
Sidebar Stories
-
Broker/Dealer of the Year, Division I
Prospera Financial Services President: David Stringer Candid quote from a Prospera rep: I've been solicited by various B/Ds at least once a year since joining Prospera. None of...
-
Tortoise or Hare
When it comes to which business model--a corporate owned advisory firm or a partnership--is most appealing to investors and which to advisors, it's clear that...
-
Share and Share Alike
With 35 years experience in the business, Dan Deighan can rightly claim to be one of the independent advisory profession's pioneers. Although ownership of the...
-
About The Planner
Dan Deighan CEO, Deighan Financial Advisors 47 West New Haven Avenue, Suite 101 Melbourne, Florida 32901 Phone: 321-728-3888 E-mail: info@deighanfa.com Web site: www.deighanfa.com Year firm founded: 1974 Number of people in firm: 14 Number...
-
Value Versus Growth
Over time, value stocks have outperformed growth stocks and have done so with a lower standard deviation (see first table below). The coefficient of variation...
-
Tactical Versus Strategic
In strategic asset allocation, long-term capital expectations are integrated with a client's goals and a target allocation is established. With tactical asset allocation, adjustments are...
-
The Three Questions
The signature exercise that Kinder's Institute of Life Planning conducts at its workshops to help an individual discover what's most important to them is to...
-
Regaining Trust
Drawing on 30 years of research and experience, Drs. Dennis and Michelle Reina of the Trust Building Institute in Stowe, Vermont, have developed an approach...
-
Easier Said Than Done
It's not hard to think up how a firm, any firm, could be better organized. The trick--and it's a big one--is to actually make the...
-
Who Representatives Voted For
Here are the first, second, and third place winners in this year's balloting as picked by the 3,577 validated voters in our 19th annual readers'...
-
What Representatives Wish For
On the ballot each year, the Investment Advisor editors ask voting representatives to tell us what products or services they wish their current broker/dealers offered,...
-
Broker/Dealer of the Year, Division II
The Investment Center President and CEO Ralph DeVito Candid quote from an Investment Center rep: I have never had any problems with The Investment Center, and would not...
-
Where Representatives Would Go
This year, more than many others, many representatives of broker/dealers are reassessing their options when it comes to with whom, and how, they will affiliate....
-
Broker/Dealer of the Year, Division III
Sigma Financial Corp. President and CEO Jerome Rydell Candid quote from a Sigma rep: There are no unsurmountable obstacles at Sigma, just minor speed bumps. Founded: 1983 Producing Reps: 599 2008...
-
How the Representatives Voted
The year 2009 marked the 19th time that Investment Advisor asked its readers who are representatives of independent broker/dealers to rank their own B/Ds on...
-
Broker/Dealer of the Year, Division IV
Woodbury Financial Services Chairman and CEO Brian Murphy Candid quote from a Woodbury rep: This is my fourth B/D, and the first I've been with that had all...
Web Extras
-
Broker/Dealers of the Year, Through the Years
This is the 19th year that Investment Advisor readers have chosen Broker/Dealers of the Year. During the first four years of voting, the top five...
-
Responsible Investing White Paper
You can download a copy of the Robeco/Booz & Co. white paper: "Responsible Investing: A Paradigm Shift" here.
Sponsor
Showcase
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
View All »
Understand the #1 Alternative Asset for Self-Directed Investors - Real...
Are you prepared to offer innovative alternative investment solutions to your clients and explain the...
Complimentary White Paper: "Strategies on Advising Couples"
Grow your practice by rethinking how you view, interact and approach investment decisions when working...
Breaking up is hard to do
Love being a financial advisor? Not getting what you need from your current firm? Hear...
The Best of Both Worlds with Century Securities
Our independent affiliates enjoy the freedom to make important choices and the professional resources of...
Build a Scalable Foundation for Growing Your Advisory Practice
This advice is based on industry research and the practical observations of other advisors who...
Complimentary Informational Brochure on Ameritas Life and Annuities
Ameritas Advisor Services can give you the tools you need to help your clients with...
Working Smarter: Engaging Prospects And Clients Through Social Media
For financial advisors, social media represents a powerful addition to traditional marketing and networking activities....
Complimentary Copy of "Winning Advantage: The Financial Advisor Playbook for...
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...
Advisor Tools
Business Evaluator
The Business Evaluator tool is designed to educate advisors on career options. Get recommendations unique to your situation as the Business Evaluator intuitively guides you through exploring a change.
